its cold out today!

Today at the South Pole the weather is -85.2ºF, with 18.1kts winds (about 20 miles per hour), making the wind-chill temp drop to about -134ºF. And although the South Pole sits an altitude of over 9,000ft, whenever the air pressure changes, it causes us to feel as though the altitude is also changing. So at this moment the pressure is making it feel like we are at an altitude of over 11000ft….which means today I feel very very tired and out of breath! When I wake up in the morning I can tell if it is a “high altitude” day because I am already tired, and just walking up a flight of stairs can make me out of breath.

So we have not reached a day where it has been -100ºF yet. And as I understand it with each day that passes we have less and less of a chance for this to happen. It means no "300 club". (this is where you sit in a 200 degree sauna and then run outside to the pole marker naked...or with very little clothing on). Its just a crazy South Pole tradition, that had it reached -100 I would take part in, but I do not think I will be heart broken if this does not happen.

So the moon has set again brining us back into a state of complete darkness…but this will be the last time! The sun will rise on Sep. 21^st but we should begin to see signs of its existence in a few short weeks! I am very much looking forward to the weeks of twilight ahead of us, and for the sun’s return. With the new light I hope to find that my energy returns! For much of the last month I have found that I am exhausted, irritable, and really just don’t have much motivation to do any more then I absolutely have to! This is how just about all 43 of us are feeling. We have now started the month of “Angry August” which is what all we Polies refer to August because we all have very very short fuses and are easily upset and irritable about the stupidest things.

I find that my communication with my co-workers down here no longer even involves complete sentences. We are able to communicate by using a system of grunts and gestures. Its quite barbaric at times. But I suppose this is all part of going “toasty”. When I call friends and family back home I usually take a minute to compose myself and remind me that I have to try and make complete sentences. And it takes me a very long time to write the simplest of e-mails (or blog posts!) I have virtually no short term memory any more, and I find that I often have a hard time remember the simplest of words when I need them like “pencil”. Instead of saying pencil I will have to say something like “that thing you write with”. I find this so strange and fascinating. And I am not the only one struggling with this problem. I think just about every one does.

Right now the 1^st plane (a small basler with about 16 passengers) is scheduled for October 15^th! This is of course, all weather dependent. I am very much looking forward to seeing some new faces, but I am not entirely sure how I will react to this at the same time. I am so used to only seeing the other 42 crazy people here that I am sure a new face will throw me for quite a loop. It is also for this reason that many people suggest you take some “detox” time when you get off the ice before returning home because you will be pretty strange. I do plan to do a little bit of traveling, but I find that with each day that passes I am missing my family more and more and am wanting to get home to them sooner rather then later.

As it is too cold today to be running machinery I have spent most of my day getting caught up on in-station activities. I have some work to do out in the dome (mostly unpacking food) but it is just so cold out that I am holding out for a day with less wind and slightly warmer temps! And as I slept very little last night (which seems to happen all too often down here), I am hoping to get a nap in this afternoon before I fall asleep at my desk!

The picture below, taken By Cully (one of our NOAA guys and also a great photographer) shows the station on July 29th. You can see an aurora in the back behind the dome.