4 Women Will Staff U.K. Base in Antarctica

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/04/world/europe/post-office-antarctica.html

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There is no running water, or even a flushing toilet, on Goudier Island in Antarctica. But there is a post office.

When the U.K. Antarctic Heritage Trust advertised in April the opportunity to spend five months working at this remote post office and filling three other paid positions at its Port Lockroy base, over 4,000 people applied — more than double the response of previous years.

Out of that pool, open to anyone with the right to work in the U.K., four women were selected to manage the historic site from November until March. All will soon leave the comfort of their homes to act as caretakers of a wild, unpredictable landscape, fulfilling the roles of base leader, postmaster, wildlife monitor and shop manager. And all of them are expected to lend a hand in greeting visitors, and monitoring the 1,500 Gentoo penguins native to the island.

“It’s definitely been a long-term dream,” said Lucy Bruzzone of living in Antarctica. Ms. Bruzzone, 40, of London, will serve as base leader thanks to her background as program director at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and her experience in field work.

“I’ve always been interested in the natural world, and have dedicated my career to preserving the environment and the places in which we live and work,” Ms. Bruzzone added. It was a field trip to the Arctic, in 2008, that whetted her appetite for extreme experiences, she said.

Ms. Bruzzone said she applied for the role almost on a whim. “I was really keen to follow in the footsteps of explorers, but also think about how I can support the science, the great work that happens on the continent, as well as experience the ice and the snow and the wonders that this environment has,” she said.

While it has no permanent residents, the island — which has a surface area the size of a soccer field — hosted some 18,000 visitors annually before the pandemic, according to the trust.

Set to staff the island’s only gift shop is Natalie Corbett, a small-business owner who married in June. She jokingly referred to her upcoming stint in Antarctica as a kind of “solo honeymoon.”

Ms. Corbett, 31, of Hampshire, said she read about the position in a newspaper, and felt the opportunity was too good to pass up. “Everyone who knows me isn’t surprised I’m doing this,” she said.

The assignment is not for the faint hearted. Showers are taken on visiting ships; the toilet is a bucket. The days are long, with few distractions. Accommodation is in the form of bunk beds. Team members will spend Christmas at the base, far from their families.

With no wifi, and with limited internet access, letter writing, as well as the occasional blog post, will be the primary methods of communicating with friends and loved ones at home.

Managing the world’s most southerly post office will be Clare Ballantyne, 23, of Lincolnshire. Over the five months, she will oversee the organization of as many as 70,000 letters, and send them to over 100 countries.

But it’s the promise of the expansive nature that most appeals to Ms. Ballantyne, an Oxford University graduate who completed a master’s degree in earth sciences this year.

“I’m most looking forward to stepping onto Goudier Island and taking in the cacophony and pungent smell of the penguins, the backdrop of the glaciers and Fief Mountains — and being able to call it home for the next few months!” Ms. Ballantyne said in a statement.

Recruitment for the remote post has been a yearly tradition since 2006, when the trust took control of the island from the British Antarctic Survey, but it was paused during the pandemic.

It will be Ms. Bruzzone’s job to manage the team, coordinate ship visits to the island and work with expedition leaders. Having been to the region before, she said she is confident. “I got to know more about Antarctica through one of my early jobs when I was very much involved in the expeditions world.”

Mairi Hilton, 30, who has a Ph.D in conservation biology, will be wildlife monitor, which largely means taking charge of the penguin head count, and staying alert for new hatchlings and nests.

“I have no idea what to expect when we get there,” Ms. Hilton, of Bo’ness, Scotland, said in a statement issued by the trust. “How cold it will be, will we have to dig our way through the snow to the post office? I’m a conservation biologist, so personally I can’t wait to see the penguins and other wildlife like seabirds and whales!”

The chosen four went through a three-stage selection process, said Camilla Nichol, chief executive of the trust.

“It’s an application form, then a Zoom interview,” Ms. Nichol said. “When we get down to the final 12 we bring them together in person, as a group, for a day of activities, tests, presentations, an in-person interview, to really get to understand who these people are and how they respond in different situations.”

That only women made the team was not a goal, Ms. Nichol said. The trust was looking for the right match for each role. Given the harshness of the environment, working in subzero temperatures and faced with an all-encompassing sense of isolation, group dynamic and mental preparedness are everything.

The four women will undertake intensive training in Cambridge in a couple of weeks’ time, “to prepare for any kind of eventuality when we’re there,” said Ms. Corbett.

As is natural for any big move, there are nerves. “When they offered it to me I was like, ‘Oh God, I’ve actually got to go now — was this a really stupid idea?’” Ms. Corbett said. “But the more we learn about Antarctica, and the work that we’ll be doing for the trust, the more exciting it becomes. So I’m not too nervous anymore. I’m excited.”