Faithful Readers!….

…… I am sure that all three of you have all been on the edge of your seats, salivating at the thought of another entry. Well, Antarctica came and went uneventfully. The memory that remains the sharpest in my mind is the overpowering smell of green plants when I touched back down in New Zealand (Although, every so often I vividly recall how bad the food was at McMurdo and I become tremendously grateful that I don’t have to eat it for dinner).  Otherwise, thoughts of my time on The Ice are faint .  Not forgotten.  Just tucked away, for safe keeping.  Yet another experience in the safe deposit box.  Since “home” has now become something that I feel I can carry with me wherever I go, places like Antarctica just don’t seem very far away anymore.   And neither do my recollections of it.  So I don’t fear forgetting about my time there.

Anyway, since I did such a terrible job of posting while I was down south, I’ve posted a brief summary of some of the places I visited in Antarctica.

Minna Bluff – Our experience here was a tremendously unpleasant one.  High winds, poor vis, and rime.  Fast moving, low lying fog usually comes in from the south and flows up and over the bluff to the north, spilling over the other side like an extra voluminous but silent Niagra Falls.  We were amazed to find ourselves looking down on this spectacle in the glaring sunlight just moments after we lifted off from the site at the end of the day.   The fog was thin enough to cover just the bluff itself but thick enough to keep the sun from shining on us.

Don't we look happy?

The bluff on a nice day.

Fishtail Point – The highlight of Antarctica!   It is an hour or so south of Mactown by helicopter on a spit of land that looks like a…well…fishtail.  We experienced a lovely day there, despite the usual high winds.  Gorgeous views of ice and rock.

The gps antenna.

On our way home in the helo. Mt. Discovery is in the background.

Mt. Erebus –  The highlight of Antarctica!   This was spectacular.  Our team was plunked down high up on the western flank to install a seismic station.

Seth loads up.

Brian tinkers with the seismometer.

In the shadow of the summit, we look pretty tiny.

Iggy Ridge – The highlight of Antarctica!  Two hours south into the transantarctic mountains by twin otter (that’s a fixed wing).  Truly, the complete boonies.  We made two separate trips out here.  1) to assess any damage and figure out what the heck was wrong with the equipment.  2) to repair the damage…..which, it turned out, there was an abundance of.  Our battery enclosure had completely exploded, the receiver board was ruined, the meteorological pack was wrecked, and the wind turbines had been hammered.

On our way south....Uh, anyone see a glacier?

Our site from the air. Can you see the seismometer?

Antarctica....stuff breaks here...

The view from the top. GPS antenna is in the foreground and the seismic station is visible just to the left of the plane.

Stopping for tea and fuel at our cache.

Lone Wolf Nunatak – The highlight of Antarctica!   Lone Wolf is essentially a big hunk of rock poking out of the surrounding glacier.  I was very taken with a gigantic windscoop that barricaded one half of the peak.  We stopped here to make a few small repairs.

Brian crampons off to the station.

It is difficult to assess the scale from this photo, but that scoop of ice is HUGE! Like a gigantic quarter pipe....now why didn't I think to bring my skateboard?

The Kitchen Sink is Encouraged

I am one of those people who pokes fun at RVers. After all, who drives into the middle of the woods, in order to feel like they are still at home? Well, three nights ago, I went extreme car camping. It was like RVing on steroids (minus the TV)….and it was AWESOME.

A giant monstrosity of a vehicle picked me up, along with nine fellow McMurdo-ites, and dumped us out at Happy Camp on the Ross Ice Shelf. This is where all the delicate scientists get to practice living, field camp style, out in the cold for two days. However, we weren’t exactly roughing it.

Since the way to get around this continent is either by track vehicle, plane, or helicopter, a person can pack liberally for transit. In fact we were encouraged to bring all the cold weather gear we could possibly fit into our bags. I had an entourage of luggage in tow, even before I was issued my food, sleeping bag, tent, etc.

I used perhaps a fourth of my clothing and couldn’t have finished all the food (which was surprisingly good) if I had tried. I slept like a queen in my very spacious tent with all of my belongings stacked up around me. Maybe that’s the idea: surround yourself with enough stuff and you will stay warm. Those RVers….they could be on to something.

THE CAR

THE CAMP

For that dude who said, “psh, YOU’LL never get there….”

That dude was wrong….

After years of drooling over pictures, I have touched down in Antarctica and will stay until the end of February.  I almost peed my pants looking out the plane window on the way down and have had a rather difficult time containing my excitement since.  This is, I am sure, the most incredible place on earth.

I am here (for work) as part of a Unavco (my company) project that is helping to develop a power and communications system for remote GPS and seismic stations on the ice.  Basically just building stuff, sticking it out in far flung locations and seeing if it works.  We’ll be visiting about 5 field sites, a few of which are quite remote.

McMurdo itself is an ugly mining town in the middle of utopia.  There are dirty fork lifts and growling track vehicles and lots of big buildings with teeny windows.  It’s large, with a population of just under 1,000.  It also has all the creature comforts of home such as a coffee house, bar, NPR, and people in carhartts.

My most adventurous experiences here occur in the dining hall.  Sometimes because of the food that is served.  But most of the time because I feel as if I’ve died and gone back to Jr. High when I take my tray and face a sea of unfamiliar people who all seem to know each other and not me.  I am forced to feign confidence, walk up to a randomly selected table, and ask if I may join.  I detest this scenario…..even more so than public speaking.

But, I am extra happy because it is bright outside 24 hours a day.  I can check out a pair of skis or a mountain bike and go play in full sunlight right before bed.  When I wake up at 6 am, I open the curtain and voila, insta-sun.

Strangely, all of this feels entirely normal, as if I have always lived here.  The other parts of my life seem very far away.

It is true: those things are, in fact, very far away.

But, I wonder if I may be growing familiar with the unfamiliar.   Being in new places feels pleasantly old.  Discomfort is comfortable……Public speaking is still, sadly, utterly petrifying….

It’s the Blog, Stupid.

By nature, I kind of suck at certain forms of maintenance, I especially have trouble with the varieties that require some sort of daily effort, like email correspondence and feeding animals (which is why I don’t have a pet).     My life at this point in time seems to reflect this neglect for consistency by its lack of routine.  Not much about my day repeats itself the next.   Except maybe gum chewing.

For the time being, this is great fun.  Long term, however, this is quite unhealthy.  I have a fundamental need for some sense of repetition in my life.  It makes me feel grounded.    Since I am currently very deprived of this repetition nutrient,  I am looking  for ways to synthesize it.   This blog is my first attempt.

I warn you, when it comes to things that can be journal-like in nature, I make up words,  don’t spell check,  and misuse semicolons.  I don’t even proofread…sorry Dad.

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