A Monday Kind of Day

Just in case some of what I'm writing seems confusing to you, I've decided to point everyone towards the wonderfully written Dictionary of Antarctic Slang. Here you can look up any strange terms I may use, such as when I mention getting 'freshies' for dinner or sitting next to some DV's in the Delta on the way to Pegasus. It's a typical military type environment - slang for everything.

Today we went out to the ARRO site and took the solar panels off the building. They got packed in a special crate that the carp shop made just for us. Next step: machines digging out the building tomorrow!

I thought I would share some photos of me taken by a really cool lady named Reina that I met on the way down here. She has since gone off to the Pole for her research, but she emailed these to me recently. I know! Internet at the South Pole! How cool.

On the C-17 cargo plane


Hut Point - cross commemorating Scott's exploration party that died in search of the Pole

{actual posting date: Monday, January 18th}

Vacation Day!

Nothing new to report on the work front, since we didn't go to work today! We are waiting for the carpentry shop to finish building a crate we need to pack up the solar panels. The next step is for the heavy equipment crew to come in and dig out the ARRO box. Here's a little look at what they're up against!

Poor little guy is so snowed in

First, they'll have to dig out a good path to get the forklift down there, then slowly get that box up on the forks and finally attempt to back it out and load it on a truck - all without tipping the structure! The NiCd batteries are not allowed to be tipped or else the potassium hydroxide will spill out. BUT none of that can get going without us first taking those big, fragile solar panels off the sides. So we got a vacation day. In honor of such an occasion, I decided to go out last night (Saturday's the big night out around here) and see what the MacTown residents do for fun. And, well, I ended up dressing like a lizard, making friends with the entire medical team of McMurdo and watching a belly dancer perform while a 6-foot tall ghost danced nearby. Pretty good party for the middle of nowhere!

You may think it sounds like all play and no work around here, but that's not the case at all. Over 50 of the McMurdo residents entered in a polar marathon and have been training for weeks! Today was the big day. And I went down to the finish line after brunch with some friends to cheer on a very brave military guy named Mike, who ran the entire 26 miles on the snow and ice, in under 5 hours.

Yay Mike!

After that was all over, we went to visit Scott Base, the Kiwi station right down the road from McMurdo. There are helpful shuttles that go back and forth almost every hour. The base had a cute store, good views and a guest book to sign that went all the way back to 1984!



I visited the MacTown coffee house in the afternoon, which is a great little building, I'll post some pictures sometime. Inside, it looks like you're in the hull of a ship. And it's very warm and relaxing - a great place to get some work on my proposal done. It looks like tonight I've been invited off to play darts & pool for a while. Monday morning means going back to work outside! And it's going to be a cold one I think...

{actual posting date: Sunday, January 17th}

Welcome to McMurdo!

The purpose of this trip is, contrary to popular belief, NOT to walk around on amazing cliffs and hang out with penguins & leopard Weddell seals. We are here to retrograde a little instrument enclosure called ARRO that records and transmits magnetic and auroral data. It's an eight foot cube, totally self-sufficient with wind turbines, solar panels and a rack of batteries. Unfortunately, our goal here is to break it all down, pack it up inside itself and bring it home. Sometimes that's just what happens with experiments, it's called politics. However, we hit our first stumbling block today since we need to pack up the delicate solar panels and all-sky camera before doing anything else and the cases we needed for each were not ready or missing. Things will get going tomorrow again, but today was a nice break during which I got a chance to do other work. And take a walk up to the Hut point again to watch the icebreaker ship try to bust through the ice and make a shipping channel. He was doing a pretty good job of it! The first of two huge shipping vessels comes in a few days from now. They are preparing for the winter season down here, which is approaching quickly. No more regular planes will fly after around mid-February.

McMurdo is a nice place, although (gasp! I can't believe I'm saying this!) it actually makes me miss Alaska. There is plenty to do here, lots of socializing, a crazy scene made up of half military or ex-military and half hippies or ex-hippies. Lots of burners, riot grrls, you get the idea. But for me, having that stereotypical temperament of the lone scientist, it's a little too busy. I would rather have the solitude and isolation. But that's what hiking is for! I've already been out walking twice in 48 hours, even when exhausted, but hey that's my usual habit. Alaska is definitely more intense and beautiful, and totally more primitive. I bet if I came here for a winter, I'd see some real similarities though.

Despite all the whiteness, Antarctica is actually quite 'green!'


Trash bins can be somewhat confusing!

There is a bin for everything and it is all meticulously recycled or burned or re-used. You must separate plastic from cardboard from paper from food scraps from bio waste from dryer lint! Everything is about saving every last drop, which is often military standard anyway. The town works very efficiently this way. Speaking of the town, would you like to see it? This is McMurdo Station (MacTown), Antarctica. [Click to make the picture bigger & see the town better!]


Not bad for the middle of nowhere

There are up to 1,000 people just at this one station at any given time during the summer. It drops way down to 200 or so for winter-over, but still quite impressive. I ended today with a 2 hour (!!!) yoga class in the chapel and a warm shower. How's that for living at the end of the earth? Tomorrow: more field work! I'll try really hard not to get any sunburn like I did the first day out!

{actual posting date: Friday, January 15th}

On the Ice

I finally made it to the ice! After an exhausting few days of traveling, biding time and being rushed and frustrated, I truly made it. Yesterday was one of the craziest days I've probably ever had. It started at my 4:30 am wake-up call in Christchurch. But alas, our plane was delayed a couple hours so I managed some more real sleep. When it came time to get to the airport, everything went smoothly, but it still took a couple hours to check-in, load our luggage and board the plane. The ride was 5 hours in a C-17, but what an experience. All of our luggage and cargo was palleted and bolted to the center floor... the passengers were just a second thought. And it was so loud that we had to wear earplugs. At least it was heated! And we got a cute little bag lunch from the army guys. Once arriving, we were herded off the plane and kinda just all stood around amazed at the whiteness and beauty. Well, that's what I did for sure. There was a nice view of Mt. Erebus from the Pegasus runway where we landed. Standing off to the side was a huge orange track vehicle called "Ivan the terror bus," though it looked a good deal more like a tank than a bus. We all climbed aboard and started the 45 minute ride to the station. And something unbelievable happened! We saw a group of Emperor penguins huddled by the road!! The driver slowed but kept going, since we're not supposed to disturb the wildlife. First stop was Scott station where we let all the Kiwis off. This is one of New Zealand's bases. Then we reached McMurdo! It's nestled right in the cliffs of a big hill of black volcanic rock. This being summer, all the roads up there are bare, crushed rock - no snow. I got a briefing, picked up sheets and got my room assignment. I was first assigned to what I soon realized was a boy's room - oh no! But then I got it straightened out, and ended up being with four other very nice ladies. I hung out with one of them at dinner (more about the bad food later) and then we decided to head out on a mini-hike. We had spotted a point out past the base that looked like it had a good view, so we headed over. It turned out to be Hut Point, named after the hut nearby that Robert Scott and his team built when he came here exploring in 1901, pushing to make it to the South Pole. He and his men later disappeared and there is a cross on the highest part of the point to commemorate their fate. Guess what we saw from the peak? More penguins! This time they were Adelie penguins, which are much smaller than Emperors but very cute and playful. There were two of them and they were frolicking around on some ice chunks, diving and then popping up on the ice again. So cute! We also spotted a seal way off, bobbing his head up and down. Maybe he was stuck and couldn't find a way back out to sea, since most of the place was solid ice, with only patches of water here and there.


Place where the seal was hanging out

Exhausted & exhilarated, I fell into bed at 11pm with the sunshine at full speed outside. Good thing my room doesn't have any windows! It's pure pitch dark in there. The next day, my colleague and I went around doing errands like getting HF radios and checking in with our Point of Contact guy. Later in the morning, we arranged a ride out to the LDB (long duration balloon) site where our instrument building is located. We don't actually have anything to do with balloons. Our observatory is strictly to study magnetic and auroral data, but it's out at the same site. After a quick lunch at the galley out there (which has waaaay better food than the main station, so I'm glad we'll be out there most days!), we decided to tag along as some of the guys took a truck out to see the nesting Emperors that we saw on the way from the plane the day before. When we found them, we got out and the four of us got within just a few meters before they started reacting to us. That's the sign you should back off.


Penguins seem like little people in penguin suits!
Penguins are really quite amiable about humans gawking. Sometimes they even try to come over and investigate because they're so curious. No wonder they and the seals and the whales were all hunted like crazy! Poor things. They were pretty magnificent. I never thought I would actually get that close to an Emperor penguin. It's stupid, but I felt like I was in March of the Penguins, seeing these amazing guys up so close.


I like how the penguins look like explorers claiming the land

Enough excitement for my first 24 hours in Antarctica? I think so. Tonight I'm truly, utterly exhausted. I really need sleep & rest or I'm gonna drive myself into the ground. I'm just waiting for a free dryer and when that's done... off to sleep!

{actual posting date: Thursday, January 14th}

Going to the ICE!!

It's high time to re-start the blog! I'm off on another research trip, but this time it's the Frozen South I'm going to. Currently I'm hanging out in Christchurch, New Zealand - a decidedly cute little Kiwi city. I left home on Friday, January 8th and, a mere three days later, it's Tuesday already. Gotta love that international travel.

The voyage to NZ was actually a bit horrendous. 30+ hours of air travel with a couple "close calls" on our connections. One of which was so close, that we had to literally disbark in Detroit and sprint from Terminal C to Terminal A during the 10 mins before our next plane left. As I was rounding the last corner to the gate (out of breath and sure to have a heart attack at any moment), I actually heard the final boarding warning announcing that they were about to close the doors. It was almost straight out of a movie, I felt like Hugo on that Lost episode where he absolutely must catch that plane. Anyway, we made it and we also made the Sydney connection (where we were ushered up to first class so we could be the first ones out and make a run for it) but our bags didn't. But I did finally get my luggage, a day after making it to New Zealand, and managed to not be too upset about wearing stinky airplane clothes for three days.

Yesterday we headed over to the Antarctic center and specifically the CDC (Clothing Distribution Center) to get briefed on our extreme cold weather gear. Then the men & ladies separated so we could each go try on the clothes they had set aside for us. I ended up having to exchange my small parka for an XXS and it's still huge, but everything else mostly fit.

Today I'm leaving the warm, summery island of NZ in favor of the vast continent of Antarctica. Our C-17 jet (cute little gray military plane) was scheduled to leave early this morning, but we've since been delayed three times so I'm killing time at the hotel. We have a five hour flight (lame!) that may turn into a 10 hour flight if we have to boomerang and head back just before landing due to Antarcitc weather conditions. Believe me, I'm glad to be stuck in NZ waiting for a delayed flight than having to boomerang. I'll be staying at McMurdo station for the duration of the Antarctic stay, but there's plenty of internet access so blog posts will be published. The next one tomorrow hopefully, if we make it down to the ice today! Keep your fingers crossed for me...




{actual post was on Tuesday, January 12th - posting from the other side of the international dateline!}

No Launch

We didn't end up getting a chance to launch during this window. Most people will return to Alaska in a week to try again, but several of us aren't returning. So good luck CASCADES-2!! I had a wonderful time, learned a ton and feel like I contributed something. But also really glad to be home!

Back to normal - classes and homework instead of blowing snow and polar bear warnings.

Thanks for reading about my adventures!

Whale bones!

Hans and I went to see the whale carcasses out past the runway at the corner of the island. We drove off road a bit and found the lumps of snow that turn into carcasses when it thaws, but right now, it's just frozen snow-covered whales and windswept bones sticking out of the snow. The polar bears come to gnaw on them in the summer when seal food is scarce. The bones were quite pretty!



Here is me squinting into the wind and being very cold next to the bones.








Whale Boneyard!




Random pile of gravel and snow that I see when I go for a walk. The light that day made it look particularly nice...


The days of the open launch window are quickly drawing to a close. And launch or no launch, I go home on Wednesday evening. And return to NH on Thursday! I really feel bad for the way things have gone, but of course, it's out of anybody's control. When the skies are clear, the solar wind isn't there. When the substorms are surging through the sky, the range is down for atmospheric winds. It's been a sure test of patience, which will continue a week later in the new window (after the moon has gone back down for the time slot). I won't be returning for that window though.

These past few days have been lazy... I usually don't make it to bed until after 4am, then I struggle to wake up by noon to catch the scheduled lunch, then back to bed for a nap, then either a long walk or time on the exercise machine and weights. Mike is great to talk to though, he's the usual tech guy here, but he was on his time off until about a week ago. He's Japanese-American and has great stories and likes to bitch about the stupid people in the world and the plight of abandoned dogs and cats. And he likes to make spicy thai, japanese and indian food, which is more than fine by me! I watched 30 Days of Night the other day which was awesome even the 2nd time around, and was quite an appropriate thing to watch, considering it is set in Barrow, Alaska which is similar to Kaktovik in many ways. Oh and I also finished reading "I Am Legend," about a man suddenly finding himself as the last non-infected human left alive. And I also managed to squeeze in the ever epic move Apocalypse Now. (I sense a theme here... doom and isolation?)

So I'm hoping for a launch (*crossing fingers very hard*) but either way I'm headed home. I miss my cats, my farm, my Matt and my Volvo.