Summer at the South Pole: New London woman finishes sixth season working at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station

NEW LONDON - A lot of Minnesotans go south for the winter to trade 20 below zero misery for sunny and 75 degree bliss.

But a New London woman goes so far south each winter that a minus 20 temperature seems downright balmy.

Siri Gossmann recently completed her sixth, 3½-month stint at the South Pole with the United States Antarctic Program, working outdoors driving big equipment at a research station in temperatures that dipped to 50 degrees below zero and saw a windchill of minus 92 one day.

And keep in mind - Gossman was there during the summer months.

"We got to 8 above a couple times this summer," said Gossman, who follows a basic routine for working in the cold weather. "You bundle up," she said.

And you keep moving.

Compared to the "winter" temperatures that can exceed 100 degrees below zero, Gossman said summers at the South Pole are "really warm."

Contract work

Gossman, 33, talked about her latest venture during a telephone interview from Christchurch, New Zealand, where she was waiting for a plane back to the United States after working at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station during what she dubbed "adult summer camp."

Gossman is part of a team of contract workers who are based at the station from Nov. 3 to mid-February to support the facility and the work of U.S. scientists (primarily from universities) who do research there.

"We're there to support them as much as we can without doing their research," Gossman said.

A small staff stays and maintains the station during the rest of the year when there is complete darkness, no supply planes and little-to-no outside communication.

Gossman's younger brother, Jais, spent 13 months at the station several years ago.

About 600 positions need be filled annually throughout the United State Antarctic Program, which is managed by the National Science Foundation on behalf of the public, said Elaine Hood, communications manager with Antarctic Support Contract.

"People like Siri are hired to do everything from cook food and fuel the airplanes, to being carpenters or mechanics to make repairs to being in cargo/supply to unload the supplies from the incoming planes and store food and supplies in the warehouse," Hood said in an email.

Antarctica is 1½ times the size of the continental U.S. and at most there are not more than 3,000 people on the entire continent during the summer months, said Hood.

"About 30 nations maintain research stations on the continent, but it is rare that we see each other as there is normally hundreds of miles between the stations," she said.

Gossman said she began working with the summer staff in 2011 and - other than the 2017-18 season when she stayed in Minnesota - has been back every year. She intends to go back again this November.

She's held a number of different positions including washing dishes, being a janitor, working in the underground supply warehouse - which has no view to the 24-hour summer sunshine - and this time working in heavy equipment operation, which has been her favorite assignment so far.

"It's the most challenging one and you get to be outside all the time," she said. "You're not in a dark room."

The staff work six days a week and nine hours a day.

The pay is good, she said, although a little less for similar trades in the U.S. But with all housing, food and transportation costs to and from the station covered, Gossman said the net pay is close to working in the States.

Each summer the team of workers includes old and new faces and, for the most part, they all get along.

Everyone who's there "wants to be there," which reduces workplace conflicts, Gossman said.

Secluded living

Living in such a secluded environment for about 100 days has its pros and cons.

Gossman likes being there over Christmas.

"It's great. I don't have to worry about presents," she said with frank humor.

With limited internet service that's available about four hours a day, Gossman said she gets to avoid politics for a while - which she considers a plus.

And the food is good. Augmented with salad greens grown in a small greenhouse and regular fruit and vegetables delivered several times each week by plane from McMurdo Station, she said the meals this year were the best ever.

The best part of the South Pole Station are "all the people" with their unique backstories and reasons for being there," she said. "The people are the best part."

There are some things she misses.

"Dogs. Definitely dogs," she said. And trees.

Gossman said she "gets antsy" when she stays in one place too long and loves to learn new things, which is one reason she travels to the bottom of the Earth to work.

"It's easy to stick with what you're comfortable with," she said. "I've gotten comfortable with being uncomfortable physically, mentally, socially. All of these things."

Gossman said her venture south couldn't happen without the support of family and friends back home who watch her dogs when she's gone and give her a place to sleep when she's home.

When she returns to New London in April after spending time in her birth country of Denmark, Gossman will resume her other job of raising heirloom turkeys that'll be harvested before she leaves for the South Pole in November.

"I'm living my dream," she said.

1/5: Photo by Jeff Warneck, National Science Foundation The elevated station at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station has room for 140 people. This is the third station at the South Pole in the past 60 years. The first station, completed in 1957, was allowed to be buried under the accumulating snow. The second station, built in the 1970s, housed buildings under a geodesic dome. The current station was completed in 2018 and is elevated above the snow surface.

2/5: Submitted photo A C17 cargo plane transports South Pole workers between McMurdo Station and New Zealand.

3/5: Submitted photo Siri Gossman spent the summer - our winter - in the South Pole driving equipment, like this D7R dozer.

4/5: Submitted photo A C17 cargo plane sits at the McMurdo airfield. These large planes are used to transport South Pole workers between McMurdo Station, which is the largest Antarctic Antarctic station, and Christchurch, New Zealand.

5/5: Submitted photo Siri Gossman spent the summer in the South Pole driving equipment, like this 953C loader.