I don't know what the dollars-persquare-
foot construction cost is down
here, but it's plenty. "Down here" is
McMurdo Station, Antarctica, where
I've spent the past two Antarctic summers
working in the station's construction
supply department.
A large part of the job is breaking
down shipping containers full of stuff
and repacking it into crates, which we
build on site from dimension lumber
and plywood. It's something like refilling
the bins at a gigantic outdoor hardware
store. The smallest task can
blossom into a grueling test of
endurance, and the winds that come
screaming off the polar plateau have a
way of getting your attention. I've seen
the wind send full 55-gallon drums rumbling
around like deranged rolling pins,
and