No discussion of life in Antarctica would be complete without including a discussion of the intricacies of…um…well, peeing in Antarctica. People have asked how it’s done at thirty below. If you’re offended, stop reading now. Otherwise, here goes.
At McMurdo Station itself, there’s absolutely no problem. As you might imagine, the buildings are equipped with modern toilet facilities like you’d find anywhere in the US.
Out in the field or when hiking in the area around McMurdo, however, it’s another story. The Antarctic Science, Tourism, and Conservation Act of 1996 places tight restrictions on the introduction and disposal of materials brought into Antarctica, including human waste.
Happy Camp, discussed earlier in this blog, was where I first came to grips with the intricacies of relieving oneself in an area where there’s nothing to hide behind and the wind chill is on the order of 50 below.
The options are as follows:
(1) Pee in a designated spot. These spots are marked yellow “Pee Flags.” If you’re lucky, there may be an outhouse, which is basically a crude shelter that sits over a hole in the snow (sometimes a bucket that’s occasionally transported out and disposed of). The toilet seat, about 4 inches high, is made of Styrofoam, something one can’t stick to, even at cold temperatures.
(2) Use what’s called a “Pee Bottle” and carry it away with you (or empty it at the next Pee Flag you come across). Campers especially prize these bottles, as they save a trip outside in the middle of the night. Pee Bottles are wide-mouthed Nalgene bottles marked prominently with the letter P (so as not to get mixed up with one’s water bottle). Pee bottles are all right for men, but pose some difficulties for women! To deal with this, women are issued with “Pee Funnels;” these also make peeing in the open a little easier. I’ll leave further description to the readers’ imagination.
PHOTOS AT TOP: Outhouse and Pee Flag at Happy Camp. Pee Bottles (photo credit to Stream Team).
