Blogs from Antarctica, Antarctica - page 36

Nov 3 Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego I think I made a terrible mistake: when I left Nova Scotia it was fall, almost winter. When I came down here it should have been spring, almost summer. So why is it 0 degrees, snowing, 10 cm of snow on the ground and the mountains all around town completely white?! However, this morning there are a few blue patches, and the ship is in so it's not all bad. I'm getting picked up in a few minutes, so this'll be the last message until I get time to open an account on the ship. Nov 4 Winter came early for you and late for us, but we seem to have left it behind. It's 6 a.m., the sun is already climbing, the temperature is somewhere between 5 and 10 ... read more

Cleetus, The Red-Dog, Update South America » Antarctica » McMurdo Station By Erin and EliMay 9th 2007A running blog on our redneck dog--Cleetus, whose name hangs in the balance. Votes so far Cleetus: 2 Cletus: 2 Cleatus: 0 Other spellings: 0 As for my location, I may not actually be in Antartica. But as a southern bird-chasing, duck-eating, truck-bed riding red-dog, if I could choose my place of birth, it would be as far south as possible. And I like this McMurdo guy--well, mostly his name. Bring on the Giant Penguins. Here's a bit more on his character to help you cast a reasonable vote. ... read more

"Antarctica is a separate world. One can feel its presence in the approaches, sailing south from more temperate climes. Standing on deck, one may follow the reeling albatross, feel the drop in temperature, the bite of the wind and the motion of the waves. Yet it is the presence of ice, from the first occasional fragments, escalating in shape, form and frequency, and finally dominating all else, that brings assurance of arrival in Antarctica" Mark Jones, Wild Ice. We wake up to rain today, typical! We can´t even see down the Beagle Channel - all the mountains are covered in mist. Which is actually quite annoying as our hotel is in a great location on the edge of the channel. We decide not to join our Antarctic tour group on its visit to the local national ... read more

I left South Pole on the 1300 flight back to McMurdo. I took some more photos at the pole marker and said goodbye to this remarkable place, wondering when I would be back. The flight home was easy. 8 souls on board and I got to ride in the cockpit during take off which was really fun. I napped most of the way back to station and arrived in time for a big dinner. Vessel Offload has started and Station is a little bit crazy. Lots of loaders and trucks are moving mil-vans around station and then down to the dock where they are being loaded onto the American Tern Vessel. Most of my friends in town are working night shifts and I think I am ready to head back to Christchurch.... read more

This morning I got up in time for breakfast and got a good start to my day. I met Jason, who is the winterover science support tech at pole, at his office at 8:00 to plan for the day. We decided we would prep the site in the morning and hope that cargo would have time to bring the Thermos Flask Box out to the site in the afternoon. We walked over to Cargo and talked with Webster about bringing the flask out in the afternoon. We Borrowed a banana sled and a couple of shovels. Jason offered to pull the sled which was great because today is my second day here at Pole and I have not acclimatized yet. It is -52F out today with windchill, and Im surprised at how long I can work ... read more