I wear my sunglasses at night


Panorama from top of Ob Hill around 8:30 PM (note sunglasses)

 Current Conditions:  Con3.  Temp 9ºF (windchill -7ºF).  Clear. 
Population 737 (people left for the South Pole)


The sun set for the last time two nights ago and, from now on, it will be one long day until the end of February.

After 62 years of living with dawn, sunrise, sunset, twilight and night, you would think I would have anticipated being affected by the change. But no, I didn't.  Every day, I find going outside in the evening heartstopping. My office has no windows.  When I pack up to leave work at 6:00, I expect to feel evening—the breeze, the cooling of the air, and even the floral, evening aroma that is so lovely in California.  But as I get to the front door, I see the light streaming through the window in the dental room out of the corner of my eye.  Then, I open the second, airlock door to bright sunlight.  It looks and feels just like it did when I got up at 5:45 AM.  There’s no morning calm, afternoon breeze, nighttime cooling.  Every hour is the same as every other hour.  It is, frankly, eerie.

Right now, McMurdo is competing with the Kiwis at Scott Base in the Everest Challenge.  If you hike Observation (Ob) Hill, the 750 foot hill separating McMurdo from Scott Base, 39 times over the summer season, you’ll have climbed the equivalent of Mt. Everest.  The base with the greatest proportion of people meeting the challenge wins.  Of course, it’s a foregone conclusion that the Kiwis will capture the cup.  All you have to do is look at the many fat Americans chowing down in our galley and compare them with the extremely slim and athletic crew at Scott Base to know this is a setup.

Joe hamming it up with Erebus and Castle Rock in the background

 Nevertheless, at 8:00 PM, after a full day at work, including taking care of a sad case of intimate partner violence, I hiked Ob Hill for the first time with Joe, eventually being joined by Rebecca and Kevin (a former marine, now weather observer) who were doing Ob Hill laps.  Rebecca was on lap two, Kevin on lap three with 13 already under his belt. The trail, to me, was kind of frightening—steep and icy with rocky drop-offs on both sides of “the trail”.  In fact, there is no trail;  you just try to scramble over other people’s footsteps in the snow.  But it’s a short trip up, only half a mile, and I managed to steel myself through the slippery bits, once or twice on hands and knees.  Part of my struggle was being able to see.  I was in front so had no one to follow.  I had put a neck gaiter over my mouth so I wouldn’t freeze off any more teeth, but exhaled air coming up the gaiter made my glasses fog up and then to freeze over.  To make matters even more complicated, the wind kept blowing my hat down over my eyes.  Shoulda brought a guide dog.

Scott Base (green buildings), wind turbines (left)  and Mt. Terror

 When we got to the top around 8:30 PM, the sun was shining just as brightly as when we left the base.  After lingering for pictures,  Kevin shepherded me down the least perilous route.  People fall on the descent, either because of the ice or loose gravel.  For that reason, Ob's nickname is NPQ hill.  NPQ is the abbreviation for someone who, for health reasons (like cracking a skull falling down a mountain), is Not Physically Qualified to stay in Antarctica.  I was thankful I had worn yaktrax (crampon-like things) and brought ski poles, even though I looked like a dweeb.  
R to L, Joe, Kevin and me (note hat falling in front of eyes) heading down with McMurdo in the
background.  The blue cylindrical tank says NSF on top.

When we got to the bottom, the sun was still beaming and people were still heading up the hill.  I imagine there are people going and down 24 hours a day.  Why not?  People work shifts all hours of the day, they can also climb all hours.

After the climb, we traipsed to the Coffee House, a wood-paneled Quonset hut with sledges hanging from the ceiling.  The Coffee House has a wall of games and some computer cables to plug into but, alas, no coffee.  In fact, nothing to eat or drink.  Nevertheless, social people who don’t like loud music, drunk karaoke singers, or having to pry their feet off the beer-sticky floor of the two bars, head there for a more genteel, San Francisco-like experience.   

We brought a box of pinot noir from the base store and schmoozed with friends until about 11:00.   I was regaled with lots of Air Force stories and a life recitation from Rob, an IT guy who grew up in India, Indonesia, Kazakstan, Jamaica, Egypt, Wisconsin, and Uzbekistan (which of these is not like the others?).  When I finally headed home, the sun was just as bright as it was every other hour of the day.  Disconcerting.  Time to climb Ob Hill again or have a cup of tea and go to bed?  Hmmm.
Bedtime.


Comments

Lauren said…
Great pics! I vote to see pics of insides of buildings. Gym, the Coffee House, bars, galley, shop, etc.
October 31, 2019 at 9:46 PM
JP said…
Will do later in the week.
October 31, 2019 at 11:25 PM
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