may 2026
Seasonal Spotlight: Katie Sismour and Brian Wilson, Raven Camp Crew
What does a typical day look like for you at Raven during flight periods?
Brian - Brian typically gets up an hour before our first flight to prepare by melting out the PistenBully, troubleshooting equipment, moving snow, making roads, shoveling, and building cargo. After the flight departs, he grooms on the skiway until 3 a.m. if conditions are cold enough.
Katie – Katie's day begins at 4:50 AM with weather observations--which occur every 20-30 minutes. Operational tasks are squeezed in between observations: cargo paperwork, flight following/operations, snow shoveling, making water, polar bear checks, meal prep, and troubleshooting various heating/electronic systems.
Unlike bigger camps with designated people for each position, the two of us do everything ourselves and may not see another human for 4-8 weeks!
What do you find the most enjoyable and the most challenging about working/living at Raven camp?
Most enjoyable:
Having a little garden, which Silver (14 seasons at Raven) taught me how to grow in the tent.
Flying kites on fair weather days.
The need to think outside of the box and be creative, working with what you have since 2 week + delays for flights are common at Raven.
Working directly with the ANG and seeing how excited they get to train at Raven.
Most challenging:
The weather. We get a lot of snow, wind, above 0°C temps and we see most of the different kinds of precipitation as well. It also rains at Raven!
Grooming at 3am (we have to groom overnight so that the temps are cold enough). We see some pretty awesome auroras, the kind that make you thankful instead of cranky to be up in the middle of the night grooming a skiway in the middle of Greenland.
Describe the craziest, hardest, and or best experience at Raven?
Our first season, we got hit with a storm during put-in that lasted 3 days. We had sustained winds 30 to 50 kts gusting 60-70 kts. Four of us spent five days living in our little E-shack (A 7’ x 8’ building the size of an Airforce pallet) before the weather let up. It took 2 weeks before the weather improved enough to set-up and move everything into the Weatherport (the camp’s main tent).
At put-in this year, we had a plane stuck on the ground after 8 attempts to take off on our ungroomed skiway. It felt like a magic trick but all 7 of the air crew and us fit in the 7’ x 8’ E-shack space together with all of their Do Not Freeze gear. Reminded me of Mary Poppins’ handbag. It was the only warm place to stay out of the 25-30 kts winds. They had to stay overnight until conditions allowed them to take off the next day.
What would people be surprised to learn about working/living at Raven?
Raven Camp was set up during the Cold War alongside the DYE-2 radar station for early warning against Soviet air attacks. DYE-2 was abandoned in 1988, but the structure still stands 2/3 mile from Raven Camp.
We often see cross-country skiers, some kite skiers, and the occasional helicopter. Drew & Silver (Raven staff for 14 years) have also seen dog sled teams and a runner come through.
We wash our clothes in a 5-gallon bucket with a plunger, handling about four garments or ten pairs of socks at a time, requiring 400 plunges per load.
How did you get involved in this role?
I (Katie) landed the Fuels Operator job at WAIS divide, Antarctica in 2018 where I met Brian. That year he told me he was done working in the cold and wanted to work somewhere warm handing out beach towels in his bare feet!
Several years later, I applied for the Site Supervisor position at Summit station. After Austin the Station Manager interviewed me, I asked if there was a job for Brian as being apart for 4 months a year was already more than enough. When I rattled off a list of Brian skills, how he makes everyone laugh, how he easily outworks everyone in camp and is first to have his hands in the dish pit - Austin wrote back, saying he thinks we are the unicorns needed for Raven camp. Happy Raven Unicorns we are indeed!
Raven Legacy Team
Raven has a very storied history and Seasonal support team of super stars. Drew and Silver Abbott spent 14 summers at Raven and 4 seasons passing on their knowledge by helping the new teams with camp put-in. Josh Parris supported Raven for 16 seasons as the Raven Carpenter Foreman, Mark Lesher and Todd Kasch have worked in Kangerlussuaq since 2004 - prepping the Raven PistenBullys for long hours of skiway construction and maintenance.
Photos: Katie Sismour, Brian Wilson