Life - and Knitting - in Antarctica
Knitting in sub-zero temperatures is challenging
Antarctica is the harshest and most unusual place on the planet to live and work. The work week is 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, with one day off to rest and recuperate. Despite the long hours, the people who come to Antarctica are an adventurous, independent and spirited bunch who make the best use of their free time.
The living accommodation is dormitory style and often two or more people share one room. Facilities are comfortable but sparse. The town is powered by a power plant housing several powerful diesel generators. Three squares a day are provided by the galley in a cafeteria-style setting. There are two bars and a coffee house, a basketball gym, a weight gym, a chapel, a library, a craft room and several common areas that we call lounges. You can check out movies at the store, rent skis from gear issue, or borrow a bicycle to tootle around town.
The living accommodation is dormitory style and often two or more people share one room. Facilities are comfortable but sparse. The town is powered by a power plant housing several powerful diesel generators. Three squares a day are provided by the galley in a cafeteria-style setting. There are two bars and a coffee house, a basketball gym, a weight gym, a chapel, a library, a craft room and several common areas that we call lounges. You can check out movies at the store, rent skis from gear issue, or borrow a bicycle to tootle around town.
'MMI', one of the accommodation dorms at McMurdo
Everyone develops their own ways of dealing with the extreme cold in Antarctica. The program issues everyone 'Extreme Cold Weather' gear to provide the basics of cold survival. It is possible to make a knitted hat that is warm enough, even for the unimaginable deep freeze of winter, where wind chills can reach minus 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Lining a hat with thick layers of polar fleece, faux fur or windbloc fleece makes a huge difference.
Yeah, it gets a little cold here in Antarctica. Do you like my Ice Mascara?
Necessity is the mother of invention and on the coldest continent on Earth, many a knitter is born. At Stitch & Bitch, we teach new people the art of knitting, and share and hone our own skills. It is an evening of laughter and warm camaraderie, and possibly some 'refreshment' is involved. Occasionally it turns into 'Sip & Bitch.' It is the longest running gathering at McMurdo Station. It is one of the ways we get through the long season 'on the Ice'.
On Tuesday nights, Stitch & Bitch is held in the Dorm 208 Second Floor lounge, just as it has for decades.
McMurdo Station - our home away from home
Antarctic explorer, Robert Scott's Discovery Hut (foreground), stands alone at Hut Point, just a 10-minute walk from McMurdo Station in the distance.
McMurdo Station is one of three U.S. Antarctic bases run by the National Science Foundation. McMurdo is by far the largest station on the Antarctic continent, hosting upwards of 1,200 scientists and support staff during the austral summer (October through February).
McMurdo is actually located on an island off the coast of mainland Antarctica, Ross Island. The main feature of Ross Island is a massive volcano, Mt. Erebus, the world's southermost active volcano. It rises to a towering 13,200 feet. McMurdo Station and it's neighboring station, New Zealand's Scott base lie within a mile of each other on the end of a long peninsula that juts from the base of Mt. Erebus.
McMurdo is actually located on an island off the coast of mainland Antarctica, Ross Island. The main feature of Ross Island is a massive volcano, Mt. Erebus, the world's southermost active volcano. It rises to a towering 13,200 feet. McMurdo Station and it's neighboring station, New Zealand's Scott base lie within a mile of each other on the end of a long peninsula that juts from the base of Mt. Erebus.
Mt. Erebus, Antarctica's only active volcano, dwarfs the small green buildings of New Zealand's Scott Base (foreground)
A frozen body of seawater, McMurdo Sound, lies between Ross Island and mainland Antarctica. The sea ice freezes hard and thickens during the winter and is solid for most of the rest of the year. It is thick enough to land large military aircraft on.
Most of McMurdo's community is comprised of everyday workers who do the job of running the station and in support of the variety of science teams who deploy for the summer season. In winter (February to October), a skeleton crew of approximately 150 people remain, working through months of complete darkness, to keep the station running and to prepare for the next summer's science season.
Most of McMurdo's community is comprised of everyday workers who do the job of running the station and in support of the variety of science teams who deploy for the summer season. In winter (February to October), a skeleton crew of approximately 150 people remain, working through months of complete darkness, to keep the station running and to prepare for the next summer's science season.
Aurora Australis, the 'Southern Lights,' display undulating curtains of green fairy-dust that grace winter skies
All images on this page: ©Anthony Powell