The US is going through a cold snap right now, but in Antarctica, the sun is up and it's summertime!
You might recall the blogger at brr (previously at Neatorama), who writes so eloquently about his experiences there. After overwintering at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, 14 months on the continent in all, he finally left Antartica in November after the sun came up and regular transportation became available. He's back in the US, where he can experience winter all over again, but it's still quite moderate compared to the South Pole.
Now that he's had time to adjust, he fills us in on the process of leaving Antarctica, which involves waiting for the sun to rise through September and October. Then the station swings from "winter mode" into "summer mode" as the crew prepares for the arrival of the larger summer crew. That means restocking all supplies, checking the infrastructure, and cleaning up. Read how it's all done in part one of his redeployment post. In part two, he explains how airlines work in Antarctica. A Canadian airline comes to ferry people on and off the continent, and it's not all that easy even getting the planes there! -via Nag on the Lake