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Hello everyone,
Great forum. I am currently being considered as a replacement to go to Pole for the austral summer. I had an interview today and it seemed to go really well. Hopefully I will know within a few days whether or not I made it on! Anyhow, I was hoping to glean some insight from some of the experienced ice-folk regarding the living circumstances there at Pole as it seems the majority of the material on the site pertains to McMurdo.
So are you really only allowed two two-minute showers per week? 😯
Also, what’s it like living in the summer camp; is it cold and cramped in those little rooms? Are the bathrooms and showers like something you would find at a campsite?
Is recreation and beer and such expensive?
Thanks a lot!
Welcome blacksunrevival!
There’s a few other ‘polies’ on the board but they may be in transit, so I’ll go ahead and give you my .02 cents.
@blacksunrevival wrote:
So are you really only allowed two two-minute showers per week?
Yup, but nobody is keeping track. It’s really not bad. As a plumber, if you happened to get covered in ka-ka while working on a sewer pipe, my bet is that you’d have to ‘test a shower’ even if it wasn’t one of your normal shower days — and everybody would thank you.
😉Also, what’s it like living in the summer camp; is it cold and cramped in those little rooms? Are the bathrooms and showers like something you would find at a campsite? Is recreation and beer and such expensive?
Summer camp is a mixed bag. The rooms are often bigger than the rooms in the elevated station, but privacy is not as great. In my experience, the temperatures tend to be stratified: -20F on the floor, 90F on the ceiling. Perhaps things have changed since the last time I lived in Summer Camp? Everybody gets a single room. Surf around on the internet and I’m sure you’ll find pictures of the camp and rooms.
The bathrooms are normal, shared bathrooms, nothing primitive (although it’s tempting to say so!). They may not be as conveniently located as you’d like. Many people find a jug to use as a pee bottle so you don’t have to go on a walk at ‘night’; I did that even when I was living in the elevated station. Beer and such is remarkably cheap and abundant, considering where it is. Availability of your favorite brand is sometimes an issue. No worries, you’ll find something you like.
If offered a position, my advice is to grab it. Even if you hate the place you still get a free trip to New Zealand out of it. Most people think the pole is pretty groovy.
@blacksunrevival wrote:
Hello everyone,
So are you really only allowed two two-minute showers per week? 😯Yes, but don’t panic – it’s not that bad. It is two minutes of running water, not two minutes from entering to getting out. No one has monitored shower times this winter, but that has not always been the case. Some station managers have been known to stand outside showers with a stopwatch. I kid you not. The next station manager has a reputation for being very strict, so who knows what will happen for your tenure. But it is unlikely *she* will be standing outside your shower. But just because no one monitors you, it really is a good idea to be a good community member and conserve water. As sciencetech said, if in the course of your duties as a plumber you get dirty you can take extra showers. In case of contamination you will be required to shower by Safety and Medical, without regard to water consumption.
Also, what’s it like living in the summer camp; is it cold and cramped in those little rooms? Are the bathrooms and showers like something you would find at a campsite?
Stratified temperature. Cold enough to keep beer cold on the floor, but warm a few feet up, hot at the ceiling. I’ve only stayed in the Main Station, but I have often thought a small fan would help even out the air temperatures in summer camp rooms and make them much more comfortable. Get a pee can. Consider bringing a humidifier – the air is very dry here. As a plumber you may get a room in the main station in case of emergency.
Is recreation and beer and such expensive?
No, beer is $5 per six-pack. Wine is either $15 or $20/bottle All other entertainment is totally free (video games, DVDs, parties, clubs, etc). Souvenirs and clothing in the store are quite expensive – Sweatshirts $40, t-shirts $15. Snacks and soft drinks are inexpensive but almost all are way past their expiration date, but Pringles five years expired are surprisingly good. The galley serves enough free junk food to keep your sweet tooth happy.
Thanks Sciencetech and MATKATAMIBA, I really appreciate the replies… It’s nice to be able to get an idea of what I’m getting myself into. So how’d you guys know I was a plumber anyhow? 😉
Hello rsmeech, another plumber here possibly heading to the ice around late October.
So you told us you’re a plumber…a very important position at Pole. Go for it. Summer camp isn’t that bad, there is wifi and some decent rooms and it really is pretty quiet for sleeping, since all of your neighbors are similarly sensitive to noise and work different shifts. It is cold and dry and you really don’t get that smelly between 2 2 minute showers/week, and of course exceptions are made for plumbers who have to deal with s…ty situations. Keep your eyes open, if you’ve got some experience with HVAC and boilers and such you may end up as a UT (utilities tech) and you may get asked to winter. As a 3x winterover who has worked with some great UTs and plumbers I would strongly recommend you at least consider what you might get offered. Pole is a very special place.
Skua77 is right – plumber is a very important position at Pole. A plumber here this winter practically saved the station when we had a pressurized fuel leak. You will not just deal with water plumbing, but everything that uses pipes. That’s fuel, coolant, glycol, aircraft fueling systems, etc. You will also do some general maintenance duties. You are probably better off as a plumber than a UT, since “plumber” is a trade. I can see UT’s trying to become plumbers, but I can’t see plumbers trying to become UT’s.
@skua77 wrote:
Hello rsmeech, another plumber here possibly heading to the ice around late October.
So you told us you’re a plumber…a very important position at Pole. Go for it. Summer camp isn’t that bad, there is wifi and some decent rooms and it really is pretty quiet for sleeping, since all of your neighbors are similarly sensitive to noise and work different shifts. It is cold and dry and you really don’t get that smelly between 2 2 minute showers/week, and of course exceptions are made for plumbers who have to deal with s…ty situations. Keep your eyes open, if you’ve got some experience with HVAC and boilers and such you may end up as a UT (utilities tech) and you may get asked to winter. As a 3x winterover who has worked with some great UTs and plumbers I would strongly recommend you at least consider what you might get offered. Pole is a very special place.
Yea, I’m definitely gonna try to get out there! I mean really, how often does an opportunity such as this come up? I was made an offer as an alternate today, for which I will be sending a response tomorrow morning. The contractor that I interviewed with yesterday said that he is doing it this way because there are a couple different guys they are considering and it will basically come down to who has there shit together first. So we’ll see what happens…
Thanks again for the replies!
Congrats on the offer…that means the PQ process is about to begin. Get it done as fast as possible, if you qualify before your competitors, get your stuff together as it were, you will have an advantage! In my experience plumbers and UTs can be hard to find. Good luck, and keep us posted…
Hey guys… I just had an interview last night for a Materialsperson position at Pole, just waiting now to see if an offer follows through. I’m kind of a bit nervous though… I never thought I’d have a chance of going to Pole, because they hire so many fewer people than McM, so I really know very little about it except for what the interviewer told me on the phone.
Any advice or whatever? Things you regret not bringing? Things I should know about life at the Pole? All of the info in this thread already has been crazy helpful, so thank you!
(I have to say, the shower limit is my big sticking point. It’s not enough to get me to turn a potential offer down, by I’m so used to showering every day that the thought of skipping 3-4 days freaks me out a bit!)
Michelle
Things you regret not bringing?
I haven’t been to pole, but I would imagine it’s a bit like mcmurdo. These are MCM regrets.
We have a halloween party to die for. A good halloween costume will make your first season. It’s fun.
XMAS, Thanksgiving, wine tastings and select other events give an opportunity to really dress up nice. If you like that kind of thing, mail down some special clothing. (Mail can be delayed, you get 150 pounds of luggage including cold weather gear if you want to hand carry) I hate to travel with tons of luggage.
Music- If you play, you may or may not find your instrument on the ice. Bring yours with you. Antarctica attracts musicians and if you like to play you will find plenty of people to play with.
If there is anything else you do that is special to you bring it down. You won’t find it here most likely. That said, you will work ten hours a day, six days a week, your time off will be tugged at by events all over the station. It’s really hard to find alone uninterrupted time to do the things you like. My first year, I sent down tons of projects to do to pass my spare time. I never was able to even open the boxes. Years later, I finally got rid of all of it. Antarctica sucks your time.
Clothing- You can get by on the issue clothing if you want to look like everyone else. Many send down alternate cold weather gear, just to look different from everyone else. These days I don’t like to carry too much stuff, I’m happy to wear Big Red like everyone else and be part of the group that all look alike.
Summer is only three months – if you forget something just do without for a while – it probably won’t kill you. There is always mail and mail-order if you really have to have it and forgot to bring it.
Things to bring? Bring your own pillow. Consider bringing a humidifier, the air is very dry here. The filterless kind is best for Pole. Bring some sneaker deodorizer. The boots they issue at the CDC often stink. I had to keep mine in the hallway for a month until I found some Desenex in skua.
Things not to bring? Do not bring Christmas decorations. You may think you are being creative and no one else will think to bring any, but such is not the case. Skua is full of the stuff.
Thanks so much for all of the advice! Especially the pillow and sneaker deodorizer stuff, I wouldn’t have thought of that.
blacksunrevival , here’s a photo of what the plumbers had to deal with last summer:
The sewage outflow pipe from the summer camp bathrooms froze, and sewage spilled out through some overflow release until it formed this ice cavern of liquid feces. One brave soul worked inside there for a day to clear up the problem, he was rewarded with as many showers as the rest of us could make him take.
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