Frequently Asked Questions

Where exactly are you going?

I've spent all my time living and working at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. McMurdo is located next to the Ross Sea on Ross Island. McMurdo is one of three stations on the continent operated by the US Antarctic Program, the others are The South Pole, and Palmer Station. McMurdo is the largest station on the continent by far.

What's it like there?

I guess that's partly up to the individual.  One person might find it to be the worst place they've ever been, and others might find it to be like home.  It also depends heavily on the season.  The summer has upward of 1000 people on station, so everyone has roommates, it's louder, and there are more things going on.  In the winter there are closer to 150 people, so things are much quieter, laid back, and everyone gets their own room.  I like the quieter life so winter is where it's at for me.  If you'd like a better explanation of what it's like to live and work here in motion picture then you can check out the documentary "Antarctica: A Year one Ice". It's won a lot of best documentary awards and I think it shows a better representation of life here than the other docs I've seen about the place.

How do you get there?

For me it's usually a short flight from Phoenix to LAX. Then LAX to Christchurch New Zealand via either Auckland NZ or via Sydney or Brisbane in Australia. Christchurch(CHCH or somethings "cheech") is like a portal for everything and everyone going through McMurdo. You stay in CHCH usually for a day and a half or so.  They issue you all your cold weather gear in CHCH and that is where you depart from on your last leg the rest of the way down to the ice. That last leg is sometimes on Boeing or Airbus commercial type aircraft flown by the New Zealand Airforce or on C-17 & C-130 cargo planes flown by the US Air Force.  Total airplane time for me, not including any layovers is between 23 & 26 hours depending on the aircraft you get. Of course with layovers and time spent in CHCH, it's closer to about 3+ days. Unless you get a weather delay on that last leg, then you get free days to roam around CHCH.

 

Why does this place exist?

It's all about science. The entire reason for all of us to be there is to carry out various science projects, or to support those who are doing so.  I don't know the exact numbers but the actual scientists only make up 5ish percent of the folks down here in the summer and maybe 1% in the winter. The rest of us fix, install, and maintain everything on station. Once you get a bunch of scientists together, they'll want to go somewhere to investigate something. So they need vehicles for that. Once you have vehicles then you need mechanics to fix them, and people to handle all the fuel. Then you need inventory people who can keep track of parts and tools. The inventory folks need computer systems to track everything, so then you need IT to maintain the computer systems, then you need chefs and galley personnel to feed everyone, etc, etc. It can very quickly snowball into a large operation.

Who is in charge, who do you work for?

The National Science Foundation is in charge. The NSF runs the show and they contract out all the jobs to private companies. When I first came down I was employed by Raytheon. Then the contract switched over to Lockheed Martin. Lockheed subcontracts out almost everything. So then I was working for a smaller computer company.  Now the main contractor is Leidos but all the smaller subcontractors are the same. If you're looking for a job you can find a list of all the subcontractors here. www.usap.gov

Can you receive mail/packages?

You surely can and packages are very much appreciated. Even if it's just a jokie type package it's always nice to get stuff from home. Just don't send anything perishable, if your package doesn't make it on the plane it could sit for months waiting for the next plane. If you want to send stuff you can send it here...

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