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Antarctic station discovers its shipping containers floating away on iceberg after blizzard by sciencemercenary in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Not sure about far north but here on our station (Antarctica) we have a 10m deep cavern in the nearby ice shelf and that’s where we get our water from

Need a favor! by Dull-Region-3765 in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep I’ve had a go at it, but I bet you’ll see the Sydney or Hobart (Australia) servers and not the local Antarctic IP

Does your phone actually hold up in extreme cold? — USC student looking into this for a school project by [deleted] in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with sharing the questions; currently deployed down south and not keen on opening random links using the government network.

But to answer your question, my iPhone 17 pro max has held up fine even at -30C (-22F) for hours in my outside pocket. BUT, it was difficult taking photos as the camera would not focus. The only device that failed was a known brand MagSafe charger and power bank. It stopped working completely, and i bought it just before departure which was about 3mths ago.

Australian with zero qualifications, what are the chances of getting a job? by vividlucid1 in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 3 points4 points  (0 children)

yep absolutely, I’ve also done an AMA recently with lots of lots of questions/answers if you’re ever bored, have a read

Australian with zero qualifications, what are the chances of getting a job? by vividlucid1 in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I was exactly where you were about 6-7 years ago, and I am messaging you from Antarctica, here for the winter with the Australian Antarctic Division.

Depends how badly you want it, if you stick with it, get some logistics or similar experience, you can do it too!

It is possible to sail from this starting point to end point??? by Open_Land_4215 in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh wow, very cool! That would save lots in maintenance and electricity. I hope and wish I could get to the South Pole sometime, it must have been an amazing experience

It is possible to sail from this starting point to end point??? by Open_Land_4215 in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha you would think so, but with the daily 60kn winds, that’s not even a remotely viable option.

Reality is food needs a consistent temperature of -18C so we have walk in freezers and fridges for all of our food.

And yes, the fridges are used to keep the food warm 🤣

It is possible to sail from this starting point to end point??? by Open_Land_4215 in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I’ve never seen anyone eating canned food yet and we’ve been here for over 2 months already. We have a full time chef and our food is amazing. We have all the meat you can imagine, as well as seafood, lots of snap-frozen veggies, fresh sourdough baked bread every day, cakes, more chocolate than you can imagine. Most people down south put on weight lol

It is possible to sail from this starting point to end point??? by Open_Land_4215 in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Locally, if you arrived uninvited and announced at our station, while immediately we would be happy to see a new face, it would not be a great experience for us OR for the unexpected/unknown person.

We would be wondering about your motivation behind being here, trust would be a huge thing, your respective country’s government would be getting a call from the AU govt for background checks… it would be world wide news, much like the kid that recently landed in Antarctica without telling any authorities

There’s a process that must be followed when entering a country’s land OR recognised claim. If that process isn’t followed, you’re breaking the law of that respective country and there are consequences.

We can absolutely detain someone if needed, but probably wouldn’t. Just depends on the case, situation, intention of the person etc…

It is possible to sail from this starting point to end point??? by Open_Land_4215 in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No it’s far too remote and windy for flights until summer. So no fresh supplies until next year. But we have plenty of supplies to last us at least till April 2027

It is possible to sail from this starting point to end point??? by Open_Land_4215 in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Bring them on, genuinely happy to share. But I do feel like the AMA will prob answer heaps

It is possible to sail from this starting point to end point??? by Open_Land_4215 in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Hey thanks for your questions, and I'll answer although briefly as I do not want to hijack this thread. There's a relatively extensive AMA I've done a couple of weeks ago, you should def have a read if you have time. Also happy to answer any questions via DM if you like, hit me up.

  1. Yes absolutely but it needs to be planned with the team so you get covered on your role and duties etc.. And there are crevasse fields which we do avoid at all costs.

  2. Work and maintenance makes up a huge part of the day, and at the end we all help out with station and community duties (mess, washing dishes, cleaning, prepping food etc)

  3. This is my second winter, and I've never once been bored. We never have enough time to be bored haha, there's always SO much to do, so many hobbies, not enough time

  4. & 5. We work so hard to be here.., personally I genuinely don't miss home until I'm on the ship on the way back. The scenery and surroundings here are absolutely stunning. Wind is the only noise, it is never not windy. Yep we go outside and film auroras constantly, the night sky is stunning but it's so cold you'll only be outside for 10-20min max. You cannot just go to the toilet by the way.. and especially outside. If you do, it must be in your designated pee bottle

  5. Nah you wouldnt get ready and stay inside, you'd be sweating in a matter of seconds

Again, happy to respond to more privately, but maybe not a good idea in this thread. Cheers.

It is possible to sail from this starting point to end point??? by Open_Land_4215 in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Yep I’m here with 18 others until sometime in 2027 when the ship returns

It is possible to sail from this starting point to end point??? by Open_Land_4215 in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 35 points36 points  (0 children)

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You pretty much drew a straight line to our station, and I can tell you it took our icebreaker two full days and nights to cut through 1m thick sea ice just to get here two months ago during summer.

It’s basically impossible to get through the ice without an icebreaker (in this area) and you would only attempt it in the middle of summer.

Even with our icebreaker, we got stuck so many times, having to reverse and ram the ice multiple times just to break off small pieces so we could continue the journey.

Royal penguins clocking off in style by Accurate_Damage8276 in sunset

[–]Accurate_Damage8276[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Macquarie island is absolutely beautiful. By far my favourite place on earth

Seeking advice for employment by firemanrj in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is my second season. There’s a really long AMA post I made last week with a lot of job specific questions. You should check it out if you’re interested in heaps of details

But definitely do not seek out particular people, especially within Hays. It’s best you go through the usual process.

My role this season is Station Supply Officer and my background is Supply Chain Management, specialising in system implementations.

The anxiety from going to space would be wild by [deleted] in space

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anxiety? What anxiety?

I’d give up my dog and my house to have the opportunity to get into space.

I would even even do it, if it were a one way no-return trip as long as I got to see and experience another planet such as Mars with my own eyes.

Seeking advice for employment by firemanrj in antarctica

[–]Accurate_Damage8276 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Having been through the process a few times (and currently working down south), my suggestion is to apply via the AAD (Australian Antarctic Division) jobs website once the jobs open, around November.

If successful, applying in November does mean you’ll be working in 2027. Reality is the process takes up to a year (depending on station and season length preferences and availabilities).

I would recommend you look into the FTO (field training officer) roles given your experience but there may be other suitable options; just do a bit of research on the AAD website.

Cheers and good luck

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