Crescent (fellow coworker/friend) and I were chatting with one of the Twin-Otter pilots the other day. (A Twin Otter is one of the smaller prop planes down here that make puddle jumps with cargo from McMurdo to South Pole and other field camps). He was talking about how he flew the plane down from Canada and mentioned they keep a shot-gun in the back of the plane. Crescent asked jokingly, "What, are you some kind of terrorist?" to which the pilot responded, "I'm not a terrorist, I'm a Canadian."

Once I stopped laughing, it got me to thinking about how Karen and I finally found ourselves living in this big, cold place. Some of you know the story, but more of you probably don't, so I figured I'd share a little history. This is a long entry, but it has some extra information in it that might be useful to anyone interested in joining the Antarctic Program. I've also managed to mention my friend Matt's name an estimated 12 times.

Roughly 1 1/2 years ago, Liz was in need of a web/flash developer for some work at her company, a company called Raytheon Polar Services Corporation, or RPSC*. My friend, Matt (who also worked for RPSC at the time), recommended me for the 3 week project. Thanks, Matt. I gladly accepted the somewhat lucrative freelance project, which in turn, exposed me to the wonderful world of Antarctica. Thanks, Matt. The gig ultimately then led into another 3 week project about a year later. Thanks, Matt.

Now, fast forward to this past January timeframe. Matt again contacted me and posed the question, "How would you like to go down to Antarctica for the summer season?" To which I astutely replied, "Uh, what?" See, at first, the idea of going down interested me as I've had a life goal to step foot on every continent, but I was very comfortable in a great job with Exclusive Resorts. However, as Matt told me more about the possible web development position and life at McMurdo, it didn't take much for me to realize this was an attainable, once in a lifetime opportunity, and thus, the seed was planted. Thanks, Matt. As I've mentioned in an earlier entry, Karen was in favor of the idea since day one. She was ready for a change of scenery (job-wise), even if the scenery in question was primarily white and cold. We immediately started looking for possible jobs for her knowing her Bio/Chem degree and lab experience could probably get her into something science support related.

As it turned out, the web developer position Matt mentioned fell through due to lack of funding, but by now, the Ice was in my head, and as my family can attest, that's all it takes (see: MSU, Spain, Computer Animation, move to Denver, etc.) Matt told me the bad news about the position, but also mentioned that every April RPSC has a big job fair in Denver in an attempt to fill the hiring needs for the summer season. They typically hire anywhere from 300-500 contractors with skills ranging from IT to plumbers to helicopter technicians to working in the frozen food storage building (also known to Bill and I as the most ironic job in Antarctica). RPSC holds similar job fairs in Washington and Alaska.

Karen and I headed off to the job fair where we schmoozed the hell out of everyone that looked like they worked there. This included me getting interviewed by Channel 9 News while we were there (it ended up on the editing room floor, but Karen made the final cut for the 5 o'clock news with a shot of her standing in line at the Waste Management Department booth). We also had some insider help from Matt, Liz, and Scott (who I worked for on my previous contracts with RPSC) who pointed us towards the right people to schmooze especially hard.

After some interviews, we both were offered jobs as alternates for 2 positions (Karen for Waste Management Supervisor, and Dining Assistant, and I for Technology, and Supply). An alternate is needed in case the primary person is not able to go. Why couldn't someone go? The most common reasons are if someone fails the extensive physical and blood tests conducted on everyone, or they get hit by a bus, or they fall in love with someone who loves warm weather, or they just wake up one day and realize that they are going to the highest, driest, coldest, windiest, most desolate place on earth for 5 months and freak out.

The advice among people who have gone in the past is when you become an alternate, constantly email/call the hiring manager in the hope that if a spot opens up, your name is the first one they think of for the position. Karen and I mastered this fine art, to say the least. If I never again write the words "I'm still very excited about this opportunity." in an email, I'll be content.

Matt invited Karen and me over to Liz's place for a July 4th BBQ and to watch the first leg of the Tour de France. At this little gathering, we met Jim Scott, Director of McMurdo Station (aka: President of Antarctica) and immediately hit it off, but then again, Jim is quite possibly the nicest man on the planet. Soon after this BBQ, Karen landed a job. The McMurdo firehouse had a couple dispatchers drop out unexpectedly and Karen got the call (see 'pestering emails' above). She immediately called me at work and said "We're going!" The news made us both very excited for about 4 seconds until I realized that SHE had a job, not both of us. Still, this was very promising because half the equation was solved. This happened in early August.

So I waited and emailed, waited some more and emailed some more, and on and on and on for 3 more months, all the time Liz pulling every string out there to find a spot for me. Finally, I got the call. Mary Beth (hiring manager) called me and as she was saying the words, "Mark, we'd like to offer y....." my cell phone lost service and dropped the call. I looked at my phone in horror with images flashing through my mind of Sprint's cell towers burning to the ground as I laughed maniacally in the background holding a still lit match. Luckily she called back and this time I accepted the offer before she could even finish the sentence. Apparetly, the primary for my IT position had taken another job on one of the RPSC vessels that travels between Punta Arenas, Chile, and Antarctica.

I went home early that day with a bottle of champagne, walked into the house, grabbed a couple champagne flutes, called Karen out on the patio, and simply asked her, "You are probably wondering why I am holding a bottle of Champagne and two glasses?" She screamed and tears rolled down her face. We were headed to the Ice.

Coincidentally, we were having a farewell party that night for Karen, which obviously turned into a farewell party for both of us.

Karen left on October 1st, and 10 extremely crazy days later, I was on a plane to New Zealand...with the world in my pocket.

******
Some background on RPSC: Denver based RPSC is a division of Raytheon Technical Services which in turn is a division of mother Raytheon (a huge defense contractor for the federal government - known for TV ray-tubes and our very own Patriot missile). Now, all that being said, lets return to RPSC. RPSC is a contractor for the National Science Foundation (NSF). This is important to remember because science, my friends, is the fundamental reason that RPSC exists. Science is also the reason Organic Chemistry exists, much to the consternation of anyone who has taken a class, but I digress. RPSC has only one responsibility: To support the scientists and the research being conducted in Antarctica (also known as the United States Antarctic Program).

You may be asking, "Who owns Antarctica?" Answer: Nobody, thanks to the Antarctic Treaty. This treaty, signed by 12 nations on December 1st, 1959, basically states the following rules apply to all land and ice shelves south of 60° S Latitude:

• All use is for peaceful purposes only


• Banned from nuclear explosions and nuclear waste disposal


• Supports complete freedom of scientific investigation


• No activities will affect claims to sovereignty of any part of Antarctica made by any nation


• Prevents Six Flags from opening yet another ridiculous amusement park anywhere near Antarctica