Mike Craven

Mike grew up near the Surf Coast and the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia, eventually attending the University of Melbourne. A brief foray into tropical climes as a hotel manager ended serendipitously when he discovered that the broadsheet newspaper he was using to fan away the stifling Queensland humidity contained a full-page advertisement extolling the cool, crisp, clean virtues of the 'Great Southern Land', Antarctica. He was snared, 'hook, line and sinker'. Mike has since overwintered 6 times in the Antarctic and spent many summers there in the past twenty years.

His Antarctic career began looking upward as he chased fantastic lights in the sky – the beautiful aurora australis – for which the long, dark polar winters provided ample viewing opportunities. Now, as a glaciologist, his attention is drawn downward into the myriad wonders of the ice, either traversing across its vast expanses or drilling into its chilly depths. Having led several deep-field drilling teams, Mike was invited to be the runway manager at the Wilkins Aerodrome, 43.5 miles (70 km) inland of Casey Station, and later the station leader at Mawson Station for another thoroughly enjoyable winter.

Mike and his wife, Chris, who has been to the Antarctic on several occasions, live on the edge of the Australian bush, near Hobart. They have two children, who live in close proximity and also enjoy the fresh vitality of the Tasmanian environment, and have recently welcomed two delightful granddaughters into their lives.