From Antarctica: with 16 kilos of clothes on your back

I’m already dreading having to face my fleece clothing … You will see why. Three years ago, when I was at the Geographic South Pole and at McMurdo Station, the experience was nothing short of mind-blowing. Then I came judiciously to receive the 16 kilos of clothing and polar equipment that were waiting for me stuffed inside two intimidating orange bags at the Christchurch Air Base, New Zealand. The latter is the gateway to the McMurdo base, which in turn is the gateway to the South Pole, as Chile and Argentina are to the Antarctic Peninsula.

Well, to wear theECW extreme cold equipment(acronym forExtreme Cold Weather) had to take a physics course. Each pair of pants, each thermal shirt, shirt, nightgown, jacket, windbreaker, stockings, gloves (4 pairs), and hats (which make a Swedish model feel like the village idiot) had their specific order and posture label. Put the question in the wrong order and you could be growing gangrene somewhere on your anatomy.

You had to start with a slimthermal pajamas. Later,faux wool pantsand a second layer of sweet coat. In extremely cold situations, natural wool cannot be used because it traps sweat and does not allow the body to breathe. On top of that, aoverol as a skier, topped with a black faux wool jacket. By then, sitting on a bench poses a difficulty equivalent to folding an orange. And we weren’t done yet.

The three highlights were thebig red parka, a jacket with no less than 10 centimeters of Canadian goose down; some seal hair mittens that reached to our shoulders for those with small hands; and thebunny bootsWhite, rubber brick-boots perched on an air cushion to insulate feet from the ice. The boots had valves that had to be opened when entering the aircraft, so that they would not burst with pressure changes. Total equipment value: $ 3,000. Each garment duly markedProperty of the US Government, and everything had to be returned when we returned to New Zealand, except for the show’s colorful cloth crest.

It was one thing to put on clothes. Another, walking with the paraphernalia on top. It was like carrying a dead man. And you had to put it on to board the formidable C-17 on the way to McMurdo: if the plane had to land in the middle of the ice, we would have our survival kit on, and the rest in the orange bag. Well, that’s how I had to spend two weeks on “ice”:carrying the house on his back like a snail. Have you ever seen a hand grenade? That’s how I felt.

Let’s see what the warmest but much more humid environment holds in store for us.Palmer Station.

Angela Posada-Swafford

For more informationFollow Angela’s journey in “From Antarctica”