I lived in a Scott Polar tent for many weeks, and over several periods, during the early 1990s. I had a tent mate, Dave, and four other companions living in two-person Scott Polar tents. As geologists, we explored mountains in Marie Byrd Land, or Mighty Bad Land, the title of my new book.
When I first heard that exploring MBL meant living in a tent for a long time, I thought, “Live in a tent for weeks in Antarctica?” But I learned it was true. Our team of six included four geologists and two mountaineers. A woman geologist shared a tent with a platonic male colleague.
The Antarctic tent experience in a nutshell: FAQs
Living in a tent for weeks is a one-day-at-a-time experience. You must adjust to not going outside when a storm rages for days. It would help if you always were clothed in layers and never naked. During a blizzard, you must find a way to spend many idle hours; reading, snacking, melting snow for water, cooking, sleeping, and writing; in a small space of 8 x 8 feet, laying or sitting a few inches above the snow and ice.
What is a Scott Polar tent?
A Scott Polar tent is a pyramid-shaped canvas tent standing about eight feet tall. It has no center pole but four sturdy wooden poles at each corner. The pyramid shape sits atop a box-shaped section of canvas. Inside, its dimension is about eight by eight feet. It has no floor and sits on the snow. An inner liner of thin canvas extends a few inches from the tent’s inside walls. The tent’s base has a skirt that lies outside over the snow. We piled snow and equipment on this skirt to prevent wind from penetrating under the tent and carrying it away like a parachute. A canvas tunnel marks the entrance to the tent; it has a drawstring to close it off from the weather. A fabric hole for a chimney pipe is at the tent’s peak to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning when using a cook stove.
When setting up this tent, guy ropes on the sides are drawn tight to give it a finished shape. It is secured to the snow or ice by one-inch diameter pipes that are the stakes that pin it down on all sides. Typically the snow is stiff and windblown; we pounded the stakes into the snow with a hammer (geologic).
The tent had no window; we had to stick our heads outside the entrance tunnel to check the weather.
What is tent food?
Six of us went on the expedition recounted in Mighty Bad Land. Two people shared a tent. For food, each tent cooked on its own. In the following years, that changed to a group dining tent. We ate dehydrated, canned, and frozen food but had no fresh food.
We drank tea, a Tang-like drink, and water. Trail mix was a typical snack. We brought an alcohol ration for special occasions.
How do you care for yourself in a Scott Polar tent?
I didn’t bathe except for a sponge bath every few weeks. People don’t get BO in the Antarctic wilderness because it’s too cold for bacteria to breed in your armpits. I brought stick deodorant, which froze solid—and no laundry facilities. I packed three sets of long johns and underwear for the six weeks in the Deep Field. A first clean set was good for a week; then I turned those inside out to wear for the second week, put on a clean set the third week, etc.
How do you manage bodily functions living in a tent?
We each carried a polyethylene pee bottle marked using a Sharpie with a skull and crossbones. We emptied that bottle into a snow hole inside the tent entrance. Number two was done outside in a pit each person dug, sometimes behind a snow wall windbreak. We collected number two in a 5-gallon container for return to McMurdo. In the following years, we had a toilet tent.
What were daily living conditions?
Under calm conditions—no storms or whiteouts—the tent temperature was between 20 and 50 degrees F, depending on if we were cooking or melting snow with a one-burner gas stove. There is constant daylight with sun or overcast (most of the time!). Eye shades are necessary for sleep or at least a pullover cap.
We endured storms with blizzard winds of gale force for days on end. The tent would flap and snap in a breeze or a blizzard; thus, earplugs are necessary. Tent space is cramped, so bulky gear and rucksacks are left outside in the weather. We slipped our boots between the tent’s inner and outer wall space at night. It gets lonely with only a tent mate for long periods. We’d gather all six of us into one tent to make meals when we were “tent bound” by storms and whiteouts. Over Christmas 1989, we endured a ferocious blizzard at the base of Mount Luyendyk and had a pancakes brunch for the entire team of six inside my Scott tent.
Final Thoughts
Reflecting on the tenting experience, I am amazed at my adaptability under extreme conditions. I became pretty expert in carefully using the limited space, occupying time when storm-bound, and making a good friendship with my tent mate.
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