Left to right – IAM Local Lodge 99 member Spencer Smirl holds the IAM flag with another member of the Finnes Antarctic crossing expedition. The Six Month journey will take the expedition from Crown Bay on the continent’s east shore, and cross the South Pole enroute to Ross Island on the continents south shore.
Over the years our members have proudly shown the IAM flag wherever and whenever possible. It was taken to new heights in September 2010, when IAM District Lodge 140 General Chairperson Michel Pelot, proudly displayed the Quebec Machinists flag at the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro after a seven-day climb up the world’s fourth highest mountain.
However IAM Local Lodge 99 member Spencer Smirl has taken the flag in the opposite direction –way down under in Antarctica.
At 28, Smirl, is the youngest member of the Sir Ranulph Finnes expedition, a crossing of the Antarctic –from coast to coast – a distance of more than 2,000 miles – during the winter in almost total darkness with temperatures reaching -90 degrees C. This has never been done before.
Smirl is one of two mechanics on the journey lasting more than 6 months including 273 days on the ice. The expedition, which left its base at Crown Bay March 21, 2013, will use two CAT D6N track-type tractors which will pull an ‘ice-train’, consisting of two cabooses containing accommodation, storage and scientific lab units. The CAT D6N’s were donated by Finning International and extensively modified for this expedition. Smirl and fellow mechanic Richmond Dykes are responsible for maintaining the tractors during this historic trek.
Smirl had been working at the Ekati diamond mine facility near the Arctic Circle since 2011, so he’s used to working in isolation, sub-zero temperatures and near total darkness. He jumped at the chance to be part of this expedition. Two days out of Crown Bay, he took time to pose with the Machinists Flag and at the time it was a balmy -67 degrees Celsius. Smirl will be providing his Local Lodge with weekly updates during the expedition.