Freezer burn is a condition that occurs when frozen food has been damaged by dehydration and oxidation. Consider me the food.
Freezer Burnt is a blog about me (the damaged “food”) and my experiences living and working in Antarctica, as well as my interim adventures. To continue our metaphor, the process of dehydration here will be actual dehydration – as Antarctica is, on average, the driest continent on Earth (look it up) as well as the coldest, windiest, and highest. Let me clarify that last one: obviously the highest point on Earth is not on the continent of Antarctica – we should remember from the Kindergarten-ish era that Mount Everest on the Asian continent holds that honor – but Antarctica boasts the highest AVERAGE elevation of all the continents.
But I digress. I should be wrapping up this damned “freezer burn” metaphor. What did we have left? Oh yes, “oxidation.” Well, oxidation in the case of freezer burn discolors the food and contributes to its leathery freezer-burnt appearance. It’s not a food safety risk, but it changes the food for good. That’s sort of what it’s like to spend a lot of time in Antarctica, particularly the austral winter as I am doing. We are still us, for the most part, but we’ve been changed for good… or at least a very long time.
This is my fifth season spent living and working at McMurdo Station on Ross Island, Antarctica. I started as a lowly DA (see glossary for definitions) in 2007. I spent three consecutive austral summers here, and am currently nearing the end of my second consecutive austral winter.
What have five seasons on the Ice done for me? Well, I think I’m a little more cynical. This kind of isolation and the effects of the environment, both mentally and physically, can be drastic and can’t be ignored. But despite certain negative side effects, there is no place in the world like Antarctica and something keeps bringing me back. It is difficult to describe to somebody who’s never been here exactly how beautiful this place can be, or how special it can feel to live in this tiny, isolated community and the sense of belonging that comes with it.
We are nowhere near as extreme as the early Antarctic explorers. But… let’s be honest. Working on the only continent too inhospitable to foster an indigenous human population? Yeah, we’re kind of badass.
