Seems obvious to me now but I remember when it wasn’t so obvious: at the Pole we have one sunrise and one sunset every year, on the Equinoxes. Makes sense when you think about it eh? So we’re about a week out from sunset now, the sun is about 4 degrees above the horizon and it’s freaky beautiful here. The wind builds the snow up in long waves called sastrugi and then carves them into fantastic fluid shapes. The low sun brings the shapes out with long shadows. Some days it’s clear and sharp, and some days the wind kicks up a snow haze and everything is soft and surreal on the ground with blue sky overhead. We’ve only had a couple totally overcast days. We’ve put up flag lines out to all the buildings that people need to get to over the winter, so they can find their way even when it’s dark and windy. I won’t need to much unless I’m helping the Comms techs with satellite troubles.
Speaking of satellite troubles, our big new 9-meter dish stopped tracking a couple of weeks ago. Seems a major gear has been quietly turning itself into metal shavings: it was supposed to have a 20-year lifespan… oops. We’re using our backup 3-meter dish and our “old trusty” fixed antenna, and hoping to prop the big dish up to catch at least part of the better satellite pass; this has to happen before sunset or else we won’t be able to do the work safely. Gosh I guess I haven’t talked about Comms much so here’s the run-through: we use VHF locally, HF to other stations on-continent, and a patchwork of different satellites for off-continent Internet and phone connection. The satellites vary in age, visibility, and bandwidth, but we usually get about 11 hours of good-bandwidth time each day. All of our satellites are aging, obsolete, and in decaying orbits: they have to be slipping out of geosynchronous orbit to be far enough south to be visible to us. Our best satellite, MARISAT, is an old maritime satellite; our second-best, TDRSS, has gone spinning out of control a couple of times in the past and been brought back into service by skillful motor control commands. Our third-best, GOES-3, is actually a weather satellite, which we use for comms because we can. Our fourth satellite, LES9, only has 38k bandwidth max, but give it credit: it moves a lot of our email. We do get to use the Iridium system, but with a limited number of minutes per month.
Other updates: we’re completely winterized now, all the buildings we won’t use are cold and all the computer/IT equipment from those buildings is in warm storage. We’re starting to settle into the winter routine. There are plenty of social activities: a few different “theme” movie nights every week, a Spanish class, my computer classes of course… maybe a dance class soon, we’ll see. I’m still working out, I haven’t turned into a gym babe by preference but if I don’t do it I get unhappy. Not enough outside activities here! I’ve been out skiing on a couple of nice Sundays, but that won’t last. We’ve got a winter band going, we’re doing a bunch of easy songs for the Sunset party/barbecue but then we’ll start doing some more interesting music. I’m singing and playing 3-chord backup rhythm guitar. Fun.
A few folks have expressed concern for me, that’s very sweet but not called for at all. I’m happy, comfortable, employed, and safe; it’s you all out there with crime, pollution, drunk drivers, and all the evils of the consumerist culture that I worry about. Those of you who have read, say, Dr. Neilsen’s book about her winter here may have an image of a bunch of social oddities having conversations about confronting our fear of death and what we’re fleeing in the “real” world… actually we’re a bunch of social oddities having conversations about favorite movies, building houses, travelling, physics, grandparents, astronomy, carpentry, books, welding, dry skin, planning the next party, etc. Oh yeah, the next party: since the store has been moved up to the New Station, a group of volunteers has turned the old store space into a wine and coffee bar. Grand opening tonight! Guess I might dress up.
Best to all of you,
-Sarah
ps - if you’re interested in South Pole history, check
out www.southpolestation.com
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