Frozen Beard of the Week

You never  forget the people who support you from the outset, do you? You know, the ones who aren’t family or even friends for that matter. They follow you because (hopefully) they’re genuinely interested in what you’re doing.

I would like to think that James Townsend is one of those people. I remember he started following Beardrevered when Twitter followers were still in single figures! Today, I received his frosty beard picture (above). It comes with a story too. For James is no ordinary Beardsman – he is the Dr on the Halley VI research station in Antarctica.

Halley VI is a research station that monitors ozone reduction, atmospheric pollution, sea level rise and climate change; it was here that that the ozone hole was discovered in 1985. And lying within the auroral zone, it’s also ideally situated for geospace research and, at almost 76 degrees South, is the remotest British presence anywhere in the world. It’s harder to get someone out of here than back from the International Space Station!

With temperatures averaging -50C, ‘stepping outside from a warm indoors meant whole body steaming and the pretty-much instant formation of a decent frosty beard. Though excellent at keeping the face warm and frostbite free, the beard is an absolute bugger for getting frosted- stuck on ones scarf or balaclava, resulting in a defrosting period being necessary on returning inside to avoid epilation injuries’

Dr James, we salute/revere you.

For more information on James visit: 103 Days of Darkness and AntarcticDoc on Twitter

British Antarctic Survey

Images: James Townsend

P.S. I like Penguins almost as much as I like beards….