My Winter in Antarctica

By Sandra Markle

The sky over Antarctica sparkles with mother-of-pearl clouds.

On a -30°F day in mid-September, I pulled on my Extreme Cold Weather gear and hurried to Discovery Point as fast as I could. A Weddell seal had been spotted there. Now I could see it, next to a crack in the ice-covered sea. The sleek, gray creature was the first wildlife anyone had seen since the long Antarctic winter began six months earlier. This seal was a sign. The fiercest, coldest, darkest winter on earth was ending!

I had spent the winter at McMurdo Station in Antarctica doing research for a children’s book. I had also washed dishes, because everyone in our little village of 202 people had to help keep things going. Weather conditions made it impossible for planes to land from February 22 until the end of August. Except for e-mail and satellite-linked phone calls, we were totally cut off from the world.

It was dark for almost six months, except for the light of the stars and the moon, which hovered overhead day and night. Without sun and with hurricane-force winds, it felt as cold as -109°F. I would hold my breath outdoors because it hurt to breathe, even through a warm scarf.

The only live plants that I saw all winter grew in this greenhouse.

Nature’s Light Show
The air was often full of tiny glitter-like ice crystals that blew through everything, even the zipper on my parka. Sometimes I blindly followed a rope strung between the buildings to find my way in the dense, blowing snow. When it was clear, though, I was treated to a spectacular light show. Auroras occur in Antarctica when bursts of energy from the sun bump into gases in the earth’s atmosphere, creating streaks of color. Magnetic fields pull them toward the poles. An eerie green glow paints the sky with shooting light fountains and sparkling light curtains.

Now that the sun has returned, I’m enjoying another kind of light show: mother-of-pearl clouds. When the sunlight strikes ice crystals in the clouds, the crystals act like prisms, breaking up the light into rainbows.

On August 22, a plane returned, at long last, bringing new people and—finally!—fresh fruits and vegetables. When the plane landed, a friend gave me a banana as a gift, and I felt like I had received a treasure. I’m looking forward to returning to my family, warmer weather and flowers. But I’ll always remember the amazing winter I spent in Antarctica.

The 5 Best Things About Winter In Antarctica

1. Auroras I never got tired of the ever changing light show in the sky.
2. Ice fishing I helped scientists who were studying how fish survive in supercold water catch an 85-pound Antarctic cod. What an ugly fish!
3. Seal songs Sitting next to a hole in the eight-foot-thick ice, I heard a seal in the sea below me. Its rippling tones made beautiful music.
4. Mother-of-pearl clouds I loved seeing the sky covered with rainbows!
5. The people I made wonderful friends in this little town at the bottom of the world.

The 5 Worst Things About Winter In Antarctica

1. E.C.W. (Extreme Cold Weather) Gear I had to put on 40 pounds of clothing anytime I went outdoors.
2. Windchill It often felt like -70°F with the windchill. When it’s that cold, a sneeze freezes in midair!
3. No bananas I dreamed about going to a store full of fresh fruit.
4. The dark It was neat to see the moon and lots of stars—but not all day and night for months.
5. Almost no smells Antarctica is so cold and dry, there isn’t much to smell. Even the aroma of food cooking isn’t very strong there.