McMurdo Station

McMurdo Station Life

Riding Ivan the Terra Bus across Pegasus Airfield, through Willy field and to McMurdo Station was thrilling. The entire time I was pinching myself. I’m here. I’m here. This is Antarctica!

As soon as we pulled in to McMurdo station my thoughts shifted: Man, this is an UGLY place. They really could use some architectural design. There are bright buildings, but they are all containers. Its dirty like a construction site. Blech. But hey, it’s Antarctica! The town has to survive the -50C temperatures with ridiculous hurricane mile per hour winds. Whaddayaexpect?!

 

photocred R Stevens

I didn’t know what to expect. I suppose I expected more of a transient community feel--scientists milling around in constant work mode. How wrong was I. There were organized activities like you’d find in any normal town such as arts & crafts, yoga and team sports, basketball, 3 gyms, 3 happenin’ bars, a coffee shop, a laundry facility, a post office, even a church with a chaplain!  The Galley, building 153, had two main hallways called “Hwy 1” (north to south) and “Hwy 2” (east to west). Along Hwy 1 you could find the souvenir shop, the recreational activities office, the computer lounge and along Hwy 2 was the cafeteria.  

The place did feel a little like a college town but people were here to work. And everyone had a fascinating story to tell about what brought them here and how long they’ve been. “I’m on the Trans-Antarctic team,” one guy at the bar told me. “The what?” I queried. “I go on cross country trips to South Pole.” “In other words he is a badass,” chimed in a fellow mate. “I fly the planes to Antarctica,” said another guy. “What are you here for?” they asked me.  “I’m loading the Palmer and doing science in the Ross Sea.” I stated. Everyone is impressed with everyone else and no one seems to be beneath anyone else. Even janitors are glorified. Are you just a dish-washer in the food service industry in the states? Do it in Antarctica and you’ve just elevated to badass status. The firemen in Antarctica not only respond to calls from old women about cats being stuck in trees, they also double as the police force.

Thursday was trivia night at McGallegers. I assumed it would be a small crowd at a dive bar. It was jam packed with people, 15minute wait for bar service and standing room only. The drinks were strong. The special: martinis and gimlets. Honestly I was so dehydrated from the shock of the Antarctic desert that drinking anything other than water sounded dreadful. I also had signed up for the marathon the next day so I further dehydration was last on my list. But I can’t NOT drink at an Antarctic bar! I wanted to be sure to ward off scurvy so I went with the lime gimlets. Two to be exact. That’s all I needed. The gimlets were amazing and strong. When the bar closed at 11pm it was bizarre to step out into a broad daylight world. Full of drunk people wondering where the after-party was. Like typical college style people milled around the dorms and ended up at the Kiwi’s pad. Shocking. They’re notorious for being rowdy. Since some people work opposite shifts there were constant shushes going around. The Kiwi’s didn’t seem to care. Apparently that happens every weekend. But the season was coming to a close with winter approaching, so perhaps there were more leniencies?

Jacob Kendrick and Jack DiTullio bein all Derelict and the Junction (i.e. Derelict Junction is McMurdo’s bus stop)

 

Not even 50 years after the early explorers first landed in McMurdo the station remained a happenin spot for science and research. I had to use the Crary Lab Facilities to make up solutions with their lab equipment since it would be difficult to measure out these powders on board the rocking ship.

 

We had science meetings every day at 8am. I am here on the TRACERS project representing my boss (and one of the co-PIs Monica Orellana from the Institute for Systems Biology). I am a research technician with a bachelor’s degree in Biology and I felt very fortunate to be a part of these scientific meetings. I pushed aside feelings of being an imposter and internally gathered as much information as possible. Everything here is new to me. The science, the people, the scenery, the community, the environment, the wind, the cold, the sun, the sky, etc.! My senses are on overload and I’m loving it.  However, McMurdo Station was only a temporary stop-over until our ship, the Nathaniel B. Palmer, arrived. I only spent 5 days here and I think that is all I need. I can’t imagine actually living here for an entire season and especially not during dark eternal winter.