The time has come for our current winterovers, Connor and Kalvin, to pass the torch to the new winterovers that arrived at the South Pole in early November. As a winterover, individuals brave the unforgiving environment to spend a year—sometimes longer—at the South Pole, half of which is enveloped in complete darkness. Every year, two winterovers are selected and sent to the South Pole to operate and maintain the IceCube detector.
This year, we are thrilled to welcome IceCube’s two new winterovers for the 2024–2025 season, Ilya Bodo and Joe Baines-Holmes! Their journey to the Pole started with mandatory training at Madison, Wisconsin, before flying to Christchurch, New Zealand, and continuing on to McMurdo Station, the main U.S. Antarctic facility, which serves as a gateway for all personnel destined to the Pole. After a brief stay at McMurdo, their final stop was the South Pole, where they will spend a few weeks training with Connor and Kalvin before relieving them of their duties. Next up for Connor and Kalvin is a well-deserved trip back home.
Read the Q&A below to get to know our new winterovers!
Joe Baines-Holmes
Hometown: Brighton, England
Job and institution before this one: Senior software developer at Brandwatch
Hobbies: Bouldering, cinema, reading, cryptic crosswords, taking walks, swimming
How many continents have you been to (not counting Antarctica)? Four (North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa)
Why did you apply for this opportunity? I have always been interested in the South Pole and neutrino astronomy since I did some work on neutrino physics as part of my undergraduate master’s work at the University of Manchester. My advisor was part of IceCube and suggested becoming a winterover. Since I was looking for big changes in my life, the idea of a job that’s more adventurous and more of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was something I found exciting.
What do you expect life to be like at the Pole? Quite an adventure. There will be bits that are going to be exciting and intense, and I am looking forward to experiencing the extreme environment.
What are you most looking forward to doing at the South Pole? Putting time into personal projects like making music and learning more about myself. I am also looking forward to the experience of actually going down to the South Pole. Also, getting to see the cool experiments down there and how people live in an extreme environment. Oh, and the three cooked meals a day.
Least looking forward to? The periods of boredom and the shower situation. I am also worried about the windchill because I feel like that’s normally when you feel cold, and I think that’s going to be hard in the winter when we have to venture out to do stuff.
What do you think you will miss the most about living up north? My family, friends, cat, and streaming services.
What is one goal you have for your time at the South Pole? Finish one cryptic crossword!
Ilya Bodo
Hometown: Providence, Rhode Island
Job and institution before this one: Software engineer in Boston, Massachusetts
Hobbies: Photography (digital and film), bicycling, programming
How many continents have you been to (not counting Antarctica)? Three (North America, Europe, Asia)
Why did you apply for this opportunity? I wanted a job that was totally different from what I had done up until now. I didn’t like working on stuff that would never see the light of day and thought this was such a unique opportunity.
What do you expect life to be like at the Pole? A bit mundane at some points, but I know I am going to appreciate the opportunity to work on personal projects, like getting back into reading and catching up on movies and tv shows.
What are you most looking forward to doing at the South Pole? The duality of having the, literally, coolest job and being in such an extreme environment, along with still having some time to do other things.
Least looking forward to? The cold. I will probably start hating it when I am trying to take pictures. I might have a lull period where I’ve done everything and will have to find something else to do, and so I have to prepare for that.
What do you think you will miss the most about living up north? My family and my dog. I know my dog will definitely be happy when I return.
What is one goal you have for your time at the South Pole? Learn the Rust programming language!