Libby man headed for South Pole
Eric Kroeger, 2004 Libby High School graduate
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
October 16, 2009
At a time of year when many Montanans start thinking of going south for the winter, Libby’s Eric Kroeger is taking that idea to the extreme. He’s heading for the South Pole.
Kroeger, a 2004 graduate of Libby High School who received a degree in recreation management from the University of Montana in 2008, will be leaving Oct. 16 and will be in Antarctica until early February. He’ll be working for Raytheon Polar Services providing support services at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, "smack dab at the South Pole," Kroeger said.
Kroeger will be in Antarctica at the height of the polar summer.
"It will be sunlight 24 hours a day, and it never gets above zero," he said.
Temperatures typically range between 20 below and zero, Kroeger said.
Kroeger will be living at an altitude of 9,600 feet, but because of the thinner atmosphere at the pole it will feel like 11,000 feet, he said. In addition to adapting to the cold and the altitude, he will need to take precautions to protect his eyes from ultraviolet rays.
"I had to buy these pretty heavy-duty sunglasses with really dense filters," he said.
Kroeger found out about the chance to work at the pole through connections he made while doing seasonal work in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
"A couple of people I had worked with there had done this, and it just seemed like a cool deal," he said.
Kroeger said he’s been asked what kind of wildlife he might see in Antarctica. While there are penguins and sea lions at the coast, "at the pole there’s not going to be anything," he said. "People are the only animals stupid enough to go that far south."
______________________________________
Editor’s Note: See the October 13, 2009 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Tuesdays, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
|
