Our first sunset in three and a half months marked the end of our Day at the Pole.

Sitting on the plane for our long trip back to New Zealand gave us time to think a little bit about our Antarctic adventure, what we liked about it, what we learned from it, and whether we would recommend it to anyone else.  Here is what we came up with…

1. -20° F is not as cold as you might think- especially with a big warm puffy coat on.
2. We quite liked the 24 hrs of daylight- there is just something about the sun being up that really cheers things up.
3. Constant and reliable internet and phone service is something we take way too much for granted in the real world.
4. Though a 2-minute shower is technically possible, it takes all the enjoyment out of it.
5. There is only so much cafeteria food you can eat- no matter how gourmet- sometimes you just feel like a bowl of ramen noodles.
6. Whiskey is delicious and will keep you warm.  We gained a new found appreciation for this spirit of spirits, the official drink of choice at the South Pole.
7. Cribbage is not just for old ladies.  If you don’t know how to play, you won’t last two days at the Pole.
8. Science is really cool- and the science going on down there is even more so since we got to tour the labs and learn the results of the experiments directly from the scientists who are running the show.  The world would be a better place if we devoted more funding to scientific research.
9. Antarctica is about as close to the moon you can get, without actually going there.  It is cold, desolate, remote and fraught with peril, just like the moon.  For comparison of difficulty, man only reached the South Pole a mere 58 years before stepping foot on the moon.  Astronauts even come here to train for space missions- that should say enough right there.  The fact that we, two ordinary people, got to go and experience it, is in our opinion, simply amazing.
10. People that try to ski to the Pole are crazy.  It’s a prerequisite.
11. People that try to ski to the Pole are also incredibly courageous.  The amount of spirit, dedication and perseverance required to accomplish such a task is admirable, to say the least.
12. Dishwashing is not fun.  Even at the South Pole, not fun.  If it is the only way you can get there- then by all means, take the opportunity- but if you have even the slightest chance of getting a job doing something else, pursue that to the bitter end.
13. Being a janitor is not fun either- better than dishwashing true, but still not very much fun.  I have a newly formed and deep seated appreciation and respect for those people in the real world that by choice or circumstance take on the task of cleaning up after the rest of us.  It is a thankless and anonymous job- and I for one will be going out of my way in the future to be as friendly to janitors as possible.
14. People that make the effort to travel or work in very unique and remote places, such as Antarctica, and particularly the South Pole, are generally a pretty good bunch.
15. Living some remote place like the South Pole tends to break people out of their social shell- we saw normally reserved old men get down on the dance floor, and shy scientists belt out song after song up on stage- toga parties, jorts parties, mustache parties- it wasn’t just the young “kids” throwing these, everyone on station took part- age and status fly right out the window when you are all alone and so far from the real world.  If only this mentality of “dance like no one is watching” was more common in the real world- again, we think it would be a better place.
16. Along those same lines, it was eye opening to realize the spread in age of people at the Pole- from 19 to the mid-60s-  there were definitely a lot more “old” people there than we thought there would be.  It just goes to show that you are never too old to go out and experience the world.  Antarctica might not be everyone’s cup o’ tea, but there are a million other places besides, so don’t let age be the one thing that stops you.
17. And last but not least, we realized that we still love seeing the world.  Its not always fun, its not always easy, and not everyone always agrees with our choices, but in the end it is always worth it.  We get so much more out of it than mere photos and stories.  It makes us who we are and shapes what we believe in.  Our time in Antarctica was no different, and only reconfirmed the validity of these beliefs- one more foundation stone behind the decision to live our lives the way we do.

In conclusion… We learned a lot: about living in high latitudes in remote environs, about our antipathy for performing menial tasks, about the depth of personal bonds that can form in spite of, or rather strengthened by, personal differences of age and status, and ultimately about our inherent compulsion to see what the world has to offer.

Considering all of this, our recommendation to you is:  Go.  If you can, go.  If you have even the slightest little inkling to see the snow covered vastness that is Antarctica, go.  If you’ve ever dreamed of being a modern day explorer, go.   If you’ve ever wondered what negative 40 feels like, or how your body would react to 24 hrs of daylight, or what a sundog really looks like, don’t take my word for any of these things, you should see it for yourself, go.  Or if your day job is just a bit boring right now and you need a change of pace, go.  Its one short season, a few months of your time, but you’ll remember it for the rest of your life.  Go.  You won’t regret it.

And with that, I will lay down my pen, and close one more chapter in our Life of Saturdays.

There are many more to come though, so if you enjoyed our Day at the Pole, stay tuned and keep following us at lifeofsaturdays.com

Dave and Kacey- signing off.

Our last visit out to the South Pole

You wouldn’t think it, but dishwasher’s apparently rank pretty high on the list of “critical” staff- because along with firefighters, the doctor, the station manager, and a few others, we were the last to leave.  We were actually pretty excited about this, for a number of reasons, but not least of which was that we were allowed to move into the station from our jamesway.  There were a bunch of empty rooms from all the people who had already left, and to save fuel they would be turning off the heaters in the jamesways, so we were more than happy to pack up our belongings and head to that Hilton on the Ice, which we envisioned the station accommodations to be.  Imagine it: comfortably warm rooms, furniture that was not handmade from scrap wood or manufactured for use in the Korean War, not having to walk outside to go to the bathroom or take a shower, no more pee-bottles! a door with a door knob, reliable internet, a telephone, a window! and you could even walk to the galley and eat your breakfast in your pajamas if you wanted- or have your wife go get it and bring it back for breakfast-in-bed (which she did)- even better!!

The powers-that-be determine the day for the last flight for the season based on a whole slew of factors- the main one being the air temperature.  The planes can only safely land and reliably take off if the temperature is above about -50°F.  So, as the sun sits lower and lower in the sky and the temperature steadily declines as the days march on towards winter, the meteorologists at the station have to predict which will be the last day above -50°F.  Weather forecasting being what it is, this is an inherently shifty prediction, doubly so at the Pole where the orneriness of the weather can drop the temp by a half dozen degrees in just a few minutes.  Considering this, they gradually fine tune their prediction as the first week or two of February slips by, and typically, around the middle of the month, they pick a definite “last day”, in our case, February 15th.  But, starting about a week before the “last day” we are all told to be on constant alert, ready to drop everything and be on the plane within a two hour notice, should the thermometer start to unexpectedly head south.

Hanging from the bottom of the world!

Because of this constant threat of immediate departure, we made sure to check off the few remaining “to do’s” on our list a few days before the last day.  This included a final trip out to the Pole, where we collected a Nalgene bottle of snow to bring home- we still have it, sitting on the shelf, crystal clear, patiently waiting for the day it will be drunk, when all the other water in the world is too polluted to be palatable- and we performed a long overdue “hanging from the bottom of the world” photo.  After that we were good, our bags were packed, and the last dish I ever hope to wash was emphatically placed on the stack of clean plates in the galley.

As it turned out, the weather behaved itself, and we didn’t have to leave early.  When we woke up on February 15, we knew it would be our last time doing so at the South Pole.  The plane was coming mid-morning, and having nothing left to do, we relaxed in the galley chatting with some of the soon-to-be winterover-ers, and then went to do a final check of our email in the computer lab.  And that’s when the opportunity to do one of the most amazing experiences we’ve ever had, dropped right in our laps.  Ed the fuelie- who was in charge of the South Pole “flight deck”- barged into the lab, looked right at us, and said “I need your help to land the plane!”

10-40 Big Papa, lets go land the plane!

Kacey and I ran to our room, grabbed our coats and gloves, and then followed Ed out to the skiway.  Ed’s normal crew had already flown out, so he needed another person to stand on the runway and help guide the plane to the correct location for fueling and cargo loading.  Kacey and I rock-paper-scissored for the job, and of course I won- rock always wins. Ed gave me a quick rundown on what to do, handed me a big set of headphones and a radio so we could communicate, and then showed us out to the spot on the runway where I was to stand.

and... STOP! Crossing my hands above my head told the pilot to stop.

After a few minutes we saw the plane coming in low on the horizon.  It touched down at the far end of the skiway setting off a huge plume of snow.  As it taxied off the main runway Ed gave me the go ahead to start my duties.  It wasn’t very complicated- basically I just slowly waved my arms up and down, which let the pilot know to keep driving towards me, and then at the end, when Ed gave the signal, I was supposed to wave my hands down in front of me one last time, and then back up over my head making a cross which would tell the plane to stop.  Ed was doing the same movements but was standing on the side of the runway.  At first I thought he had given me the cooler place to stand because he was a nice guy, but as the plane got closer and closer I couldn’t help but think about the catastrophic possibility that the plane wouldn’t stop.  I would be run over and squashed flat, and the pilot probably wouldn’t even feel a bump in the cockpit.  What a way to go, playing chicken with an 80 ton plane.  Now I knew why Ed had graciously volunteered the “cooler” spot to stand in the middle of the runway- he didn’t want to die!  But, just as I was about to make a brake for it and abandon my post, Ed gave the queue. I dutifully crossed my hands above my head and… BAM!  The plane stopped on a dime!  I can’t tell you how exhilarating it was to bestow so much power over such a monstrous machine- you may as well call me the “puppet master”- with a mere flick of my wrists I can make a Hercules airplane dance across the runway, or have it stop in its tracks on my slightest whim.

Kacey hugging Katie goodbye

Well, the glory was short lived.  As soon as the plane came to a halt, we had to sprint to the station, collect our bags from our room, and make a b-line back to the flight deck.  The pilot wasn’t waiting for anybody- as soon as the cargo was loaded he would close the door and be headed back down the skiway, not to return for nine more months.  This was one flight we definitely could not afford to miss.  To our happy surprise, the whole station was gathered at the runway- all the winterovers saying a final goodbye to everyone headed out on the last flight.  It was a grand and happy send-off, one we will never forget.

Together, Kacey and I took 10145 photos over a period of three and a half months of living and working in Antarctica.  After countless hours of editing, those 10 thousand were whittled down to the approximately twelve hundred that we have provided on our website as part of the numerous stories and blogs we have posted about life at the South Pole.  Inevitable, we ended up with quite a few fun photos that didn’t really fit well into a dedicated blog post, but, we still want to share them with you.

This girl rode her bike all the way to the South Pole- no joke!

A lot of these are random pictures of our friends, some are just of us, and others are of peculiar shots that caught our eye, like the actual medal given to one of Scotts surviving crew members of his ill-fated expedition, or the time that a girl arrived at the pole by bicycle as crazy as that sounds, and closing out the group of photos, the most amazing sun-dog we had seen all season.