Location
More commonly known as “Happy Camper” school, this is a 2-day on-ice course for all newcomers to McMurdo. For many, including Brad and Roberto, this is the first experience of the ‘real’ Antarctica – the endless white landscape, the smooth sea-ice, the big blue sky, and the strong, unceasing wind (more on that later!). We started with a one-hour classroom briefing about survival strategies, then all 14 ‘students’ hopped onto a Hagglund (a tough Scandinavian vehicle with tracks like a tank) for the 15 minute drive to our camp site on the Ross Ice Shelf near New Zealand’s Scott Base. The first afternoon and evening was focused on setting up our camp, which included putting up both Mountain dome and Scott tents, building a wall composed of large blocks of snow sawed from the ground. We also used the snow blocks, which sounded and acted exactly like Styrofoam (!), to construct a luxurious and well-protected kitchen.
The weather was excellent for the first part of the afternoon, but then, the real Antarctica struck… the warning was the white, ground-level haze that we saw in the distance. Was it fog? No, although that would have been better than the reality – it was snow being kicked up by a strong wind! Pretty soon it was upon us, and our beautiful weather day was replaced by very strong 40-60 knot winds that lasted for the next 10-12 hours. The weather went from what is called Condition 3 (perfect) to Condition 1 and 2 (when it is advised not to go outside). We were very grateful for our well-protected kitchen, in which we had some great hot drinks and food.
At about 6pm our two instructors left us alone! They headed off to a small hut that was far enough away that we were effectively on our own, having to use the survival techniques they had taught us. One of these was to sleep, not in a (relatively) cosy tent, but in a snow trench - which should more correctly be called a snow grave, because it is shaped just like that place where many people end up after death! About 6 of us chose a snow trench bedroom. It took a lot of digging and time to construct, but we all finally dug out a nice sleeping area. The experience of sleeping in a hole in the ground was truly unique. 
Some of the words to describe it include sardine, cold, quiet (compared to the howling wind above ground) and cozy. I’m proud to say that I represented G-439 splendidly, being the only one of the six “trench sleepers” to stick it out for the entire night! The next morning there were snow drifts everywhere, including behind the wall we had built to protect the tents. After breakfast, our instructors, having spent a cozy night away from the wind in their hut, returned to see how we had coped. We had all survived one of the worst happy camper weather conditions in recent memory! After breaking down the camp, we retreated to a nearby hut to be tested with two survival scenarios – one to rescue a colleague who had become lost in a blizzard “whiteout” (which included walking around with buckets on our heads to simulate the whiteout conditions), and the other to set up an emergency shelter after a truck crash. Then, it was all over! Tired, but satisfied with our accomplishments, we headed back to McMurdo and a well-deserved night in a nice, warm bed. Happy Camper is definitely something we will never forget.
Roberto Anitori (Romeo Alpha) at McMurdo Station, Ross Island.
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