Blogs from Antarctica, Antarctica - page 18

From Vanilla Ice to Pink Floyd and now finishing up with Foreigner. If you have no clue what im talking about then i shall leave it for you to work out...! So my third and final part of my Antarctic voyage starts here. I feel a bit like Darwin may have felt when he started to write the end of Voyage of the Beagle. So many wondrous times....i hope you have enjoyed so far and this last instalment leaves you wanting to book yourself a trip immediately (and with Aurora http://www.auroraexpeditions.com.au/ !). Go on.....life is short and you never know when you’re going get hit by a bus. On that prosaic thought...if you cant face another update from me and simply want to look at photos, here are the final batch: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=317837&id=691995235&l=2021e30ce3 I last left you ... read more

Greetings from a blisteringly hot Buenos Aires! I have been assiduously writing up my Antarctic trip but if you just want to skip straight through to the photos for the first part of this Antarctic Blog then feel free to click here..... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=315899&id=691995235&l=a6138dac97 If you want cut yourself another slice of Xmas Cake or grab a mince pie and a brandy and settle down to read and imagine the first part of my Antarctic odyssey and then look at pictures...read on! The White Continent has fascinated me for years. Stories abaound of the explorers, mere mortals who survived or died epic voyages to, through and across it by land, by sea. This frozen desert - the coldest, driest and windiest place on the planet - has always captured my imagination and I’ve always longed to travel ... read more

CTAM -Central Trans-Antarctic Mountains- just another acronym for one of many Antarctic science camps, supply depots and scientific or historic sites. After all the NSF- (Nat. Science Foundation) is a federal agency so acronyms are the govts way of confusing everyone. Like the military and NASA, acronyms are the norm on this continent, so i fit right in from the start. A typical conversation may go....."Hey Bob, Im on the HERC headed out to WAIS but got to pick up my extra ECW at the BFC before goin to 140 to Bag Drag and you know I need another P bottle too before I get to the MSRF at Pegasus! Anyway.........we arrived after a 370 mile flight courtesy of the N.Y. Air Nat. Guard C130 to our field site deep in the Trans-Antarctic mountains. This range ... read more

Hola, As many of our readers know, Ushuaia was not the furthest southernly destination of our trip. That title would be reserved for Antarctica. We had organized a cruise (but we are using this term very loosely as one will learn later) before we had left Vancouver that would take us from Ushuaia to the South Shetland Islands and then to the Antarctic Peninsula. As part of this trip was a night at the Hotel Albatross. The hotel was 4 stars, and therefore our nicest accomodation of the trip by far so we made the most of it and hung out there for most of the day. The next day, we packed our bags and wandered around Ushuaia before getting on the bus which would take us to the ship. We started chatting to the couple ... read more

Working and living in the Antarctic environment requires specialized training, especialy if your job has you off-station out on the ice or up in the mountains. Whether you are a scientist or merely supporting science (as I and most of us on station do) there is needed training. From snow- mobile operation to what we call 'Happy Camper' school, (basic polar survival skills) the training is usually intense given the environment, but it can be fun and sometimes awesome! Sea Ice School is one of these, learning how to 'read' the Ice for signs of its condition and thickness, how to drill down and see if its safe to walk or drove over-your life can literaly depend on it, and others with you. Plus you get to go to some cool places! In this class we ... read more