A harsh continent...but an incredible community

Chapel of the Snows...backdoor

They call Antarctica the "harsh continent".... and it is.  In every way, this place is harsh...physically, mentally and spiritually. 

Many have lost their lives here, the early and first explorers.... even to this day. 

But still, people come here from all over the world....to explore, to research, to work, to see this place...it is one of the last frontiers on the earth. 

Last week four died in a helicopter crash, they were from the French Station over at Dumont d'Urville, Antarctica.   It impacted many here at McMurdo Station...as we all feel the pain...for the people who live and work here in Antarctica, it is a unique community. 

The people here amaze me.   They work long hours, in this freezing and ever changing weather....in very dangerous conditions doing very dangerous missions.  Plus that, the people here live in dorm rooms, with little or no privacy, with one or two or more roommates and a shared bathroom.  And they WANT to be here!  Not to mention the many who actually go to stay for extended periods out on the Ice and research camps and live in tents, in the freezing cold outdoors! 

Memorial Service

As I mentioned in a previous post, many come here year after year. 

Why do they come here year after year?

Because of the community.   This place is like no other.  A very unique place, and I am not talking about the fact that it is Antarctica.  It is the people, the community.

It is the support people give each other...it is the understanding and camaraderie of the many here who have been many places around the world...living between two worlds... back home wherever that may be and here coming back and forth every year.   For what can we do, what can we say when there is suffering?  Pain.  Loss?

There really is nothing one can do.  Except just be there for each other.   And that is really what it is all about.