HALLOWEEN

Halloween is a big deal at McMurdo, probably because it gives people something to which they can look forward and for which they can spend time preparing. There was a big party Saturday night at the gym. People spent the days before the party searching out a costume. The options are to fashion one out of what you can find on base or to borrow one from the stock that has accumulated over the years. Some people planned ahead and brought a costume with them!

The cold can make it difficult. As you can see from the top picture, sometimes you just have to wear "big red" over your costume to keep from freezing to death. The middle picture shows that some folks may have wished they wore their coats. This centurion was running like mad from the gym to his or her room, probably because the temperature was 15 below zero (F) and there was a fierce wind blowing. The dude in the bottom picture is David, a leader of this ANDRILL project. I think the hair suits him.

Unfortunately, those of us blessed with working the night shift were unable to attend the party. However, we were visited by costumed partygoers and were able to watch the parade of costumes out the lab window.

I'm told that the Halloween party is rivaled by the Skirt Party at New Zealand's Scott Base (just over the hill from us). This is a party where all the men dress as women. Sounds interesting, given all the big hairy men down here!

ANDRILL team

Here's a picture of the ANDRILL on-ice team, consisting of scientists and educators from four countries: USA, New Zealand, Italy, and Germany. Not shown are 7 others, who work full-time at the drillsite, located about 35 km away on the sea ice. See if you can spot me among the red parkas, lovingly referred to as 'Big Red.'

ON ANSWERING THE CALL OF NATURE IN ANTARCTICA

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).