“This final plane left behind a few dozen souls who will maintain continuity, keep the station going, and conduct critical winter science and logistics activities. If all goes well, the next time we see a plane will be in late October 2023.”
The last LC-130 left Amundsen-Scott on February 15 and the station is sealed for eight months. It is -50°F with a -80°F wind chill, and the winter has not started. A year ago the writer worked at San Francisco startups. Now he takes cylinder readings on a diesel genset, because at the Pole infrastructure is the difference between science and freezing to death.