A torpedo-shaped orange balloon looms over what appears to be a houseboat resting on a frozen, white sea.
Stairs lead to the roof that is roped off around the perimeter.
Mike Town gets the balloon ready for a launch. The wooden building is actually a South Pole climatology lab. The carpenters made it this way just for kicks. Warren won't be here during the six months of darkness. Graduate students Mike Town and Steve Hudson will steer the lab's dark season of experiments in the clouds, studying snow and analyzing greenhouse gases.