186 Sunless Days Will End At South Pole Today

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28699, 24 September 1958, Page 7

186 Sunless Days Will End At South Pole Today

Eighteen men and two dogs at the South Pole will see the sun rise for the first time in six months today. The 17 Americans and one Argentinian who man the Amundsen-Scott I.G.Y. station —-the world’s loneliest outpost—their long dark winter on March 22, when the sun disappeared below their horizon. They have seen no-one from the outside world for eight months and have had no mail since the end of January.

Today the 10 scientists and eight United States Navy men at the Pole will have a holiday to celebrate the first sunrise at 11.12 a.na. They will sleep in, instead of rising for breakfast at 7.45 a.m., play baseball in a temperature of about minus 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and have a party at night.

Most of the men at the Pole have been there nearly a year. How have they endured the bitter winter, what have they missed most in their isolation? These questions have been answered by Lieutenant Vernon Houk, a doctor, who is the Navy leader at the Pole, in a radio interview. His answers were sent from the Pole through the American base at McMurdo Sound to Christchurch.

Fresh food and news of the outside world, replied Lieutenant Houk, when asked what the men at the Pole had missed • most, apart from separation from their families. Health Excellent

Heath has been excellent, he said. There has been nothing more than occasional first degree frostbite. Most of the loss of weight in the summer months has been reclaimed, except for two or three men. The others gained about 20 pounds in weight on the average. Lieutenant Houk says the men at the Pole have all sorts of good food. It has been excellent, and the variety has been maintained by careful rationing of the rare items.

Midwinter Night, on June 22, was the biggest Celebration of all at the Pole. “Our dinner included fresh oranges, grapefruit, eggs, squash, and bacon, all frozen y from the summer,” said Lieutenant Houk. “We drank the rum and gin given to us by Sir Vivian Fuchs, and my champagne.” Lone skua gulls flying across the icy Antarctic waste have been sighted from the Pole station. Lieutenant Houk said none have been seen this winter. But the men at the Pole have had some live company—their two

dogs. Blizzard, the husky mascot who arrived as a pup, ate some Christmas tree branches last year, but Lieutenant Houk said he has behaved very well all winter. He gave similar praise to Beauty, one of Sir Vivian Fuchs’s huskies, which escaped just before the last plane left the Pole on January 26.

Bible a Great.Favourite The men at the Pole have books, movies, and 200 long-playing records for their enjoyment, but Lieutenant Houk would not say what were the favourite records or movies. “The records cover all tastes, from hill billy to opera,” he said. “We have read, a lot of Antarctic books. The Bible is a great favourite, and is read a lot.” Reading, card playing, and what Lieutenant Houk described as poor ping pong, have helped to pass the spare time away. Lieutenant Houk has been trying to grow vegetables. “I have an onion growing now, but the others have not done well,” he said.

Ice and snow everywhere, but not a drop of water. That is the situation at the Pole. Snow for melting comes from a mine dig under the base. “Water is always short,” said Lieutenant Houk. “We use 11 gallons a man a day, so none is wasted. The mine is still 91 feet deep, but we have used snow from outside, because the winch used to bring snow to th : surface broke down.” The men at the Pole have been talking to each other for months. But they have also talked quite a lot to the outside world. Most of them talk at least once a week to their families in the United States, said Lieutenant Houk. “We have talked occasionally to the New Zealanders at Scott Base, in McMurdo Sound, but not to any other bases, except the American stations.” Lieutenant Houk said he had only one complaint. “The time has gone far too fast,” he said. “We are all ready to go home. It has been an excellent year, which no-one would trade, but it will also be nice to have some of the modern world’s conveniences again. We are all looking forward to New Zealand beauty and hospitality on our way home.” .