attack of the boys

2008-05-03 13:14:29.000 – Stacey Kawecki,  Observer

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“What’s it like being the only girl on the summit?”

This was the question asked of me by one of our volunteers this week. For some, I think living on the summit, in the winter, with boys might be a trying experience. None of us shower for the duration of our stay, due to the limited waste water storage (ick, cooties). I must admit, there have been some occasions when I’ve wished there was another girl up here. For the most part, it’s just like living with three brothers; sometimes I have to put the seat down and pick up dishes, but the overall feeling is one like a family. I grew up a tomboy, hanging out with my brother and his friends. We would go on adventures in the woods, play baseball and basketball, go fishing and biking. Getting dirty was never an issue with me, and the lack of girls never bothered me. In middle school I played kickball with the boys and was always the first girl chosen to be on sports teams.

There are certain rituals that take place before I walk into the summit building. The first is that I mentally turn off the female part of my brain. This is so I don’t get offended by the copious gaseous expulsions and the smell of not showering for a week. Then, I settle in for a comfortable week as one of the boys. (This is particularly funny, due to a mistake on my current license). There is a fair amount of good-natured teasing and bickering and B-grade action movies. All in all, it’s good fun, but it certainly is nice to turn the “girl” back on when I get off the summit.

Stacey Kawecki,  Observer