The summer season is coming to an end at the Pole. Most scientists will be leaving next week. The station is getting ready for the winter. One of the major events this weekend is the South Pole International Film Festival (SPIFF) followed by a party in the summer camp. SPIFF features short films, photographs, and slide shows made by the people working at Pole. Station staff, scientists, techs, support people... everyone can show their creative side. It is a fascinating insight into the life and humor at the Pole. We summer scientists don't really belong to the group that runs the station.
SPIFF also featured slides of the old, original SP station that was finally buried in the ice this past year. The photographs of the old station revealed a much harder life. This was the time when men were still men. The new station is just so much neither. Like a luxury hotel in comparison.
The party in the summer camp is about half a km away from the station. A temporary tent camp that is only used during the summer. It is strange to walk in bright day/night light at 10pm to a party.
The next morning I get up early. My daily routine is set by the satellite time from 02300 to ~11am. I take a walk outside the SP station. I appear to be the only person around. Everyone else is sleeping. It is Sunday. No snowmobiles or machinery are running at this hour of the day. It is a strange experience. Everything is quiet except for the Antarctic wind. The wind is calming down. With windchill it is now only -38 deg C. I love this weather.
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