McMurdo, Saturday Night

Since it is the end of the summer and many people are leaving McMurdo, Saturday night became a big party night. We went to one at the Berg Field Center, the place where they store and issue things like tents, sleeping bags, crampons, etc. I wore a giant fuschia robe over green women’s pajamas. Right after I walked in someone immediately stuffed two tube socks in my shirt for boobs. People are definitely getting loose here. I was told this is what McMurdo is all about.

I found the parts to make the costume in a skua pile. What’s a skua? The skua is a sea bird that lives on the shores of Antarctica, although some have seen them in Alaska, other parts of the Arctic, and San Francisco. They are famous for dive-bombing people, stealing food, and standing their ground. Someone told me they believe skuas are probably one of those species that will survive along with about five others that can thrive alongside human civilization. You know, like rats, roaches, pigeons, etc. They can hold their own on a human planet. The noun ’skua’ has acquired a new meaning around here, as a category in the waste stream: Light metal, plastic, paper, food waste, burnable, skua. So anything in the skua bin is up for grabs and free to take, just like a skua would if given a chance at something. The bins for seperating trash in this way are in the dorms, but there is also a small building dedicated only to skua items called “Skua Central.”

Yesterday I spent the day walking around the base taking pictures of the surrounding hills, rocky volcanic soil, and the buildings, machinery, and endless lots carved out of the hillside and layed out with hundreds of pallets and crates. A large shipment of containers was delivered to McMurdo a few weeks ago that contained things for the winter and for next season. One of the main projects of the winter-over staff in the coming months will be to unpack and organize these things. Later tonight I’m going for a hike around Hut Point, where Robert Scott’s first hut still stands, and then prepare to leave for Snow Craft 1 Training, a.k.a. “Happy Camper School,” where we will spend the night in a snow cave of our own making.