At ALE’s South Pole camp, lovingly deemed “the world’s southernmost resort” we sat down with Cedar Jasiuk, the acting remote camp manager. Cedar has worked in the Antarctic for six seasons, three specifically as the South Pole Camp Manager. Cedar shares about his background, and a bit of what makes living at the South Pole so interesting.
Q: What keeps you coming back to work for ALE?
A: The people is the easy answer. Hearing what those people do in the off season then getting to work with those people. I love hearing what those people did on the off season and get inspired by them. It’s great to catch up with them.
Q: When you’re not at ALE what do you like to do?
A: Most of the off season is a bit of guiding then a lot of carpentry. I did a carpentry apprenticeship when I was younger, so I go back and do some building.
Q: What is the most interesting carpentry project you’ve worked on?
A: I did a really cool cabin out at Norman Wells which is north of Yellowknife. We’d fly in with Twin Otters, like same planes that we’re flying with down here at the pole, but just a different company. We did the timber frame down in Squamish, shifted up to Norman Wells, and then we flew it on Twin Otter out there. We then spent two summers doing shift work like three weeks on three weeks off, going in and out to build this cabin.
Q: Do you feel any of your carpentry skills carry over into your Antarctica skills?
A: Yeah, totally. I think that’s a big part of how I got started. When I first started at ALE it was as a general hand. So I didn’t come right in as a camp manager. I worked for Al in Mech for a season and a half pretty much. But yeah, that was like a big part of the interview: Did you have experience remote camping building.
Q: What advice would you give someone preparing to come to the South Pole?
A: Be prepared for the cold: The climate is just so different than what people are used to. Summertime temperatures here at the South Pole are close to minus 30 Celsius. And if you get a bit of wind, with the windchill it’s closer to minus 40. If you’re not from a place that sees those temperatures, then it can be pretty alarming. Sometimes I think people think we are babying them when we tell them they need to wear all these layers, but you need to wear that stuff. It’s wild how cold you can get when you’re standing still taking pictures at the South Pole.
Q: What is the most interesting thing about being the South Pole Camp Manager?
A: We have a wide range of guests here. We have people that climbed Vinson, then come to the pole. We have people that visit Three Glaciers Retreat then come here for the night. We have people that fly in for the day, people who have skied the last degree, and then people who have skied for the last 60 days from the coast. And sometimes they are all here at the same time. The South Pole Camp is the only place where all these people meet, and we all eat together and hang out together. It’s just super interesting when we have this mix of our staff, people who are doing this high-end luxury trip, and then people who have been eating dehydrating food for 60 days and haven’t seen a single person. I think it’s a highlight for other guests running into those expeditioners.
Q: Are those expeditioners pretty banged up when they arrive at the South Pole?
A: Depending on how well they took care of themselves when they were out there, no. They’re generally in good shape physically, but it’s their minds that need adjusting. They haven’t talked or seen anyone for so long. Usually what happens is I go out to meet them and they still have a ways to ski so I’ll walk with them. I’ll ask them how they’re doing and I’ll just get a ‘Good’. I’ll ask them how was it, and all they’ll say is ‘Good’. And then very slowly, by the time we get them back here at camp and we’ve hung out for a while they’ll get used to talking to someone again. Then they’ll be talking for hours and eating. They also have to get used to walking because they haven’t done anything other than ski for so long. It takes them a bit to get used to walking on a floor again.
Q: Why should people care about traveling to the South Pole?
A: So many people tried so hard to get here, and it’s still hard to get here. It’s a lot easier now with flying, driving, skiing, whatever, but it’s still an epic to get here. You can’t just drop in, it’s an incredible journey. I always think the coolest thing is– you know on Google Maps when you can zoom out? I like to drop a pin then slowly zoom out just to help it sink in where you are in the world.