This week at Mawson: 16 October 2026

First Winter as a perpetual summering expeditioner

I've done my fair share of summer seasons in the last nine years… But for my fifth Antarctic season, I finally graduated to the hallowed ranks of becoming a winterer. Throughout the year, I've often been asked the questions:  "How does a winter compare to a summer?" and "Are winters really better?". Having not yet completed the full year, I don't have the full picture yet but here are my observations so far as the sun is returning and the darkness of winter is starting to feel like a distant memory.

The winter months were both a combination of being better and more challenging than I expected (it's not always sunshine and rainbows, but it's pretty good). I don’t think it's really possible to put into words the experience of basically total darkness with the sun setting at 3pm and how it can impact everything down here from mood to sleep to motivation.

So here are my observations so far from my first winter down south:

1. Your team mates become a new family and you can recognise your team mates by many little idiosyncrasies:
   • The sounds of their footsteps in the corridors
   • Who shuts doors the heaviest
   • What people look like when they're walking outside
   • The little routines of who you're going to run into when making your morning coffee
2. It is possible to not go outside and look at an aurora every time there is an aurora out the window
   • I never thought that auroras would become such a routine part of life where if the winds are over 20 knots, there's no point in going outside to have a look
   • I have, however, slept with my blind open at night in the off chance that I wake up and peer out to see an aurora
3. Winter brain, the winter stare winter mood shifts and winter sleeplessness are all real
   • Forgetfulness is super common and I find myself forgetting the most basic things every now and then
   • Also catching myself and my team staring off into the distance looking at nothing
   • Many people in our team (myself included) found the darkness impacting their sleep and moods down here which was fascinating to witness and experience
4. The cliché of "It's a marathon, not a sprint" is true.
   • Over summer it's very easy to get caught up in the business of the season and to always find stuff to do or people to hang out with but during the winter, it's worthwhile to remember to take time off to take a break from the craziness of station life. Going from 150 people in a summer to just 19 of us over the winter is eye-opening.
5. Emperor penguins really are as incredible as you'd expect
   • There's no words to explain the feeling of finally seeing an emperor penguin in real life after so many years. The experience brought a few tears.. and the chicks were even more incredible to see.
6. -40°C wind chill is about as bitterly cold as you'd expect
   • No further comments on this one – it's cold
7. Glasses fogging up and then freezing is as annoying as you can imagine.
   • Note to self: look into laser eye surgery when I get home..
8. Hydroponics is a nice little haven
   • It's very enjoyable to spend time in hydro amongst the plants, the humidity and the heat during the depths of winter

To my 79^th ANARE Mawson family, thank you for being here with me through my first winter – I couldn't imagine a better bunch to spend it with. Now, let's look toward the next five months and the influx of summerers and remember that it is okay to be a summerer first.  (Deb Holmes, BoM Observer)