In splendid solitude

In 2015, Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu brought The Revenant to cinemas. Set in 1823, the film follows fur trapper Hugh Glass, who is abandoned by his companions during a hunting expedition in North Dakota after being badly mauled by a grizzly bear. Glass, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, nevertheless manages to kill the animal. Filming was exceptionally demanding for the cast and crew: the intense cold caused physical difficulties for those on set and technical problems with the equipment.
Shot entirely in natural light in British Columbia, Canada, and Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, the film earned Iñárritu the Oscar for Best Director and DiCaprio the award for Best Actor. Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki won the award for Best Cinematography. It was DiCaprio’s first Oscar after several previous nominations, recognising a performance that was at times gruelling: he even acted while running a high fever and in temperatures of around −30 to −40°C.
Conditions are, in some respects, comparable to those faced by people who choose to work in Antarctica. Among them is Angelo Domesi, a technical specialist with the Italian National Research Council’s Department of Earth System Science and Environmental Technologies (DSSTTA), who has spent part of his career there. As he recalls: “I began working in Antarctica in 2004, on my first mission to the Terra Nova Bay base, later renamed Mario Zucchelli Station. I was hired for five months to oversee the telecommunications systems. The following season, in 2005, I moved to Concordia, the joint Italian–French station at Dome C. The first time I arrived, as soon as I stepped off the plane, the fierce, biting wind hit me like a slap in the face. I immediately thought it would be impossible for me to stay there. But I fell in love with the place and kept returning for another 20 years.”

Before setting off on a mission, personnel undergo thorough medical examinations to assess their physical and psychological fitness and reduce the risk of health problems during their stay. Working at Concordia, where conditions are equivalent to an altitude of 4,000 metres and temperatures are extremely low, is certainly challenging. The climate also means that staff must acclimatise once they arrive. “On the Antarctic plateau, the air contains little oxygen, is exceptionally dry and is often still. You have to manage your energy carefully and pace yourself to avoid serious effects on your health, particularly your heart and lungs. As the technician responsible for the machinery, the start of each summer season is a crucial time for me. That’s when we bring the many machines and vehicles needed for research into operation, with outdoor temperatures between −50 and −55°C. Our clothing is specially designed for places like this, but you still feel the cold. In some indoor spaces, we have to use fans to spread the heat and circulate warm air; otherwise it stays close to the heat source,” Domesi explains.
Life at an Antarctic station can evoke powerful emotions, inseparable from its beautiful yet inhospitable surroundings. Here, the sun does not rise for around three months of the year. During the Antarctic winter, which lasts almost nine months, temperatures can fall to −80°C. In summer, by contrast, the sun stays above the horizon around the clock and, although it remains very cold, minimum temperatures do not generally reach winter’s extremes. “When wind or poor visibility prevents aircraft from landing or taking off, the people at the station can remain isolated for extended periods. Being far from loved ones, and unable to help if they face an emergency, is difficult to cope with,” the CNR-DSSTTA technician concludes. “Yet all this is part of the singular enchantment of a distant and, in many ways, hostile destination. Few reach it, though many long to: a place where you can encounter extraordinary wildlife amid silent, frozen landscapes of incomparable beauty.”