The right way to Journey to the Most Distant Workplace on Earth

The airplane is a Hercules C-130, tremendous spectacular. You arrive on this little bus, and also you see this monstrous airplane, and also you enter via the again. Then you definitely sit subsequent to one another in these longitudinal seats. After which it’s departure for a seven-hour journey with out bathrooms, with a bit snack, numerous sound round you—simply sitting till you see, for the primary time, a little bit of Antarctica.

You see these fantastic ice cabinets from the little home windows you will have there. The very first thing you see whenever you step out is simply ice in every single place. You’re actually new to this surroundings, and typically it feels a bit bit like being on one other planet.

There’s an Italian station there, and we have been supposed to remain for a day. However what we realized very quick is that, in French, we are saying, en Antarctique pas de pronostique, that means, “no forecast in Antarctica,” as a result of the climate is tremendous unpredictable. So, as an alternative of staying one evening, we stayed virtually every week.

This station is only a logistical one; it’s not meant to host folks, and everybody who stays there blocks others from coming in. It’s an actual logistical problem for the folks working there, so they need us to go away as quick as potential. However the climate is so unpredictable which you can’t simply take a airplane and go inland. It’s worthwhile to wait till the climate is nearly steady, and the pilot says, “I’m able to fly,” as a result of he has the ultimate phrase.

I nonetheless had my information downside from earlier than, and I used to be attempting to connect with the web. There, it was just like the web of the ’90s—you understand, beep beep beep. I attempted to log in, and at last, after possibly two or three hours, on one pc, I received to the stage the place it mentioned, “OK, I’m going to log in to your account so you may obtain your stuff. Please give me your telephone quantity. I’m going to ship you an SMS to log in.” That was the double verification, and it wasn’t working as a result of, clearly, there’s no telephone service. So I couldn’t entry my information due to this double verification.

Lastly, we took a airplane. This one is smaller, a Basler BT-67 airplane, which comes from Canada to fly inside Antarctica after which goes again to Canada on the finish of the season. This airplane trip took 4 hours. It’s a non-pressurized airplane. You be certain to place all of your garments on, to be able to exit in Concordia, as a result of it’s about minus 30 Celsius. We have been tremendous afraid.

The very first thing after touchdown in Concordia was this sense of dizziness, vertigo. What I didn’t know once I arrived there may be that you just’re at 3,200 meters above sea stage, so you are feeling the altitude a bit bit. After 4 hours on this small airplane, the place you simply see flatness of white, and nothing else, you come all the way down to Concordia.

From a distance, you see the station. That station appears so small as a result of there’s actually nothing round it—no mountains, nothing. And you’ve got this little boulot dans l’estomac, as we are saying in French, like butterflies, as a result of, you understand, “Wow, that’s going to be my dwelling for one 12 months.” We got here all the way down to Concordia station, and the crew that had simply spent a 12 months and was now leaving the station, was awaiting us and welcomed us very warmly. They received us contained in the station as a result of we have been typically afraid of high-altitude illness. They need to be certain nobody is carrying something heavy, that we’re not doing bodily exercise. They instructed us, “Simply keep calm for the following few days.”

The station is made from two towers, with 18 faces for every tower. It’s principally white, with a bit little bit of orange, and that’s it. You enter via a tunnel between the 2 towers. You are taking off your boots and go away all of your stuff there. It’s fairly small. Then you may go to the left, which is the “calm tower.” Inside, you will have the dormitories, the laboratories, and the hospital. It has three flooring. The center ground is dormitories, and the higher ground is laboratories. It’s referred to as the “calm tower” to maintain it calm. Then we go to the opposite tower, on the correct aspect from the doorway. It has the technical stuff. On the second ground, there’s the video room for motion pictures and the sports activities room. On the highest, you will have the lounge, the consuming space, and the kitchen.

In 5 minutes, you’ve accomplished the tour of your new dwelling. It’s tremendous spectacular since you suppose, “Somebody needed to construct this in the midst of nowhere. Somebody needed to take the primary steps.” And that is simply unimaginable. So many individuals go to Antarctica with nothing. We arrive right here, and we now have the luxurious of getting this constructing to guard us from this surroundings.

It’s so out of this world to be there. We’ve seen numerous photos of Antarctica, and we’ve in all probability learn numerous books, however you’ve by no means been within the middle of Antarctica, which is sort of completely different. There’s no life—no birds, no timber—there’s actually nothing, nothing however ice and wind.