Good morning ! Have you done your nature's call today ? Haha
Since Antarctica is the most pristine continent, we have to keep it clean (actually, it goes to everywhere we go) and the rules are more strict about it here. We must not leave anything, literally anything, including our human waste.
So, this is how we deal with the use of toilet here in the Basecamp of Mt. Vinson, Antarctica.
That is our toilet, built by blocks of ice. Very simple isnt it? But, we always had the best view ever ! Everytime we did that nature's call. A good reason to spend more time in the toilet, right? 😋 Also, this is the coldest temperature of any toilets I've been into !
The one that Deedee is sitting on and the one on her left are where we throw our solid waste. Inside each of them, there are a big bucket with plastic bag. After the bags are fully loaded, the staffs will take it out, put a new bag in it. Then, those fully loaded bag of poo, they will bring those back to Union Glacier (our main basecamp), then, send it back to Punta Arenas.
The right one, with the red bucket is for female only. That is where we pee. Then, after we pee, we take the bucket and throw the pee in the pee hole. No solid waste allowed here. While the men can just pee right into the pee hole.
The pee hole itself is a little hole but deep (not sure how deep it was), marked with a flag. Usually, it is not far from the toilet, just a couple steps from the toilet, and that is where we throw the pee and gray water. There are also many other pee holes along the route to the summit. Pee and the gray water are the only things that are allowed to be left out there.
Not to forget, when we got to higher camp, no more toilet as comfort as that. We had to bring our own poo bag and we must return that bag to the basecamp.
If we want to pee when we are moving, we use pee funnel (this tool make us able to pee like a man 😁) and put the pee in a bottle until we met the pee hole.
So, I hope you enjoy your morning routine today ! Have a good one everyone ! 😘