Oh, the Questions

There have been a lot of questions asked. Some are very comical and worth sharing:

1. Will there be visitation? Not unless you work there or can spend on an adventure expedition.

2. Asked when my 16 year old mentioned the trip to a classmate: OMG! When are you moving?

3. What about the Polar bears? There are none in Antarctica.

4 .Will you be eating penguins? No, and they get nowhere near the South Pole.

5. Is there law enforcement there? We are it.

6. What are the natives like? We are the natives.

7. Will you be coming home on weekends? Only through the internet.

8. What will the nightlife be like outside the station? Cold and dark.

9. Why would anyone want to go to the South Pole? If you have to ask that…

10.Will you fall off the bottom of the earth if you are standing upside down? Not according to Newton.   

11.What vegetation will you see? Only what is grown in the greenhouse.

12. Will you be living in an igloo? A really big high-tech igloo!

13. What does your family think of this? They are more than supportive. 

Other questions worth mentioning with more information are:

How does one go about finding work in Antarctica? The below link gives a good overview of the requirements and challenges involved:
http://www.coolantarctica.com/Community/find_a_job_in_antarctica.php

What's it like to spend a winter in Antarctica? I'm about to find out! Most that have been there done that say that "it is what you make of it". This link gets into the mindset of folks that choose to winter:
http://spaceref.com/news/viewnews.html?id=1113


Next post? Packing for the trip. What fun!

The Journey

In a few weeks I will be traveling to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Yes, the South Pole. The geographic South Pole to be exact. Not to visit but to work as part of the Antarctic Support Contract team tasked with maintaining the South Pole Station during the austral winter season from mid February to late October 2016. The station exists as a laboratory of sorts where a multitude of scientific experiments are conducted year round. Our job will be to ensure that everything needed for the science to be conducted is in good order.

I have started this blog to keep family and friends informed and will periodically be posting about my journey south, my stay on the station and answering questions that come in.

My journey started several months ago with a lengthy application process that included extensive background and medical screenings, a psychological examination and panel interview. It was all very interesting and exiting, however it's definitely not for everyone. I will begin working my way south at the end of January, traveling an estimated 15,000 miles before I arrive at the South Pole Station. My route will take me across the continental US and the Pacific to Sidney Australia. From there I will be flying to Christchurch New Zealand where I will be issued my ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear and boarding a military transport to McMurdo Station located on Ross Island in Antarctica. After a few days there I will fly the last 850 miles to the South Pole.

Stay tuned..