Persistent Cda Man Finds Cool Place To Work

Mark Perry found the end of Earth as wonderful as he’d imagined. Now, he’s ready for something colder and more remote.

“I’m going to the coldest spot in the world,” he says as temperatures in his new house in Coeur d’Alene climb into the 90s. “The warmest it gets at the South Pole is 10 below zero.”

Mark, 24, returned from six months in McMurdo, Antarctica, last February. The coastal town of dormitories, metal warehouses and a research facility sits on the only dirt and rock on the ice continent. Mark worked as a laborer for the National Science Foundation.

He had dreamed of visiting Antarctica his entire life, but figured it was impossible until fate stepped in. On a flight home to Massachusetts from school in Coeur d’Alene in 1994, Mark sat next to a man who’d worked in Antarctica for 10 years.

The man told Mark that the science foundation hired support staff - cooks, janitors, mechanics, etc. - for its three research facilities. He gave Mark names, told him how to apply for the jobs and stayed in touch with him after the flight.

Mark tried to finish college, but Antarctica called. In 1996, he applied for every science foundation job he figured he could do. Nothing happened. He applied again last year and heard nothing, so he drove to the hiring office in Denver.

The woman in charge took one look at his scrawny physique and told him she needed someone more rugged. Mark gave up hope, but six weeks later a job for him surfaced at McMurdo.

He reached his dream continent in August with an advance team assigned to prepare the town for summer use. Work happens during Antarctica’s warmest months, October through February. A few people stay year-round to maintain the facilities.

“When we landed, I stepped out and thought, ‘Oh cool, I’m here,’ and then my nose froze,” Mark says. The temperature was minus-60 degrees.

By his third day in McMurdo, the temperature had dropped to minus-112 degrees. Even the special clothing the foundation provided couldn’t protect people. Staff members were ordered to stay indoors.

As winter waned, Mark watched the sun smolder orange on the horizon for longer periods each day. By October, night had vanished from the continent and the temperature crawled above zero.

McMurdo proved an interesting sociology lesson for Mark. The 800 townspeople, from scientists to forklift drivers, bonded quickly. They understood every job’s importance to their survival. They energetically celebrated every holiday.

“I thought Christmas would be hard, but it was one of the best I’ve ever had,” Mark says. “I think that’s the only place left in the world where you can actually celebrate the real meaning of Christmas.”

No stores meant no shopping. People made gifts, sang, grew closer to each other.

The isolation depressed some workers, but Mark kept busy. He explored ice caves and rode on a U.S. Coast Guard ice cutter. He spotted penguins and won a helicopter ride.

“The novelty never wore off for me the entire six months,” he says.

After his return home in February, he applied again and was offered a warehouse job at the South Pole. The station in the continent’s icy center is small - 185 people - and self-contained. Mark leaves in October.

He plans to finish his degree in communications through a cooperative program the science foundation has with the University of Idaho and other schools.

“I’m happy with what I’m doing,” he says. “It’s everything I hoped it would be and more.”

Crocodile tears

Wallace’s Sixth Street Melodrama is worth the trip east. Where else can you boo villains and bad puns?

Live shows run Tuesdays through Fridays. For details, call 752-8871.

What’s the attraction in your community? Point it out to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene, ID, 83814; fax to 765-7149; call 765-7128; or e-mail to cynthiat@spokesman.com.