Why would anyone go to Antarctica? It's the coldest, windiest, driest, and most remote continent on Earth. Winds coming from the South Pole can howl across the ice at 200 miles an hour. The temperature can drop to 100 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-73 degrees C). An ice sheet, three miles thick in places, covers 98 percent of the continent, giving it the nickname the Ice. There are only two ways to get there: by plane, which if it flies into a blizzard, might not be able to land; or by ship across the roughest seas on Earth.
If you're the kind of person who says, "Yeah! Sign me up!" when you read those kinds of facts, then Antarctica is the continent for you.
The Adventure: Point of No Return
After the Load Master, a man in army fatigues who was in charge of the cargo, including me, announced that we had passed the point of no return, he invited me to sit up front with the pilot. The view from the cockpit was spectacular. As we drew further and further south, the lily pads of ice that floated on the sea began to connect. Soon we were flying over solid sea ice. I scanned the horizon for any signs of clouds, the possibility of an impending storm. I had heard stories of planes careening onto the ice runway, pilots blinded by the snow-choked air.
After awhile, I saw...could it be...it was! Mountains! The continent loomed ahead, the snow so pure it glowed purple. I searched the horizon for Mount Erebus, the live volcano that ruled Ross Island, where the American community lived.
The pilot told me to fasten my seatbelt. We were approaching our destination. One of his assistants gave me a headset, which I popped over my ears. With these, I could hear the pilot’s conversation with his crew. Mainly they chatted about everyday things, like what they had for lunch or when they were scheduled to work again.
After a while, though, the pilot leaned forward and searched ahead with his eyes. “That’s the continent, all right,” he said, “but where’s Mount Erebus?"
“Beats me,” said the guy sitting next to him.
“It should be right here....” The pilot looked worried.
Meanwhile, I noticed we were losing altitude. Was it possible that we were lost? We were supposed to land on the ice runway near McMurdo Station. What if we didn’t find it? What if we landed somewhere else, somewhere remote, in Antarctica?
The pilot and his crew were chuckling now. This was all a joke for my benefit. They knew exactly where they were. Mount Erebus was straight ahead. It looked as if we were going to land on its flanks. The ice grew closer and closer. And then, we touched down.
The Adventure: Shipboard Fire Drill
While traveling to Antarctica on the Laurence E. Gould, I felt a bit woozy from the motion of the ocean, but I was doing better than my cabin mate who lay in her bunk moaning all day and night. Still, I moved slowly, nibbled soda crackers, and drank lots of water to keep the nausea at bay.
On the morning we entered Drake Passage, I stepped out of the shower and heard someone pounding on the door to my cabin. I cracked open the door and a woman asked if I hadn’t heard the fire bell. No, I hadn’t! She told me to report immediately to the ship’s lounge.
When I got there, I saw that everyone else on board was already dressed in their full-immersion suits! Apparently, I was the only missing person and they’d been looking for me all over the ship.
I clamored into my full-immersion suit, a giant orange jumpsuit that would keep my body both warm and afloat should I end up in the sea. Then everyone climbed into the life boats. I sure was glad this was only a drill. After that, I took fast showers and left the bathroom door ajar so I could hear the fire bell.
How to Build a Snow Shelter
Hopefully, you’ll have a berth on a ship, a room in a dorm, or a heavy-duty tent to house you in Antarctica. But in the case of an emergency, knowing how to make a quick shelter is an essential survival skill.
The beauty of snow caves is that they are very warm. No matter how cold the air gets, snow is always 32 degrees above zero, and so a snow cave is always at least that warm. In a good, tightly-constructed snow cave, a person’s body heat can warm it up much more.
There are many kinds of snow shelters. Some are more elaborate than others. Below are instructions for building two very easy kinds. For the first one, you will need only a shovel. For the second one, you will need a shovel and a snow saw.
The Mound
Step 1: Throw all your gear, including duffels, sleep kits, buckets – whatever you have – in a big pile. Be sure to keep your shovel out!
Step 2: Shovel lots of snow onto your pile of gear.
Step 3: When your gear is completely buried, climb up on the mound and stamp the snow solid. Then, pile more snow on and stamp it again.
Step 4: Dig a tunnel into your gear. Beginning a few feet away from the mound, dig down and forward, so that the tunnel will come out under your mound of gear.
Step 5: Pull your gear, piece by piece, out of the tunnel.
Step 6: Scoot in the tunnel yourself. There is your snow shelter!
These kinds of shelters are very quick to construct and hold up quite well. However, they don’t work if you are one person traveling alone without much gear. In that case, the fastest snow shelter to build is a covered trench.
The Trench
Step 1: Dig a trench in the snow a few feet longer than your height and at least two feet deep.
Step 2: Use an ice saw to cut blocks of snow. The number of blocks you need depends on the size of your trench.
Step 3: Place the blocks of snow across the top of your trench. If possible, create a “cathedral ceiling” by tipping two blocks against each other.
Step 4: Pack snow in all the cracks between the blocks of snow.
Step 5: Place a final block of snow next to the entrance to your trench. Climb in and pull the “door” snow block as tightly against the entrance as you can. Don’t worry if you haven’t completely filled in every crack – you need some air vents to breathe!
