Friends

If the fog clears this morning, the turnover crew will arrive today marking the start of my last week at Summit. It will be a busy one of calibrations, installations and preparations for the winter. It's been an awesome experience this summer and the people that run the station are dedicated and extremely competent at their jobs. Most have experience in Antarctica and seem to enjoy the small numbers here in Greenland as many have reclusive tendencies.

It is a unique situation, in that you are in close quarters with fellow Summit Campers with no place to go. I arrived halfway through the summer season while most of the core group has been here since April and know each other very well. With any extended living situation this can become knowing each other too well. Yet disregarding the insignificant gripes and small things that can add up to hit a nerve, this group is a well oiled machine that does their job with a humble efficiency and laid back congeniality.

While everyone isn't BFFs there is a sense of respect and camaraderie that accompanies working in this Arctic environment. I'm lucky to have been paired with such quality folks this summer, making my job that much more straight forward. There is no need to worry about power, water, food, and repairs are abundant with the recent arrival of the carpenters.

Living in such tight quarters I cannot help but get to know those around me and I've been happy to make what I consider to be new friends that I wouldn't have meet otherwise. Cribbage has been the staple card game at Summit with some friendly poker sprinkled in. The latest game to hit the scene was horseshoes which turned out to be harder to play in the snow than in sand. Travis, who has to be the most entertaining personality here, and I paired up for a round of horseshoes in which he did get the game's lone ringer. It is usually all or nothing with that fella, as evidenced by my sweet haircut courtesy of Travis. I told him "a little off the ears" but was surprisingly happy with a new mullet.