Blogs from McMurdo Station, Antarctica, Antarctica - page 2

Happy Camper is yet another training course that all field camp participants need to complete before deploying to the field. It is basically training specific towards camping/surviving in Antarctica. We were given a rundown on tent setup including Scott tents and four season expedition tents, as well as camp setup, wind direction and basic do’s and don’t when faced with the extreme climate of Antarctica. After a morning of classroom instruction focusing on health and hazards in the Antarctic, we set out for the camp location. The weather was fair, it was snowing but with the storm systems comes warm air. Our group of 20 started building camp, one of the major components of camps in the Antarctic is a snow wall to block the wind and provide protection for the tents. The wall was ... read more

After too short a stay in New Zealand, (not even 3 days!) up at 4am for the ride to the airport. No aftershocks from the recent big quake here since yesterday, at least that I felt! We arrived at Christchurch Intl. Airport, at the joint US/NZ Antarctic terminal, dressed in our (ECW) Extreme Cold Weather clothing ) and waited for our USAF C-17 flight to Mcmurdo Station, some 5 hours and 2000 miles to the south. I walked around on the grounds at dawn, smelling the wet Nz grass, a bit chilly and contemplating the thought of going to another world, as it really is in many ways. And off we were, over the Southern Ocean and eventually landing at the sea ice runway at Mcmurdo Station.... read more

Well I made it, and yes the rumors are true, it is cold. Although surprisingly not as cold as I thought it would be. The departure form Cristchurch was less like an airplane flight and more like a military operation, loud people telling you what to do and many rules and regulations to follow. Considering it was a military operation I guess I can't complain that much. When I went to exit the aircraft upon arrival a strange feeling came over me, I had never been so unaware of what I would see and feel once I walked out the door. I have been skydiving but somehow exiting this plane on the ground was much more nerve-racking then jumping out of the other one. I was totally prepared to be blasted with gail force winds and ... read more

Another season on the ice - Antarctica. This year I got to visit a few more places. I spent 1/2 day dive tending, I am sure glad that I am not SCUBA diving in Antarctica. No full face head gear is used. I also was awarded with a trip to the South Pole (sleigh ride). My feelings is that the flight there and back, seeing the sights along the way was more rewarding than actually setting foot at the South Pole. A bit later, I got to go for a snow mobile trip up Mount Erbuis (a room with a view). Overall this season turned out very nice, with some beautiful outdoor sights. And on my very last day, along the road I came across a lonely Penguin.... read more

I woke up early for to watch Obama's inauguration this morning. It was aired live in the galley at 6 a.m. Then phased between sleeping and reading while I waited to go to my outbriefing at 10:30. Once there, I was asked how the NSF and Raytheon support was, how our visit matched our outline in the SIP (not sure what it stands for, but it is basically a detailed outline of everything we would do and need here). After that, I went back out to Willy Field with more troubleshooting things for the allsky camera and worked on that for a while. It turns out a wire had come loose during the shipping process, so I plugged back in and returned to McMurdo after taking a few more test pictures. I got to talking with ... read more