Well, I survived the night and it was really quite cozy and comfortable. Actually, at one point I got so hot, I had to unzip my sleeping bag.
We were up by 6:30 the next morning and had to have eaten breakfast and have camp broken down by 8:30 when the instructors were scheduled to show up. They spent the night in a cozy, heated building. It was far enough away that we couldn't run ask them questions, but close enough that if contacted by radio, they could quickly be there in an emergency.
Here's the kitchen we had at Happy Camper. The wind break is one of the plastic sleds we used to haul gear. You can see it was a bit windy and cold.
The instructors' hut at Happy Camper. You can see the stove pipe and inside they had beds, a table, chairs, and a couch! Talk about comfort! Would you feel guilty letting everyone else sleep outside?
Camp was easy to break down because the morning was sunny with relatively little wind. Not only did we break down camp, but hauled all the equipment back to the storage hut using sleds. The instructors showed up looking refreshed and got us rounded up back to the Jamesway for a de-briefing. Here we discussed how our night was, what we thought we did well, what we could have done differently, and then the instructors gave us feedback. I felt really good about our group because the instructors said we were the best group they'd had in a couple of sessions! After a few hot drinks and some snacks, we headed back outside for radio training.
In the field in Antarctica, there are two types of radios used for communication: VHF and HF. VHF stands for Very High Frequency. These are handheld systems that only operate in line-of-sight. There are some repeaters situated around McMurdo to enable field personnel to communicate with MacOps (the communication center of McMurdo). This radio system is primarily used by those in "Near Field" camps. HF stands for High Frequency. These are large, box-sized radios that require a rather complex antenna system that must be oriented perpendicular to the direction of the call. They are very similar to what HAM radio operaters use. While our team is in the field, we will be using both systems: VHF for communication between team members while working daily, and HF for morning check-in with MacOps every day. We will also have two Iridium satellite phones with us. I will use this to post my journals via email.
Doorway to MAC OPS - the photo above is Sir Edmund Hillary (of Mt. Everest fame) calling the South Pole.
This is Carrie, an operator at Mac Ops. She stays busy monitoring ALL radio communications to/from McMurdo and the various field camps and other stations.
Map of Antarctica showing all radio transmission sites; these include all established field camps, American stations, and foreign stations.
The radio training consisted of learning how to change batteries, basic troubleshooting, communications lingo, and HF set up. We were divided into 2 groups, each group having their own HF radio. We set up the antenna and then my group allowed me to be the one to call the South Pole! It was amazing to be able to use technology that allows for communication from one remote area to another. McMurdo Station is about 800 km away from the South Pole. I asked them what their current temperature was and they said it was -27F.
Once radio training was completed each group had to run through two survival scenarios. The first one was that we were in a delta transport vehicle which broke down far from McMurdo and we could see a storm coming in. We were told we had about twenty minutes to get camp set up. The ten of us jumped to and unpacked the survival bag and began to set up camp. Two people began cutting snow to make a wall to shelter the stove and two people got the stove fired up and began melting snow for water. The remaining six of us unpacked the tent and set about staking it out and digging the deadman anchors. We were pretty efficient and the instructor complimented us on working together well.
The second scenario was that someone had gone outside and while they were out, a white-out set in and you couldn't see more than one foot beyond your face. Our team had to make a plan on how to search for and rescuse that person. To simulate the white-out, we wore buckets over our heads. These buckets had fun faces drawn on them and were very effective in their simulation; once we pulled our parka hoods up and placed the buckets over our heads, you couldn't see out the bottom at all. Unfortunately, our team was not successful in locating the missing person. It was a great exercise, because you really gained an understanding of how disorienting a white-out can be.
"Bucket Heads
"Bucket Heads
After the two scenarios, we once again went in the Jamesway and de-briefed. Then, it was time to pack up and head back to town. I had a great time at Happy Camper and while some of it was challenging, I felt like the tasks were something I could handle while out in the field. Mind you, they would be completely different from our experience because in a survival situation, the weather could be very extreme or someone could be injured. But, I felt it was a very worthwhile course.
Here's the group of us that participated in Happy Camper. We actually all look pretty happy to have survived! I'm on the far left.