Polar garbage woman: Clair Von Handorf

“My official job title was ‘solid waste technician,’ which translates into ‘garbage woman,’ but what better place to work with rubbish then where bugs and rats don’t exist?” Von Handorf said, noting the “summer” temperature ranged from 30 above to 40-degrees below zero F.

Von Hondorf returned home to spend the summer in the White Mountains of New Hampshire working at a backcountry campsite on the top of Mt. Garfield, spending 10-11 days at a time with no access to roads, cars, etc.

“I smell pretty bad by the end of each stint, but it’s awesome,” Von Hondorf said.

In this photo she’s demonstrating how one can make a splint out of just about anything, an important skill when civilization is far away. She currently is training for another season in Antarctica and has documented her travels on her blog: www.walkwithbeauty.blogspot.com.