South Pole Journal: 2 June 2023
-79°F and deep into austral winter as midwinter approaches. Reflections on total darkness, disrupted sleep, morale milestones, and the physical and emotional weight of isolation 10,700 feet above sea level—198 days away from home.
Originally published 2 June 2023 during my time as Winter Site Manager at the South Pole Station.
2 June
Temperature: -61.7°C/-79.1°F
Wind Chill: -86.4°C/-123.5°F
Wind Speed: NNE, 15.3 KNOTS
Wind Direction: GRID: 29.5 / CARDINAL: NNE
Air Pressure: ALTITUDE (FEET): 10,767 / ALTITUDE (METERS): 3,281 / INCHES HG: 20.0 / MILLIBARS: 676.2
Midwinter
June is a special month at the South Pole. During an austral winter with nearly three months of complete darkness, June in the southern hemisphere brings with it midwinter. Midwinter is the point at which we are halfway done with total darkness here at the South Pole. This halfway point is 21 June. That’s a huge milestone and morale boost for anyone wintering at the South Pole. The extreme isolation and confinement often turns ant hills into mountains, and while midwinter here is no ant hill, it’s a big deal as we know that we are finally getting closer to the warm glow on the horizon – a signal that our Sun will show itself again. We celebrate midwinter with a dinner on 24 June. Everyone will gather together and feast in celebration of making it through the first, and arguably most difficult, part of winter. It’s all downhill from here.
Adjusting to Darkness
As I continue into the darkness, I feel the lack of sunlight slowly beginning to disrupt my ability to sleep. Ironically, it’s harder to fall asleep. I’ll get tired around 2000 hours and get in bed only to be unable to sleep for another four hours or so. It’s a strange way of my body telling me that it needs real sunlight to regulate and maintain its circadian rhythm. Every morning I turn on a “happy light” for 15-20 minutes as I sip on coffee and go through emails that have come in the night before when the internet was up. Adjusting to darkness is not only a mental challenge, but a physical one. Waking up is often difficult and the motivation to get out of bed can be quite hard to muster. I’ve noticed the change in my body’s sleeping ability since the sun went down. This summer at South Pole, when the sun was shining 24/7, getting away into your dark room was fun. Now, with darkness all around us, I find myself seeking the light, wanting to be in well lit areas. The human body is amazing, and what this tells me is that we were never, ever, meant to be here – which makes our presence here all the more special and amazing.
As I sit in my office and gaze to my left, I see photos of my family; wife and two children. I’ve been here at the South Pole for 198 days, since 16 November 2022. I’ve missed everyone’s birthday, Christmas, and New Years for the third year in a row. I haven’t been home since 9 July 2022. In a month it will be a year since my departure. Only five more months until I see you all again.
More to come tomorrow from the South Pole, Antarctica.
