WAIS Divide’s Recreation Tent – Warmth and Comfort on the Polar Ice
Jeffrey Donenfeld
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Living and working at WAIS Divide Field Camp is rough – long hours of work, harsh environment, and living in a frozen tent for weeks, sometimes months on end. To get a bit of a break from the grind, an extremely important feature of camp is the Rec Tent. This tent is one of the hubs of social life and relaxation life, and offers basic comforts of home. A few photos.
Layout of the entire rec tent. At the back of the tent is the entrance to the wash module, with sinks, showers, washeing machines, snow melter, and satellite phone booth.In the front of the Rec Tent, there’s a small workout area with a spinning bikes, and various yoga mats and weights. Additionally, there are two computer terminals, a keyboard, and other reconfigurable space. This small space plays host to so many activities, and it’s constantly busy. On the left, individual cubbies store personal good.Movie nights happen almost every night at WAIS. We have a projector and screen setup, as well as a dedicated laptop. Everybody has hard drives full of movies and TV. Watching movies in relative darkness, warmth, and quiet is an essential respite from the harsh environment outside.
