Rice On Ice (riceonice@gmail.com)

G'Day Mate from Oz

2009-04-07T11:44:00.009+12:00

Getting into Oz was a lot harder than following a yellow brick road. For whatever the reason, my name was flagged and I was pulled aside in immigrations. I asked the first officer if this was normal and he assured me it wasn't (that made me feel much better). However after a 10 minute delay outside some office with a bunch of cameras on me they stamped my passport and I was on my way.

I found the Hostel I booked pretty easily. Sydney is a big city, but I was happy to find it friendly and easy to get around in. I was told by a friend in Samoa that my hostel in King's Cross was in a "dodgy" section of town but I didn't find it that bad. The first night I went for a walk and saw some of the normal sights. The best part was just after then sun set I saw 20,000ish flying foxes (a huge fruit bat) leaving the botanical gardens. The sky was covered with them. I read an article later indicating that they are about to start a new program to relocate the bats since they are killing the trees in the gardens.

They Sydney skyline is beautiful. I also found the city to be clean and safe. The botanical gardens are also huge and you can get lost for hours in them wondering around on the labyrinth of paths.

Like most tourists, I ended up with way too many pictures of the Opera House. Of course every different angle you see it from you need to take a photo. The best was from the water. I took a ferry out to Manly for an afternoon and the way back offered some good photos. Manly was nice reminding me a lot of Burlington VT but with the ocean right there at the end of Church Street.

I bought a ticket to see a show at the Opera House but unfortunately that night there was a city wide blackout and everything was closed. It lasted 3 hours and the city was gridlocked. The fire brigades were out the whole time getting people out of stuck elevators. I still wanted to go to the show, but they evacuated everyone away from the Opera House, I'm assuming for terrorist risk. I just ended up walking around the city marveling at the mass chaos.

I flew to Adelaide and spent a day doing not much of anything. It was hot so I did a relaxing window shopping trip through downtown visiting air conditioned shops whenever I got too hot. I then hooked up with my Goin' South tour that took me to Melbourne over three days.

One of the first day of the tour we stopped off at a vineyard and did a little wine tasting. Next it was off to some adventure caving. It wasn't quite what I was looking for, but it was still a lot of fun. It was also a great way to get to know the other people in the group.

On day two we hiked a "mountain" that was only a few hundred feet high. It wasn't too impressive, but it was fun. We also made a bunch of other stops throughout the day seeing waterfalls, lookouts, and wildlife.

At one of our stops, there was a rare bird that is known for stealing food. There was a sign there warning people of it and not to feed them. The funny part was that the bird was perched directly above the sign on the fence. I guess the bird can't read and maybe they would have more luck if they waited for unsuspecting tourists in the parking lot.

At the Aboriginal center we tried to learn how to play the didgeridoo. It's a lot harder than it looks. After a while, I could get the right sound but it seems like playing it for more than 3-5 seconds is next to impossible.

On the last day we started early. We had a bunch to see along the Great Ocean Road and only a few hours to do it in.

Koalas were on the list. We stopped off at one spot in the road and there were Koalas hanging around everywhere. A few of them were in branches right above the road which I'm glad they don't fall too often. Someone told me that it's the oils in the Eucalyptus leaves that kind of drug them and makes them mellow (don't know if it's true).

I saw a lot of great signs around Australia but this was the best. It's reminding people like me that I need to be on the left side of the road. The even have marks at cross walks reminding pedestrians to look right (the first direction to look before crossing a road).

After getting to Melbourne, a bunch of us from the trip met up and went to an Aussie rule football game. I bought a scalped ticket for only $5 while others paid up to $20 for their tickets. The game was fun, but I spent half the time trying to figure out the rules. I think I have it now.

Last night in Melbourne was spent at the comedy festival. There were hundred of comedians in town and it was tough trying to pick one to go to. A few of us finally picked one and headed out after the football game. They guy was new to stand up, but after a slow start had so really good skits. The next morning it was up early and off to the airport. Pretty exciting time in Australia but not nearly enough time. It's like trying to see all of the US in only 9 days, can't be done.

Island Life In Samoa

2009-04-07T10:23:00.007+12:00

Malo from Samoa. This is true island life, sitting in my beach fale, drinking a cold Coke from a glass bottle, watching the waves lap the shore, after all you can eat meals all for less than $30usd a night. Truly the good life.

Apia is the main city on the island of Upolu and is very congested and busy. After arriving and spending one night I knew I needed to get out. So the next morning I found the bus station (with the help of a guy begging money and trying to sell me drugs) and caught a fun ride out to the wharf. For only a few dollars I took a ferry over to the island of Savaii and a local girl helped me get a bus to the north side of the island. Here I found a great resort called Tanu's. Fales were only $60wst (about $20usd) a night and included breakfast and dinner. There was also a store where I could go in, grab what I needed, and then write my name and what I took in a book to be charged latter. Talk about trusting. The first full day at Tanu's I hiked with a German girl to the top of a volcano and met the worlds famous Cr8erman. Mt Matavanu erupted from 1905-1911 and the resulting lava fields can still be seen.

This is a church that was ruined by lava during the eruption of Mt Matavanu. All the rock you see inside the church was at one point hot lava.

My last night at Tanu's there was a Fia Fia or should I say a party with a show. After the show there was music for dancing but nobody wanted to get up in dance. I made a name for Americans as I dragged people onto the dance floor and got the party started. These two people, Patrick and Caroline, are from Germany and I ended up spending a lot of time traveling with them. Can't wait to get copies of their pictures.

I spent the night in this 200 year old banyan tree. Besides mosquitoes, it was a great experience. I'm really lucky and glad that it didn't rain that night but I did see an amazing lightning show. From my tree top I also got to see huge bats, the southern cross, and a spectacular sunrise.

After meeting back up with Patrick and Caroline, we took a bus to see the blowholes. Not as spectacular as those in Tonga, but we heard that if you throw a coconut in as it blows, it will fly into the air and crack open as it lands on the hard rocks. Well, we got brave and tried this stunt but it didn't work. Oh well, I guess we had the wrong tide.

Stayed a couple days in Satuiatua. Cute little village on the south side of Savaii. While I was there I was invited to a families Sunday brunch. This is the weekly meal where the family talks about family and village issues. There is a lot more to it but we sat on the floor of a fale and ate a traditional meal with our hands. It is impolite to point your legs at someone so everyone sits cross legged. This was okay for me for a while, but getting up was hard.

All bus rides in Samoa were interesting. The max capacity of a bus is 33 plus the driver. Usually we had 50+ along with all kinds of supplies. The whole bus system is interesting with people along the routes giving the bus driver money to pick stuff up in town and dropping it off on the way back. If you don't like crowded places with people sitting on your lap, the bus is not for you. However they treat women and Polongy very well.

Buses are also very colorful and usually play very loud music. I was lucky enough on one ride to have the music in English. However when it wasn't in English, I normally could recognize songs, like from the sound of music or other musicals.

I spent a few days at Lalomanu where I ended up seeing 3 other ice people/ Seward people. There was also a pet pig that would lay on the beach and wade in the ocean. It was quite amazing.

Samoa had endless beautiful sunsets. I bet the sunrises were also beautiful but most of the time I wasn't up early enough to see them. After a while I stopped taking pictures because I couldn't tell if they were worth a picture.

At Lalomanu I paid $90 tala for my own fale (in overflow area so ended up having my own security guard as well), all I could eat breakfast, and all I could eat dinner. Dinners had items like lobster, mussels, breadfruit, pasta... Each meal I would eat until I didn't feel well and was stuffed. I was also lucky to see another Fia Fia.

This Fia fia was pretty good and in the middle of it they invited us up and taught us how to do the traditional dances. Once again I had to get people up to participate.

I found a cool cave area on the way home. It cost $2 tala to get into it but nobody was at the gate so I just went in. The fun part is that you have to swim into these caves. There are two major passages that connect with an underwater passage. I was not brave enough to try it but if others were around I was going to give it a shot. Apparently there is a passage that continues deep into the hill and goes under the chapel above. On the way out I asked if these caves were made by lava tubes and was told that they were made by the spirits that live in them. Interesting.

If you ever end up in Samoa, you have to go to the sliding rocks just outside Apia. A series of water falls can be slid down. This one you see me about to smack the water on is about a 5m drop. There are 4 of them that feed you down through the jungle. The rocks are covered with an algae that makes them very slippery. Your butt will hurt at the end, but it's worth it.

That concludes the Samoa adventure, but it was a great source of relaxing fun. Still have Australia to go.

The Kingdom of Tonga

2009-04-07T09:30:00.012+12:00

Malo e lelei from the Kindgdom of Tonga! Before I get to far into this story I should comment on my NZ time for a moment longer. After leaving the South Island I headed to Auckland, rented a car and spent a night at my friend Vince's house. It was fun trying to drive stick on the left side of the road during rush hour traffic. The next day I headed down to Waitomo Caves and did a 5hr caving adventure. We repelled 37meters, did a zip line in the dark, jumped 8' down into a river, tubed down the river with our lights off and only by glow worm light, climbed up waterfalls, and much more. It was great. I then packed up and headed to Tonga.

The first day in Tonga I did an Island tour. The tough part about Tonga is that I arrived on a Saturday night and everything, I mean everything is closed on Sundays. To drive on a Sunday you have to have a special driver's license. The tree above was seen on our tour and is the world's only three headed palm tree. Don't know why it is interesting, but it was one of the few attractions that actually had a sign.

The blow holes were fun but didn't spend too much time there. Sometimes the waves would come in and the water would shoot up out of the holes up to 60' high. I found another spot later in my trip where I could stand over the blowhole and it would give me a refreshing blast of water.

Lots of spiders, but nothing that can really hurt you. In the top of the picture you can see the yellow part of the web. This is tough stuff and is next to impossible to break. Not much for deadly flora or fauna in Tonga.

I spent a few days on Eua, located about 2.5 hours by ferry from the main island. One day I biked down to this beach and spent 2.5 hours walking around, snorkeling, and relaxing and didn't see another person. Talk about having a private beach. The snorkeling was okay, but with the reef there are only a few spots that are deep enough to actually get into the water. Corals aren't great, but the fish are wonderful.

Also on Eua was a beautiful sea arch. After biking a ways down a back road (all roads are back roads) I walked through a herd of wild horses and found the sea arch. Again, nobody around and I had the place to my self.

I had to add this pic for those I worked with in Antarctica. This is a gas station on Eua and if you look close, you can see that the pumps are hurty gurties (manual pumps).

The ferries are interesting in Tonga. This one was so packed that people were sitting on top of the wheel house. It left at 5:30 in the morning by full moon. It was quite peaceful. finally after we were almost back to the main island we saw the sunrise. An interesting fact about the ferry is that it only runs 3 times a week.

One day Alex (Canada), Anna (Brazil) and I headed to the beach. After being dropped off, we walked down to the beach and realized that the waves crashing in were 6'+ tall. Too dangerous to swim. Our ride wasn't going to be back until 5 hours later and the beach was only 100 yards long. So, we met this nice Tongan family that knew of another beach and brought us there. After swimming for an hour or so they ended up giving us a ride back to Nukualofa. It was great meeting these great people.

Since nearly everything is closed on Sunday, a bunch of us decided to take a water taxi out to a small island resort on my last Sunday. The resort was great, but apparently the over night accommodations are closed due to a rat problem. Since it was a Sunday, the only people at the resort were Polongy (white people) lots of peace corps and Australian aide workers.

One day I rented a scooter (after getting my Tongan Diver's License) and did an Island tour with some new friends. With random pigs, chickens, dogs, kids, and cows, running out in the road, I always had to be paying attention. The only dodgy part was when two guard dogs from the princess's palace chased me down the road, and they meant business (sorry, no pictures of that).

On our Island tour we stopped off and did some swimming in a local cave. The water was cold, but it felt great on such a hot day. The inside of the cave was highly decorated (lots of limestone formations).
Kava night. Kava is a plant that is grown for 5-7 years, cut down, the root dug up, ground up, put into tea bags and a horrible drink is made. However if you drink enough of it, your mouth goes numb and you get very calm and sleepy. Culturally it is a big to do and can be found in all pacific cultures. I stopped after 15-20 cups and found it tough sleeping that night because I was always up going to the bathroom. There is no alcohol in Kava and although it is illegal in the states, initial studies have since been proven false and there are no long term side effects of the drink.

These are some of the great people I met who where also traveling in the Kingdom of Tonga.

I ran into a lot of "ice people" in Tonga (12) but Jen was the best. My last day in Tonga I spent hanging out with fellow Fuelie Jen and it turned out to be a great thing. While with Jen I went to an ATM to draw out enough money to pay the last of my accommodations in Tonga. However, the ATM ate my card and said that it had been reported "lost or stolen". The bank gave me my card back without any questions or ID and I quickly called my bank back home. Long story, but my card has been cut off and they could not re-activate it due to in being compromised back a few months ago. This little issue left me up a creek without a paddle. Jen however handed me a paddle when she loaned me $900usd to travel with. Without her it would have been a long vacation without any money. After all this happened, I got off the bus and blew out my flip flop. Yeah, it wasn't turning out to be my day.

Next it was off to Samoa. More pictures and stories to come.

Back To New Zealand

2009-04-07T09:09:00.004+12:00

I told you I would post again real soon. So my trip to NZ was short but fun. I started off by spending a couple days getting my stuff together. I then needed a plan. That plan ended up being hitching to Picton to hike the Queen Charlot Track (QCT). This involved a water taxi to get to the start, 3 days to hike the 71km trail, and a water taxi back.

While in Picton I ran into my friend Buttercup from the ice. His original plan was to hike the trail in 5 days. I planned on two. Long story short after three days Buttercup and I spent the night out on the town in Picton with new friends we met along the way. It was a lot of walking, but worth it.

Both from the water taxi and from the mountain tops we could see dolphins playing in the bay below. The first night I slept in my bivy sack but didn't have a ground pad and froze. The next night I slept in the tent with Buttercup and on top of my pack and it was much better. One great feature of the track that I didn't take advantage of is that the water taxi will stop off at each campground/resort and pick up/ drop off packs each day. So most people hiking didn't carry a real backpack.

The last day it rained really hard and the trail was muddy. However I made it out and back to town to get cleaned up. I had to make sure I was out in time to meet the water taxi or I was going to spend an extra night out.

I met two Irish girls along the way. They were very amusing. The second half of the trail they hired (rented) bikes. However with the rain on the last day, they ended at the dock covered in mud.

After leaving Picton I had an interesting ride home with a guy that couldn't pay for his own gas (we were stuck at the gas station for an hour). I then went through the PQ process that was all set up and paid for my Raytheon. For the most part it was quick and easy, but did have a little trouble with the blood test (story for later).

Last Couple Months On Ice

2009-04-07T08:42:00.007+12:00

Okay, I know it's been a long time since I've updated this but I have a good reason. You see while I was on the ice I wasn't able to upload any pictures (don't know why). I tried a few times and finally gave up. Since then I've been harassed by a few people to update this thing. Well, here we go. I've upload a ton of photos and I'll add a few short stories. There are a bunch to follow so I hope you all enjoy my pictures and tales of life on the ice and around the South Pacific.

For new years there was the famous party called Icestock. Good music, good food, and good friends all gathered in McMurdo to bring in the new year.

Then there was the annual New Zealand vs United States Rugby game. This year the Americans came the closest they ever have to scoring. However we didn't score but did hold our own against the kiwis. Like Red Sox fans, maybe next year.

The end of the season, things started to get pretty cold. I don't know if I am just getting soft, but I found this great red suit in the Fuels Barn and thought I would wear it for a day of work. Maybe it was a little too warm.

Some of the last days on the ice the Fuels Department had a ton of work to do in the freezing cold. We spent days picking up the fuel pits at Willy Field. This involved pigging (shooting a foam bullet down the fuel line) the 5-6km hose that goes out to Willy. We then had to break all the connections and pick up the variety of hose used. It was cold, but there was a part of it that was fun. The station was starting to wind down and the sun was getting low.

Eventually it was time to pick up my room. I was organized this year and managed to make a list of everything I was leaving on the ice. This made it so that I know what to bring next time. The station at this point was getting really small as everyone left and I really started to feel a bond with my co-workers.

The last night on the ice, we got a report that two Adelie penguins were walking up the road down by the waste water plant. I strolled down to get a look at the awkward little birds.

The sad part about leaving is the good friends that you are leaving behind to keep the station running over the winter. Brian and Clare are two of the best people I've ever met and they will be stuck until Oct. However I'm headed down next season in Aug so I'll get to spend about a month with them.

Last flight! Last flight was on the Australian Airbus, yeah, a regular airplane. It was great. Once we took off, it was the last plane until August 21. The 148ish people left behind, will be there without anyone coming or going until then. But for the 70 people leaving, it was time to say good bye, give some hugs, and hop on the plane. After takeoff, we banked and turned towards the station. It was time to do the traditional last flight buzz of the station and the final good bye. Next we banked and took a trip around Mt Erebus. It was amazing flying in a plane with windows. In the back of a C-17 or C-130 you are sitting in a cargo hold and you don't have windows, well its a different story in the airbus.

I was lucky enough to get a seat in first class. We had flight attendants and all!!!!! I wish words could truly explain how exciting this moment was but nothing can truly convey the experience.

Okay, so now I'm back in NZ and I have many more stories to come and I'll get them out in the next couple days. Sorry for the long break, but again, it wasn't my fault.

Merry Christmas From The Bottom Of The World

2008-12-25T13:41:00.007+13:00

Something got messed up and I now can't move the pictures around in the blog, but above is of a softball game and a couple from X-Mas. I stole them off the I-Drive.

I last left off at Marble Point where we would watch Gilligan's Island during lunch. My time there was fun and my flight home was even better. I have some good video, but unfortunately the files are too big to post here. When I got back to town I found out Fuels was having a Pizza Party out on Pad 2 (outside storage area) with all kinds of games. It was a nice way to get back to town life and during our games, the C-17 buzzed town. They are doing some work out at Pegasus and to save money they have canceled the C-17 until the end of January. This was the last flight and they did the traditional low flying salute over the top of town. The bad news about the last C-17 is that mail and fresh fruit is now limited to LC-130 flights which are much smaller.

For many different reasons including our medevac of the Australian at Davis Station earlier this year, the Australian Airbus has made a couple flights down to McM for us. This is a regular jet plane that even comes with flight attendants. I had to go out and fuel it one day and got to meet the crew and get a tour. We also had the South Africans there with a LC-130 helping the Italians bring their helicopters back to NZ. Yeah, Pegasus has really become an international airport.

Unfortunately that same day one of the managers started having heart problems and needed to be Medevac'd. We waited a few hours while they helo'd him out to Pegasus and loaded him onto the plane. To save time I volunteered with ATO to help load the baggage onto the plane which got me some bonus points.

Since it's that time of the year, lots of great events have gone on. In the chapel, people got together and put on a "Charlie Brown's Christmas". I have to say it really started to put me in the holiday mood. I also joined the Christmas Choir where we preformed over the HF radio to South Pole and the field camps, at the Town Party, and at Midnight Mass. Also to get into the mood, a co-worker and I dressed up and delivered fuel around town signing Christmas songs. It's nice to put a smile on someones face. I don't have any pictures, but Bama and I also dressed up for Burger Bar the other night. It was hot cooking with all that stuff on but again, it cheered people up. Currently McM needs a little cheer. I mentioned before about one of the medevacs, well there has been a few of them lately. People are getting hurt and being sent home. One day last week they had to activate our "walking blood bank" after a fleet ops worker was run over with a trailer. Our softball tournament also sent a few people home and station management is now threatening to cancel the annual rugby game against NZ.

For Softball I played on the Shuttle's team. We didn't win, but put up a good fight. I didn't do that well, but did hit a home run.

Since it's the holidays I must remember my families. There are so many wonderful people out there that have taken me in including, Obrien's, Campie's, Compton/Popovici's, and of course my own. I miss everyone and hope you all enjoy your holidays. Merry Christmas from Antarctica.

Marble Point - Truck Stop for Helicopters

2008-12-04T15:49:00.004+13:00

I am having one heck of a good time out at Marble Point. MP was surveyed back in the 70's and was suppose to be the site to build McM. However it never came to be. There is a book out here that the Navy put together showing the plans. Pretty interesting. Anyway, my first day at MP I went for a hike down to the Bay of Sails. Yup a stroll on the beach with great views of a bunch of icebergs frozen in place with huge tidewater glaciers spilling out into the frozen bay.

Day two (two day weekend b/c of the holiday) was a 5.5 hr stroll up Hogback. The trail-less hike follows the 100' wall of ice that makes up the Wilson-Piedmont Glacier. It then climbs up a really long way to the peak. Once there I got stunning views into Taylor Valley, the top of the glacier, and a view of Mt Erebus. I could just barely make out Ob Hill back in McM.

There are a few mummified seals in this area. For whatever reason seals crawl up on shore and trek across the ground only to die. Nothing eats them so they dry out and become well preserved seal jerky. I thought I had found one of these guys but thought it looked too fresh. When I got closer I realized the seal was still alive (for now). I ended up following his track along the glacier's edge and have estimated that he put on about 4-5 miles. That's a long ways for something that can't walk. I named him Scott after the famous explore who traveled Antarctica only to perish before getting to his final destination. I left Scott at the glacier which is about 1 mile from the shore. At some point I'll go check on him again but I doubt he'll make it.

Monday it was back to work. I'm up and out at 6:30 to open up the fuel system. First I sump the tank, open the control valve, sump the filter, and start the pump. I recirculate about 300 gallons through the system before I hook up the nozzle and take my samples. After collecting 2x 1liter samples I bring them back to the lab/ workshop. I then make sure the fuel is Clear and Bright, test for free water, and finally sediment. I have this neat little machine that helps me filter the fuel onto test filters and then two analyzers to read the results. The results have to be in by 7:30 so the pilots won't fly out here if they now the fuel is bad (I don't think there has ever been bad fuel here). After this I come back inside for breakfast.

This is an interesting piece of equipment. It looks like a witch's cauldron but really it's a way to evaporate all our gray water. We can't leave anything behind here so all our waste water is evaporated. All of our Poo is collected in bags and put into a waste drum and our urine goes into a 55 gallon drum. I may post those pictures later but let me know what you think. I could take a shower here but it uses a lot of water and would be a lot of work for Crunch (camp manager). I'll just wait another week and take one back in town.

Crunch is also in charge of putting together the sling loads for the helicopters. This is a load of 7 empty barrels going to a field camp for waste. Crunch holds up a bracket and stands still. The pilot then comes in and hooks it. Crunch then slowly walks away as the pilot starts to raise again. After the cable is tight Crunch radios the pilot to let him know the line isn't tangled and they take off to their destination. It's pretty neat to watch loads come in and go out.

Karen, the camp cook. This is her kitchen where she does her "science". All meals have been great. Karen was the cook out at WAIS last year so I know her well and enjoy her meals.

Normally it's just Crunch, Karen, and myself out here. Every now and then helicopters will stop for fuel (or equipment), maybe lunch, and then be on their way. That's what kind of makes MP into a truck stop However every now and then weather will come in and people get stuck away from town. On Tuesday night this happened. We were about to call it a day at 5:15 when I went into the office to enter numbers into the computer. While waiting for the computer to boot up Tracey from HeloOps called. She said weather in town was bad and we would have 10 people over for dinner. MP is the midway point between the Dry Valleys and McM. Shortly later the two Bell 212s, one A-Star, 3 pilots, 3 helitechs, and 4 pax showed up for fuel and food. As weather didn't improve in town they were then stuck here for the night. By 10pm weather improved in town but it was too late to get the flight crews back (only allowed so many duty hours) but the night crew in town flew out in an A-Star and picked up the two 212s and the 4 pax. This meant that at 10:30pm I had to go out and fuel another helicopter. Made for a long night but it was fun having people over. As for the people that spent the night, we have pilot quarters and a bunkhouse just for this reason. My job the next day was to change the sheets and place new mints on the pillows for the next time this happens. It was fun being in the middle of nowhere Antarctica and being a room maid.

MP also has WiFi which is nice and I've done more planning for my travels. It now looks like I may also do an 11 day cruise from Australia to Vanuatu and New Caledonia. We'll see.

Cheers,

Skippy

Where Did Turkey Day Go?

2008-11-28T21:20:00.004+13:00

I know it's been a little while since my last post, but life is busy at the bottom of the world. As far as Turkey Day goes, I missed it this year. In town they have the big feed on the 29th but Marble Point did it on the 27th. I arrived at Marble on the 28th. Yup, no turkey for me this year. The Under The Sea Prom at the BFC (Camping supply "store" on station). I asked a few people to the prom but kept getting turned down. I eventually asked my friend Kricket at Pole if she would go. I was shocked when she said she would but indicated she may be a little late since transportation could be an issue. She still hasn't shown up but she should be in town by early February. My friend Neoma said she would go with me since her boyfriend Ben was stuck at AGAP. It was a fun night and lots of fun pictures. My "formal" attire included black carhartt overalls that I borrowed from my manager, a white striped shirt I found in skua, a tie Neoma let me use, a plastic flower, and a makeshift top hat also found in skua.

I was suppose to fly on Nov 27 to Marble Point, but the weather was bad. This meant I spent 7 hours in the Pax Terminal at the Heliport. While I was there I read this great article in a reliable periodical call the "The Weekly World News". Apparently there is no threat of global warming. The reason the glaciers are disappearing is that teenage aliens are coming to earth and stealing the ice to get a buzz at frat parties. Although aliens have perfected interplanetary travel, they have not perfected making ice. Very interesting article and because it's in print must be true.

My next day to fly was on the 28th of Nov. However I woke up to see that the station was in condition 2 (bad weather). When I looked outside waste bins were tossed all over the town. Everything was plastered with snow. Some of my friends said their dorms were shaking in the high winds. I didn't think I would fly, but after a long delay they got me off the ground with an experienced pilot.

I have to say an A-star helicopter is a cool way to commute to work. I have such an awesome job. The mic on the helmet works by pushing a button on the floor with my foot. I can talk to the pilot this way and could also hear him talking with MacOps, HeliOps, and Marble Point. The flight took about 30 minutes and is about 60 miles. The trip mainly takes us over the bay to the mainland so the majority of the trip all you see is sea ice. However there are cool icebergs temporally stuck in the sea ice. Marble Point is also the entrance to the Dry Valleys where a ton of science goes on. This allowed for an amazing view into a stunning environment.

Usually there is a 24hr turnover at Marble Point. The new fuelie flies in, gets trained for a day, and then the old fuelie flies out the next. With the holiday weekend there were no flights today (Saturday) so I had 30 minutes for Matt to train me before Chris came back from the Valleys to pick him up. At that point Matt left and it was down to Me, Crunch, and Karen for the weekend. Karen was the Cook at WAIS last year and I love her cooking. I hope I don't gain too much weight while I'm here.

I should also mention that I got a new part time job this week. Not only do I pump gas but also flip burgers. Burger bar just opened and a few times a month, Bama and I will work it. Bama is the cashier and I'm the grill guy. In 2 hours I cooked about 150-180 burgers. I don't know how many orders I messed up but it seemed like most people were happy. After getting over the stress of having all these people waiting for you to cook faster Bama and I had a fun time. Clean up on the other hand took 2 hours and everything was covered in grease including me. I'll try to get pictures at some point.

Today I went for a hike and took some pictures but I'll save that for later. I hope everyone is having a good holiday weekend.

Penguins and Evan's and More

2008-11-17T20:33:00.007+13:00

We miss you Heather. Bad news down here is that my sledding buddy Heather will not be returning to the ice this year. After being evaluated by the doctors in CHCH they have determined that her injuries are much greater than originally thought and will be out of work for a while. I've heard a lot of the stories second and third hand so will not elaborate more than that. She is missed and we all hope she is doing well.
Boon·dog·gle a wasteful or impractical project or activity. This past Saturday night I went on a Boondoggle out to the ice caves and Cape Evans. At 6:15pm we loaded up the Deltas and headed out. The route we take to the ice caves takes about 1hr by way of a sea ice road. Just like it sounds this is a road built on about 2 meters (~6 feet) of frozen ocean. Last year I would travel this route frequently for profiling cracks for the sea ice report and for bringing fuel to the research camps. This year I only get to travel the road once and that was for my boondoggle. I should also back up a moment and explain that to get on this trip I had to stand in line for 1.5hrs to get my name on the list. So, after about an hour of driving we arrived at the tip of the Erebus Glacier Tongue (EGT) where the ice caves were found. Since they are made of moving ice, they are constantly changing. At some point I would like to write up a quick article for the Vermont Caver's Association on this trip.
The picture above is from the entrance to the cave. About 7 people at a time are allowed in and there is a fun snow-slide through the entrance. The cave isn't very deep, but the ice formations on the inside remind me so much of caving back in New York and West Virginia (yes, maybe even a little of the Vermont caves - cold and damp that is).

Before arriving at Cape Evan's we saw a couple, non-playful, penguins and a bunch of fat Weddell Seals. I was in Scott's hut last year so won't cover it too much but it is still an amazing place. The hut was first used by Captain Scott (the famous guy) back in 1911. It was later used (I think in 1913) by Shackleton's crew during the famous Nimrod expedition with the Aurora laying food depots from this side of the continent. For the full story read the book Shackleton's Forgotten Men and find out more.

The picture above is just a fun one of the Delta parked out on the sea ice. In the background to the right is Barne Glacier. Just around that point is Cape Royds where there are tons of penguins (our trip did not take us there).

On the way back home we had a cute little Adelie penguin come sliding down the road on its belly. We all stopped and got out of the delta. This little guy stopped for a moment, checked us out, then continued on his way just past us. I have closer up pictures, but this one was the cutest.

Work is going well and the weather has been great. On Sunday I made it out for a few hours to help with the annual trail crew day. There's nothing like shoveling a trail in Antarctica to make you feel old. The nice part is it took me back to my days of being a GA. Another GA from last year was on my trail crew and we ended up spending 15 minutes having a contest who could trundle large blocks of snow down Ob Hill the furthest.

The last point to make will be on my travel plans after the ice. They have already changed a bunch of times but here is the current plan... NZ-Australia-Vanuatu-Australia-Tonga-Samoa-NZ-Home. This sounds like an extravagant trip, but I've found tickets for about $1000usd. I've also looked into the costs of lodging, food, and extracurricular activities. Should be fun, but we'll see how many more times it will change before Feb.

Cheers, Skippy

Another Day At The Office

2008-11-09T13:34:00.009+13:00

I would like to start this blog entry with a quick note to Heather. "I hope everything will be okay and really hope you make it back to the ice". Heather was my sledding partner a few weeks back and is now in CHCH for medical treatment. I guess things still aren't right (I mean internally, we already knew mentally she was a little screwy to hit the jump in the first place) and the medical team here is worried about her. I really hope Heather and our sledding privileges will be okay.

For exciting news, we had our big Halloween party a week ago (or a week and a half ago). As expected it was a ton of fun and I got to hang out with lots of new and old friends. At first I thought I would miss out on some of the festivities as I volunteered to help fuel a medivac flight for Davis Camp (Australian camp with a guy in really rough shape). However the flight was delayed until Tuesday night so I got to thoroughly enjoy Halloween.
My costume was a little lame, but I went as "Dancing with the Stars." I also had a few other bad puns in there but most of which are not appropriate. Jack, the pregnant bride, is one of my roommates. I have to say Jack and I had a good time that night but those stories must be saved for latter. Jack is a Firefighter and it is his first year down. Last week and this week I've been assigned to AM pit duty at Willy. This means that I wake up at 4:45 and get dressed. By 5:00 I am in the galley half awake and eating breakfast. At 5:30 I am sitting on Ivan the Terra Bus for a 45 minute trip out to Williams Air Field (for skied aircraft). The picture above is of Willy Town. This is were Air Traffic Control, Galley, Ground Support, Cargo... is located. Not a very nice looking town but hey it has what we need. After we arrive there (me and a co-worker), I struggle to get the snow machine running and warmed up. By 6:30 we are over at the fuel pits located on the opposite side of the apron (Plane Parking)from Willy Town. Once there we rush (wait, we don't rush, it's a safety concern) to get the fuel pumps heated up and started. Once started we recirc fuel and collect samples to be tested. By 7:00 we are usually filling our first LC-130 with about 7,000 gallons of fuel. The crew tells us how much they need in lbs and we convert it to gallons and kick off the pumps. This normally takes about 20-30 minutes. We also fuel the Basler and the Twin Otters (Canadians fly these two types of planes).

One good thing about the pits is we have a great view of the Royal Society Range. This picture is of the pits. The pump house to the center of the picture has a primary and backup pump for Pits 3 and 4. The Building to the right is our warm up hut and the 11 (20,000 gallon) tanks are in the background. You can't really see the other pump house in this pic. It should also be noted that this is on the McM Ice Shelf. The Ice Shelf is about 200 feet thick and floats on about 1,800 feet of water. I could be way off on these numbers but don't really feel like doing the research to get them correct.

To the other side we have a great view of Mt Erebus. Erebus is our smoking volcano. Some days she is smoking away like in the picture above, while other days he only has a couple puffs coming out.

So this is were I work. To some it may seem interesting while others it may seem mundane. Personally I love the job. I may not like getting up at 4:45, but there is a huge bonus that I get to ski back home at the end of the day. The ski trip is about 5 miles (to where I get picked up) and if the wind is at my back is fun.

One thing I should note, is that not every day is nice and sunny. This picture was taken at Pegasus Air Field while I was waiting to fuel the C-17. The funny thing is that you could hardly see the plane when is showed up. But hey, it can't always be sunshine and lollipops.

Until next time I hope everyone enjoys the pics. I must get to bed now so I can get up at the break of dawn (wait that was a couple weeks ago).

Cheers,

Skippy

Back in the Swing of it

2008-10-26T09:06:00.007+13:00

So welcome to Fuels in McM. This is the group of wonderful people I work with. We do have three people that will leave for Pole for the season and there is a person missing who is currently out at a field camp, but other than that, this is the group of people I work with. If you can't find me just look for the blue helmet with the cones sticking out.

Our first Mainbody science lecture was from the guys on Planet Earth. This was a great presentation and if anyone out there hasn't seen the 12hrs of film I recommend getting them for the winter. They had some amazing footage and at the end of their presentation talked about their new series called "Life." Planet Earth was more about cool environments while Life is more about amazing animals. They are down here for a little while so they can get footage of our cool animals.
So I didn't post any pics of arriving on the ice so here is a pic of the C-17. Since there is no Ice Runway this year we landed out at Pegasus which is the white ice runway built on the McMurdo Ice Shelf (part of the Ross Ice Shelf). Weather, since showing up has been pretty nice. We did have a day of condition 2 and even a day where the windchill was -45, but other than that very sunny and warm.
Shortly after arriving, Eric my roommate and Kricket a new friend, decided to climb Ob hill and get some pics. It was a fun hike and we all had great stories to share. Kricket is now off to Pole where she is the Foreman in Fuels. I was hoping to go visit her this season but found out that I'm stuck in McM for most of the year except for a trip to Marble Point (helicopter refueling site) for Christmas. It should still be a fun year and Kricket has said she may take me to Kwaj (Island in the Marshal Islands where my friend Amber use to work) after we re-deploying. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
The last quick story to tell you all is about my sledding adventure this past Sunday. My friend Brian who just wintered and I were going to sled down Castle Rock. One of our new friends Heather was going to join us for the thrill. However at the last minute Brian bailed so he could go on a trip to the ice caves. Heather was up for the trip so we filed our e-foot plan and headed for the trail. I don't really have time for the details but even though Heather is smiling in this pic, you can tell by the cracks in her goggles that it was an interesting ride down. The short story is that after I bailed out of the sled (she was in back so she knew I bailed) she hit the jump on the side of the trail at about 35mph. This shot her ~50feet through the air (no joke) where she landed on her face and stomach. She made it back to the firehouse under her own free will but is now being monitored for internal bleeding. I talked to her tonight and the med team may be sending her back to CHCH for medical treatment. Let's all keep our fingers crossed for Heather and also for our sledding privileges down here. Heather is crazy and is already talking about another trip (I must first fix the sled).

I hope everyone is having a great fall. I miss you all and yes life is going well down here. My job is great and so are the people. Last night, after fueling the plane, I got to have dinner with my friend Brian on the C-17 after it broke and he didn't get to head back to CHCH. This is apparently the first time the C-17 has spent the night down here and it will spend tonight as well. However I hope tomorrow when I go out to fuel it again, Brian will get to leave the ice after his long winter.

Cheers

Zim Brother's Xmas Special

2008-10-10T21:50:00.010+13:00

I'm back and I have a lot of great stories. I would like to start with the Zim Brother's Xmas Special. Last year Ed and Zim (don't know his real name) preformed a concert in the waste barn with special McM songs. One of my favorites was the "12 Day's in Christchurch". I think you know how the tune goes. The song is making fun of what happens when weather is bad in McM and you can't fly. "On the first day in Christchurch Raytheon gave to me, $140 Kiwi..." Well, I didn't make it all the way to day 12 but I did see day 10 so let me share with you my version of the 12 days in CHCH (just to let you know we typically arrive on one day, get our ECW the next and leave on the third but not this year).

On the 30th of Sep I landed in Auckland after a 13 hr flight from LAX and was able to see my friend Vince. I met Vince on the ice last year and his normal job is a police officer at the airport. It was easy to find him but not as easy to explain to all my new friends why I was being escorted around by the police. It was great to see Vince and I can't wait until January when he comes back down to the ice. To stay on the theme of the 12 Days In CHCH, Raytheon gave to me $70 kiwi (remember the budget cuts) and a room at Hotel So. The room was small, but it had mood lighting in the shower, a TV channel that was just a wood fire, sun lights for an alarm clock, and free internet. I loved this place (I later got bumped to the YMCA).
On the second day in CHCH Raytheon gave to me two wool socks (and the rest of my ECW) and $70 kiwi. Yep day two was spent trying on "Big Red" (my jacket) and all the rest of warm clothing that will keep me warm this season. This time I knew what I was doing and I ended up returning about 2/3 of my initial gear for better fitting or alternate style clothing.
On the Third Day in CHCH Raytheon Gave to me a fun hike from Sumner to Lytelton with great views and amazing fish and chips at our destination and $70 kiwi. Matt and Matt joined me on this trip, they are both fellow fuelies. One Matt was a Jano last year and was at pole the same time I was and the other Matt was a fellow GA.

On the forth day in CHCH Raytheon gave to me... and $70 kiwi. Okay this day is tough to explain so let me just explain what was happening in CHCH. So every other day another plane full of people arrive in CHCH from Denver. However due to a persistent storm, flight 1 can't get out. I'm on flight 2 so I get to sit back and relax. A typical day starts off with getting up at 8ish, getting breakfast somewhere, catching the shuttle to the CDC (Clothing Distribution Center) and collecting my $70 and two more shuttle vouchers. I then go back into town, eat lunch, wander around, eat dinner, more wandering only to go to bed and repeat the next day. Well, eventually it turns into a game of who can find the most exciting things to do. I'll explain further some of my activities, but others were a trip to Hanmer Hot Springs, Skiing, Surfing, Paragliding, Horseback Riding, Bungee Jumping... The best part is we were all on the clock. Yeah, paid vacation. One day I was going to play golf with a few friends but the place didn't hire (rent) clubs on Sundays. However we did get a great walk in through the botanical gardens and saw these ducks.

Laser tag was a fun day. Me and three friends signed up to play laser tag. As we waited for our time slot we played air hockey and fooze ball when 8 other ice people showed up. Long story short we spent 30 minutes running around shooting kiwis that were on the other team (they beat us). The good news is that I scored the most points on my team (thanks Dad for helping me with the shooting).None of these stories would be complete without telling about Go-Karting. Wow, these things move. After the first couple laps this guy caught me in a corner and I hit the wall doing about 15mph. May not sound like much but I was very stiff the next day from it. (Don't worry Gamma, I had a helmet and a seat belt on and Go-Karts are more safe than rugby). To end our 15min race, me and two others did a little "rubbing", broke the track, and had to end our laps a little early (others in the group also "rubbed" a little that added to the plastic all over the ground).

Paintball was another fun day. I joined the ATO (Antarctic Terminal Operations - cargo people) in a fun game of paintball (can you believe I get paid for this). The game lasted 3 hrs and was a ton of fun. I shot my roommate Eric in the back and in the chest, and even hit Jano Matt with a couple shots. I had one fun moment when I was hiding in the bushes when the other team was sneaking in from behind our fort. I didn't hear the person behind me until it was too late. I got off the first couple shots, but from a few feet away he tagged me in the jaw. I spent the rest of the day picking paint out of my beard. The other team won, but we were a person short and had the sun in our eyes. This day I also had the enjoyment of having a stick go through my Croc and into my foot. I've been limping ever since. I also have these funny red marks all over my body from where I got shot.

My version of the 12 Days in CHCH also included a boomerang flight. Flight 1 finally made it out and they sent the C-17 back for flight 2. At 10pm we all headed out to the CDC. by 1am we were taxing on the runway and left for McM. The flight is 5hrs long and at 4:45 the load master got on the PA and announced "Folks, in a moment you are going to feel the plane bank and turn. This is our plane returning to CHCH and we are not landing at Pegasus Airfield in McM today. Get comfortable for the 4:30 ride home." Yup 9.5hrs on a plane only to end up were we started.

The best part to my 10 days in CHCH was the food. I had sushi 4x, Lamb Souvlaki 4x, Indian 3x, french toast with bananas and bacon 2x, Mexican 2x, ... Yeah I ate well. More stories to come, but I am back on the ice and safe and sound. Temp is -20ish and work has already begun! Once again I am happy to be here and am nothing but smiles. My next post will blow you away so stay tuned!

Cheers

Returning to the Ice

2008-09-28T15:13:00.002+13:00

Well everyone, I think I'm back to the blogging gig (or at least I'll try). So the summer was fun but there were some trying times. It rained almost the whole month of September on Fox Island and I was very happy to leave that island behind. Overall it was a fun summer but only time will tell if I'll repeat Fox Island next year.

So I am writing from Denver. The past month has been a blur starting with working about 3 weeks straight on Fox Island, having a couple days in Anchorage visiting Shawna, Ovi, and Ana, flying home for six days before returning to RPSC headquarters in Denver on the 25th. I have not been caught up on sleep for over a month and I don't see it getting better anytime soon. The hiring process for my job this year went about the same as last with many issues with the PQ but it all working out in the end. Around the middle of August I was offered a Winfly position (fly down to the ice early to open the station up) but turned it down to finish my contract on Fox Island. Also if I took the Winfly position I would not have had a chance to return home. When I turned this position down I was thinking I would be leaving VT in Oct but found out at the beginning of Sep that I was headed to Denver on the 25th.

So here I am, sitting in a hotel room in Denver on the night before the flight to New Zealand. Being back here has brought a smile back to my face that I don't believe was this big all summer. I have already seen some great friends from last year and met many more. Tomorrow I finish up training and head to Denver International Airport. From there, there will be a short flight to LAX and then a 13hr flight to NZ. I'm not looking forward to the flight but once I land I'll get to see my friend Vince in Auckland for a few hours before continuing on to CHCH. I can't believe this time of year is already back. I have this nervous feeling identical to what I felt when I was a kid on Christmas Eve. The Ice is truly a great place full of great people where all of your cares melt away (or maybe the freeze away). I'm wondering if this year I'll "loose my cool" as I step off the plane and back onto the ice, I guess only time will tell.

This year there are a lot of changes to the program. First off I am going to be a Fuels Operator. I love the people working in my department. One guy was a GA with me last year and another was a close friend. As a Fulie I'll be fueling planes and buildings. Yup all that schooling to pump gas (I know my dad is proud). Other changes are due to budget cuts that we have been told are due to high fuel prices.

No ice runway
No liquor sold in the station store
One person Recreation department (use to be 5)
No "hold in CHCH" mail
1/2 the travel funds
No issued Long Underwear or Socks
No issued sunglasses
Fewer freshies (veggies) and mail flights
Mandatory Flu Shot (I got mine today and even got a care bear bandaid- I guess they could have saved money and got regular bandaids)

I hope to take pictures this year, but my adventures will be a little more tame this time around. I have about 3 more nights left before I start my second longest day. I miss you all.

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there" - Old Man Rice

Cheers
Skippy

Fox Island

2008-06-30T10:30:00.004+12:00

Hello Everyone,

So I last left off back in NZ. Since then a lot has happened but unfortunately I have not been motivated enough to update the blog. So here is a little about what has happened. Before leaving NZ I got to spend some time with a new friend Vince who is a police officer. I got to do a night shift ride along with one of his friends in the heart of Auckland. Although it was a slow evening, I still thought it was fun to learn about what these guys do.

After coming back to the States, I spent about 1.5 weeks in VT/NY visiting friends and family. I wish I had a little more time with my Old Man but I'll get to see him more this fall. I was home for about 11 days and each day was full of trying to get as much out of it as I could. However time went way to quickly and before I knew it I was back on the road.

I left for Alaska on the 1st of May. I have great friends here that I haven't seen in about eight years but that I still keep in contact with. I was surprised by them when I was walking down to the baggage claim and ran into them at 11:30 at night. It's really nice to know I have friends like that. They gave me a ride to the backpacker I was staying at but I spent the next few nights at Shawna's and Ovi's house. Shawna and Ovi have a cute little daughter about the age of Ella. Ana is a little cutie and fun to be around.

My Job this summer is the Assistant Manager on Fox Island. Fox Island is located about 14 miles from the town of Seward. When I worked here in college we had one "bag" phone and a radio. Now we have, a 4Wheeler, regular phones, internet (company use only at the moment), electricity... I guess the days of Gilligan's Island are over. My responsibilities include cooking food, managing about 15 people, ordering supplies, overseeing overnight guests, maintenance (and the list goes on. So far the job isn't worth it but I did get two unexpected raises which was kind of nice. Some days the job is very taxing and I can't wait for the day to be over but all I have to do is look around me and acknowledge life could be worst.

We have all kinds of wildlife here including whales, bears, eagles, moose, goats...

This summer I have been tagged by my manager as being a flirt. This started when one day I told a cute young lady that she looked familiar. After a 5-10 minute conversation we found out we've been caving in NY together. This is twice this has happened to me this year with the caving people and it's getting a little weird.

Last week I went to a solstice festival up in Moose Pass. While I was there I ran into 4 ice friends and met Janet who I didn't know in McM but was there this year studying seals. Janet is now working at the Sea life Center in Seward and said she would give me a behind the scenes tours some time.

At night on the Island we do movies in the day lodge on a big screen projector, go hiking, kayaking, play board games... This picture is of Emily (one of the Kayak Guides) from a trip we did up to the saddle behind the day lodge. On my days off I still hitch hike around (one trip to Anchorage and one to Moose Pass). I've met some very nice and interesting people this way. I'm thinking about hitching to Anchorage sometime soon to buy an electric motor scooter for getting around Seward. However I do understand that the exercise is good for me.

As for Antarctica, I just found out last week that I got hired to be a Fuels Operator this next season. For my new job I'll be fueling planes, buildings, testing fuel, filling tanks... The pay is almost double what I got last year and I'm really looking forward to it. Today I had my doctor's appointment and I my dental appointment is scheduled for next week. I have many more stories to tell, but I think this is a good start and at least it will get some people up to date.

Happy Birth Day Ella Darlene Rice (June 30, 2007).

Not All Who Wander Are Lost

2008-03-31T19:38:00.010+13:00

Okay, I'll be the first to admit "I'm lost". Well, I know where I am, but have no idea where I'm headed or how to get there. When I last left off, I had just done some paragliding on the North Island. Since then I've had and interesting time. I never thought I would be homeless on the streets of Wellington or that I would sleep on a bench outside the train station, but here we are.

After I left Hastings I was going to start traveling back to the South Island. I told the woman at the back packer I found a cheep bus ticket and she helped me out by finding me a 3 o'clock ferry ticket from Wellington to Picton. It was very nice of her but I should have double checked her handy work. I left the next morning with the cute English girl from the backpacker and took the 5 hr bus ride to Wellington. After I got there I said goodbye and headed for the Ferry Terminal. I walked in and informed the nice chap that I was there for the 3 "o'clock" ferry. He informed me that I must be at the wrong ferry since they didn't have a 3 o'clock ferry. I knew I had the right ferry, but unfortunately I didn't have the right 3 o'clock. The nice chap informed me that I had a 0300 not 1500 departure time and that I was 12 hrs late. He could see my despair and he re- booked my ticket for the next 0300 departure since the rest for the day trips were full. I was going to look for a backpacker to crash at, but they were all full for the Rock 2 Wellington concert that weekend featuring Kiss, Poison, White Snake, and Ozzy Osbourne to name a few. So I was homeless until my Ferry ride.

So I went to the Te Papa museum (which is free) and checked my back pack into the free coat check and visited the museum for 3 hours. Then I ate some food on the water front where I saw a huge stingray. Next I took a nap on a bench outside the train station before checking in my luggage at the Ferry. I then slept in their terminal until boarding time. The ferry ride is 5.5 hrs and is normally really beautiful but it was night, so I slept. They had Harry Potter and Bratz playing for movies, but I slept the whole way. When I got to Picton, I waited for the sun to rise before leaving the terminal. I next wandered around town until it was a "decent" time to find a back packer. The first place was full, but the next just had an opening (as I paid, the women changed her mind and they had to turn her away as they gave me the key) I spent the day hiking and returned to the BP for free pudding.

The next day I hitched to Nelson and had one of the funniest rides. This Austrian woman picked me up. She claimed just just learned how to drive an automatic car. She was wrong, she does not know how. Ever time she stopped she would shift into low. Then at about 50k/h she would shift to 2nd. At 80-100 k/h she would shift to drive. That poor little transmission on the hire (rental) car was taking it hard. Plus because you need to apply the bake to shift from park, she would hit the brakes whenever shifting. It was too funny watching to tell her the truth.

When I got to Nelson, all the backpackers were full so I hitched a little way out of the city to a small camp ground. It was a nice place, but a little too far from town with way too many sand flies (just like black flies). The next day I hitched a ride back in and found the sister BP to the one I stayed at in Picton. This meant more free pudding. This was also Easter and all the stores were closed. I really needed to find some food, but nothing was open. The next day my self and a fellow traveler took the free bikes from the BP and headed to the beach. My old man would love all the sand dollars we found. At this point I was getting stressed b/c I didn't have a farm to work on and I was spending money too quickly. However, good things come to those who wait and before I knew it I had two WWOOFing opportunities.

The first place was in Richmond which is just south of Nelson. This was the best place yet with only 4-4.5 hrs of work a day and all the fresh peaches I could eat. Every meal was made with food from their land except dairy and bread. I guess the venison also wasn't from their land, but a friend of theirs had shot it nearby. After work, I would take a bike into town or out to Rabbit Island and walk along the beaches. Very relaxing and a good addition to the trip.

The next farm I was at was in Mapua which is about 15 min from Richmond. The Hosts ran a woodworking studio where they made wooden bowls. I thought this was interesting because that is what my ancestors use to do back in VT. Again, I had 4hrs of work a day and then trips into town. Most of the time the host would drive me to Richmond or Motueka and I would hitch back. One afternoon I had to turn a ride down when the driver was so drunk that he could hardly talk and when he went into the store to buy a pack of cigarettes, he almost fell over. I like getting rides, but I'm not desperate.

After all that work, it was time for some fun before heading back home. So to start this off, I went on a backpacking trip of the Abel Tasman. WOW, my pictures don't do it justice. This was a walk through lush rain forests surrounded by sandy beaches.

Saw some great wildlife including lots of birds. At night we had Possums fighting outside the tents and if you went out with a flashlight you could easily find 5-10 of them. We also saw lots of baby seals. I talked to some guys doing some kayaking and they said the seals would jump up and ride on the kayak (I've seen pictures so I know it's true). I heard wild boar and even some Stags roaring.

An interesting aspect of this hike is that you need to do sections at just the right time. There are a few estuary crossings that must be made at low tide. I had a couple close calls, but those stories can be saved for latter.

I met a great English couple that I spend 2 of the days hiking with. One night we went out and collected Mussels for dinner and ate fresh mussels cooked in soup noodles. Boy was it good. Also as we collected the mussels, 4 baby seals came over to see what we were doing and played with us. Unfortunately I left my camera in the tent.The last morning I got up early and made it to the end of the trail. I knew I was going to be on a remote road and hitching was going to be tough. However after 1.5hrs and only seeing 2 cars, a nice young chap picked me up and gave me a ride into Takaka. I then hitched back to the place in Mapua I was WWOOFing and took a shower and got some good hot food in my stomach.

The end of my trip to date has been a lot of Hitch Hiking. From Mapua to Richmond, Reefton to visit Ged (former WWOOFing host) at the gold mine, Waipara, Kaikoura, and back to CHCH. That is about about 11 hours in a car and about 4.5 hours standing on the side of the road. The back packer I stayed at in Kaikoura as great, for $20 I got a bed and the use of a sauna, hot tub, pool, pool table, TV lounge, kitchen... Not bad!

So now I must get "cleaned up" and ready to travel north. I really need a haircut and a good shower. I'll be home soon, but on May 1st I head north again to Alaska. Before I left for Antarctica, Ian O'Brien (4 years old) drew me a map on how to get home but unfortunately I only caught on to the big arrow and the word North. Thank you Ian, but next time I'll get it right. I miss you all and hope to see most of you next week

Cheers

True Friends

2008-03-28T15:17:00.003+13:00

I received this picture from one of my friends not to long ago. In the picture is Betty, Steph, and Bama. They were on a trip together in NZ and thought of me when they saw these cereal boxes. I hope everyone gets a kick out of these pictures. I hope to update more but for now I must go.

Cheers

What A Bad Day

2008-03-19T19:34:00.004+13:00

Okay, I recently had a horrible day but it's not what you think, it's because I could hear my Dad's voice in my head giving me advice. But, we'll get into that in a minute.
So I left CHCH a week ago, but before I left I ran into a couple friends from the ice. It was fun to see familiar faces once again and we even found a cool little bar with live music to spend the evening (although I stopped drinking after I left the ice but don't worry, it will only last a little while). I caught a plane to Wellington when I was going to spend the evening at the famous Beethoven House. I was told by a friend on the ice that each morning you are woken for breakfast by the sounds of the classical composer. However the true Beethoven house is full of drug dealing sketchy people. I saw maybe 5 deals go down in an hour from people that weren't even staying at the back packer. The dogs that lived there pooped all over the floor, and cleaning I don't think had been done since Beethoven was alive. However, I left the next day and was headed to Hawke's Bay via bus.

I got in around 6:30pm and thought I could just find a backpacker to stay at. However the first two I went to were full. The next on the list didn't have a good rating so I was afraid to stay there but there was a forth option. This fourth option did not have a rating since it was new but I gave it a shot. They had one free bed left and were willing to come pick me up so I took it. This place is beautiful. The people are friendly and the owners clean every day. I love it hear.

The reason I came to Hawke's Bay is to take a paragliding course. I wanted to get my PG2 licence and was under the impression it was $1250. However it required a PQ1 licence which I didn't have which cost $620. So this is where my Dad's voice came in to my head. I did not need the PG2 licence since I didn't even have a paraglider. So, I did the PG1 course.

Barry, my instructor was a little odd, but his office is in a storage unit. He has been flying for 15 years, but I don't think he has been teaching all that long.

I was able to complete 7 flights off the hill which were a little scary, but I did it and it was a ton of fun. I'm not sure if I'll try again later in life, but it was worth the adventure. So next I'm off to the south Island again via the Ferry and I hope I can find a new farm. I also need to find a new summer job but I'm thinking about asking Stryker if they'll take me back again for the summer. Who knows.

Cheers,
Skippy

West Coast

2008-03-12T10:28:00.004+13:00

Hello Everyone, I am currently back in CHCH waiting to head north to Wellington. So what have I been up to in the past couple weeks. Well I left Gore (the sheep Farm) on a rainy Sunday Morning. I took me 1.5hrs to get the first ride but I was able to make it up to Cromwell. I then waited an hour, still in the rain, for the next ride to Wanaka. At that point I gave up and decided to spend the night in Wanaka.

While wandering around town (after the rain stopped), I ran into some ice friends. They were headed to a great little movie theatre. The movie was okay, but we watched it from big soft couches. There is even a car in there that you can watch the movie from. After a long day with friends I headed back to the backpacker I was staying at.

The next morning I headed north up the West Coast. It took an hour to get the first ride but after that I only waited <30sec>

My new WWOOFing farm was interesting. I got to run a tractor, tow a horse trailer, drive stick again, work with sheep, horses, chickens... The farm was fun but one night it got interesting. I couldn't figure out why the wife couldn't drive and kept going to these meetings. Well one night when the husband was at work she started acting funny. Within an hour she could hardly walk and wasn't talking right. I finally figured out she was an Alcoholic (the meetings and no driving thing). It was a long evening as she passed out 4 times and destroyed their house. I started the first couple hours by picking up behind her, but after a while I gave up (it wasn't my house). I finally left her for the night in the living room (stairs were not an option) and decided that once an hour I would go check on her. With that be hind me Work was great.

On Saturday I went to the Wild Foods Festival. WOW that was fun! I ate things such as crocodile, kangaroo, ostrich, huhu grubs, worms, paunga, venison... I ran into a ton of ice people there and I felt like I was home again. The picture is of Neoma after eating a live Huhu Grub.

After the Festival I left with Ben an Neoma for WestPort. I was going to Couch Surf with them at this really cool place on the beach. The house was built by Dave, the owner, who had no other building experience. The house was so nice. Plus all night you could here the waves crashing.

On the way back to Greymouth (where I was WWOOFing) we stopped off at Pancake Rocks to see the sights. A little disappointing. I then went back to WWOOFing and hitch back to CHCH on Tuesday. Two fun women picked me up and drove me all the way from Greymouth to the YMCA in CHCH (3.5hrs). Aurthur's Pass is unbelievable an any pictures I took didn't come close to capturing the sights. I'm leaving in an hour for Wellington and have already booked my return flight home. I will be home on the 19th of April at 2330. I know late at night, but I hope someone will be able to come pick me up in Burlington :)

Cheers

Marama Farm

2008-02-25T20:32:00.002+13:00

I know it's been a while since I've updated this, but here is what I'm up to. I arrived in Christchurch back on the 15th and found out that I was going to be staying at the YMCA. I finally had my own room. I even had a great balcony that looked out over the city. It was a little rainy out so my friend Megan and I made a few road trips to find the sun. I did find it, but it wasn't as warm as we were hoping. I spent about 5 days in Christchurch sleeping on floors and going out at night with friends. Every couple days a new wave of people came off the ice and it was exciting to see everyone again.

At first I thought WWOOFing was going to be easy. I emailed a couple places but didn't get a response. Then I realized finding a farm was going to be a challenge so I emailed 7-8 places. The next day I had a farm lined up and everything was good. I arranged a couch to surf on in Timaru for the night before and was going to hitch down. Well, the next day that farm fell through but another person offered me a place. I tried calling them a few times but was unable to talk to the person in charge. Finally the next day I had an email indicating that the second farm had fallen through. I was not having a lucky go of this. I emailed another 7-10 farms the next day hoping one of them may come through. On Tuesday I received an email from Graham Clarke indicating hew as interested in my Antarctic travels but that he already had 3 WWOOFers. By that night, he had emailed me telling me to come anyway. The next morning I caught the bus out of town at 6:30 and thumbed my way down to Waipahi. By bus this would have taken 9 hours but with my good old trusty thumb it only took 8.5hrs. I had a little trouble getting through Dunedin but a very nice guy saw me and gave me a ride out of town where I was quickly picked up. The longest I waited for a ride (besides my walk through Dunedin) was about 15 min. I also managed to do this huge trek with only 4 rides.

So now I am on my WWOOFing adventure. At the farm there was already a German couple and another American. They are hard workers and fun to be around. I was told there would be 4-6 hours of work a day but that has now turned into 8-14. I would complain, but the boss is now out of town, and I'll be headed out next week to the next farm. On the farm there is 6000 Ewes, 2000 Lambs, and a few cattle. Work includes mending fences, crutching sheep (wiping their bums), herding sheep, picking up dead sheep, and cooking meals.
We do have some fun moments like when Graham took us to the Moonshine festival. I tried moonshine hokey-poky ice cream and it was great. We also went to a little cafe one day for lunch. The farm hand (also named Graham) is from England and his family took us all fishing one night. I caught the only fish which was a flounder type fish. The funny part of it is that I caught it with my hands in a little pond next to the river.
Since Boss Graham is away this week, we invited Neighbor Graham and his family over for dinner. It was a great feed with a bunch of great people. The WWOOFers all chipped in some cash for the food.

I don't know where I'm headed to next, but I hope to find a farm somewhere on the West Coast of the South Island. I don't know exactly when I'm headed back to the States, but right now I'm thinking it will most likely be the middle of April. I don't have a summer job yet and still don't have a job lined up for the ice next year. All of this is starting to stress me out a little, but I'm sure in the end everything will work out. If anyone has any good ideas for me for summer work, please add it to the comments.

Good Night

2008-02-15T20:41:00.000+13:00

Hello blog readers. I just wanted to thank all the great people including my family, friends, and the people at Stryker for supporting me in this inspiring adventure. This has truly been the greatest "day" of my life.

I am now back in Christchurch NZ and am ready to start my next adventure. I have seen the sunset for the first time in 5+ months and I am happy to see stars once again. The first star I saw I wished that tomorrow will be as great as today (the past 5 mo.). I hope to continue the blog as I travel as I hope my life continues to stay interesting. I hope you will join me as I embark on a new set of adventures.

Once agian, thank you and good night.

Reflections

2008-02-14T11:08:00.000+13:00

The past year has been one of many changes. I would be lying if I told you that at no point did I think I was making a mistake. I regularly challenged my decisions and wondered if I was making the right choice. I can now look back and see I made the right choice but that doesn't make it any less scary. I have realized now that I must take chances and step into the unknown in order to find adventure and happiness. I would now like to share with you all some of the highlights of my season.

Although it was sad to leave the O'Brien family, I can say it was a great joy to spend 1.5 months living with two cute kids and two parents that care deeply about them. This was one of the best highlights of the past year.

Not much can top the feeling of stepping onto the ice for the first time. I wonder if next year I'll get as excited when I see the back of plane open and feel the rush of cold air hit my face?

Making new friends is always a good thing. Eric and Megan are two great friends that I will miss after this season. Megan and I are going to travel a little bit together when I get back to Chch.Halloween, I didn't find my icewife but I realize that is not what is important. I found some of the best friends anyone could hope for. The drunkenness of the evening was shared by all.
WAIS divide was another magical moment. Stepping off a plane into a camp of nothingness only to leave two weeks later with a small town assembled. What a feeling of accomplishment. Here I experienced white out conditions, heavy winds, and more shoveling than I ever care to do again.I think the Turkey Trot changed my attitude. I haven't run in 5+ years but doing this race didn't bother my knees at all. I finished in ~30th place which won me a shirt. Thanksgiving was a great time.I've always liked snowmobiling, but doing it on the sea ice in Antarctica adds a little something extra you don't get in VT. I already miss the days when the sea ice was open for travel and we were regularly assigned to off station activities. We can't forget about swimming! What a great rush and accomplishment. This is one of the activities that in another 10-15 years I'll be sitting in a bar with friends and I'll get to whip this story out and awe them all. Operation Tiger Strike, our trip to AGAP. Altitude, cold, and remoteness added a touch of danger to this mission. I'm glad I got a chance to do it and will always be grateful I came back in coach not cargo.Xmas was a fun time of year. Each department made a decoration to add to the party at the VMF (Vehicle Maintenance Facility). They included a striper pole from the waste barn and this reindeer with "rocks" from shuttles. Each party on the ice was filled with laughter, food, and fun. I'll never forget the two weeks of my life where the world literally revolved around me. More great people and interesting sights (ice tunnels, the dome, new station, Jamesways...)The tour of the Oden was a lot of fun and now I really want to get a job working on a boat! This was also the first time it became a reality that the area out in front of the station really was ocean.More good friends. I know I'll never forget these two clowns. We had many fun moments together including many Red Sox vs Yankees debates and trying to figure out how old Terry was. The best was the time I was harassing Betty and the guy she was working with looks at her and said "I don't think he likes your hat." (it was a Yankees hat).Tanker offload was another fun time filled with new faces and job possibilities for next year. Plus it meant I got to see more boats.Lastly there was Vessel Offload. This was not a fun time. For the first time since arriving in Antarctica I was truly cold. I also was now ready to leave. As the song goes, "24 hours to go" and I'll be off the ice until next year. It has really been an awesome adventure and I highly recommend it to everyone (Wanda, Diddy). I must now go finish packing up my room and say my goodbyes. Once again I must step into the unknown but I know a new adventure awaits.

M/V American Tern

2008-02-09T20:39:00.000+13:00

For the past four days I've been helping with ship offload. This is the time of year that we get all our food and supplies that will be used next year. My job for this has been as Pier Announcer and Hatch Checker. Besides a couple equipment operators on the pier, I am the only American civilian there. The rest of the people are either Kiwi cargo handlers or US NAVCHAPS (part of the Navy). The Pier by the way (the dirt part you see up against the ship) is actually a big chunk of ice covered in dirt. So, all containers are loaded onto trucks that are driving on this "ice pier" that is just floating their. The trucks then drive over the bridge and onto solid ground.

As a Pier Announcer, my task was to identify each container as it come off one of the three cranes and was loaded onto a flatbed truck. I then look up the container number, find out how much it weighs, and where it is going. From here, I announce the information on the radio so people around town know what is headed where. The weight is important, because some containers require cranes or heavy duty forklifts to pick them off the truck. Most of the containers are about 20-30,000lbs but some as heavy as 65,000lbs.

I saw some cool things come off including some new Challenger snow cats. Most of the time it was just Milvans (the orange containers you see in most of the pictures).

Since I am the RSPC contact person on the pier, I've gotten to meet a ton of people. I love the Kiwis. Two of the great people I've met include Vince on the left and John on the right. Vince is from Auckland and is normally a police officer at the airport. John works in a town just north of Wellington and does logistics work. Both of them are very nice guys and have given me their contact information incase I need a place to stay while on the North Island.

After the ship is offloaded, it's time to put all the milvans from last year back on the ship. A lot of them are empty, but some of them have our waste or other items being returned to the states. My task here is to watch the hatches from onboard the ship and record what containers go where. This task can be difficult. More or less we have a ~20 page three dementional map of the ship and each container location has an individual number. I would explain the rest of it, but it would take way to long and I'm sure no one really cares. Today we got things all messed up and I had to stay late (past the 12 hr shift) to try and sort everything out.

Up until now, I have really loved Antarctica, and have rarely complained or even wanted to leave. However, the past 4 days have been so cold that I can't wait to see the green grass of Christchurch. We have gone through about 4 cases of hand warmers that don't even come close to fighting the effects of the cold. I'm suprised I still have all my toes and that chunks of my face haven't turned black. Every night I take a hot shower and just stand there until feeling comes back to my hands and feet. The joys of the warm sand on the beaches of NZ will be the best reward! Ship offload has given a whole new definition to the meaning of COLD

Happy Birthday Old Man

2008-02-07T20:15:00.000+13:00

Well I wanted to wish my Old Man (Big Skip) a happy birthday but due to vessel offload I did not have a long enough lunch break to make the call. I tried to email my wishes back to FL but that got kicked back by the firewall. So, this was the best way I could think of to wish the Old Man well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

You are a great Dad and I appreciate all the help you have given me over the years and especially in the past 12 months! Thank you.

What's Next?

2008-02-05T22:13:00.000+13:00

I'm sure many of you would like to know what is next on my journey through life. I don't know if I can really answer that, but I can share with you some of my thoughts, dreams and ideas for the next year. Before I get too far on this remember how far I came in the past 12 months (finished my MBA, sold my home, quit a job I worked for almost 5 years, came to Antarctica to shovel snow, worked at the South Pole for two weeks...). I am not ready to give up my adventure just yet!

It is not definite yet, but it looks like I will be leaving shortly after we are done offloading all our cargo from the ship which is planned for the 15th Feb. When I arrive in NZ I'm not sure what exactly I'll be doing, but here is a punch list:

Couch surfing
WWOOFing around the south island
Hitchhiking
Taking a Paragliding course
Caving
Tramping aka backpacking
Meeting new people and enjoying adventures with old
Making it back to the states around May
Hopefully I'll get a summer job as a wild land firefighter out west somewhere
Get back to the ice sometime between Aug and Oct

For the longest time (since I was a freshman at Alaska Pacific University), I have wanted to go paragliding. NZ is famous for paragliding and I plan on dropping the cash to take the course. I don't really want to spend that much money, but as my friend Brody put it, I "didn't come here for the money, but for the adventure." The cheapest school (may not be the best selective factor) is on the North Island. I was going to take the inter-island ferry up but found out it cost $72nz for a one way ticket. I looked up air travel and from CHCH I can fly to Wellington on the North Island for $27nz (~$20.75us). So as a no-brainer, I bought the ticket and hopefully the plan follows through.

I am not going to rent a car in NZ since I won't have that kind of money. I could buy a cheap car and sell it for the same price when I leave, but then I would have to insure and register it. So I am going to travel by thumb. I did it a bunch in AK and apparently NZ is very hitchiker friendly.

Besides going paragliding, I want to travel around the South Island and see some of the towns. For this I've decided I will go WWOOFing. WWOOFing stands for Willing Workers On Organic Farms (aka World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). I paid the $40nz for the "passport" that lists 1000+ farms around the country. All I have to do is email or call a farm and see if they have openings. If they do I show up and for 4-6hrs of daily work, I will get free room and board. I have gone through the book and found cool places like, micro brewery, vineyard, mud brick factory, deer farm, little place on an island and many others. Sounds like a good cheap way to travel.

As for couch surfing, this is a great thing my friend "Hitch Hiker Ben" taught me about. After going online, I was able to create a profile that is entered into a database. When going to a new town, I look up the city on the web page and it gives me a list of available couches. I email the people until I find someone willing to give me a couch. I then have a free place to stay for a night or two. I know, many of you think this is crazy (Dad, Grama), but it's all part of the adventure and it isn't as sketchy as it sounds.

Since NZ is so beautiful, I couldn't possibly leave without making a trek into the backcountry. I'm hoping to do 2-3 backpacking trips. So far I only know one that is a must and it is a four day costal hike. For $45nz, I'll take a boat taxi out to the start of the tramp. I'll then spend four wonderful days walking on the beach and on small hills along the shore. It will be nice to have my feet in the warm sand. While tramping, I'm thinking I'll pick up a fishing license and do a little world class trout fishing. NZ in home to some of the biggest browns.

After playing in NZ for a little while, I will make my way back home to good old VT. I hope to spend a week or so there and visit friends and family. I even hope to make it down to the "Upper Valley." After this I will go see my cute niece Ella before heading West to some place where I hope to get a fire fighting job. I've applied all over Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, and Oregon. I hope one of them turns up something or I'll just have to resort to playing the guitar on the street for pocket change (joke). I know that adventure is back in my blood and I feel like I did when I lived in AK. There are a lot of cool places out there and I want to see them all after living and working in the "coolest" (little pun).

Welcome to McMurdo

2008-02-02T15:55:00.000+13:00

I thought that since I'm going to be leaving here in a short while, it would be worth giving everyone a quick tour of my town. You will notice that there are a lot of similarities from this town to other towns but that there are also many differences. One of the most interesting differences that I have found is that main doors to the buildings open in. This may not sound odd, but next time you are out, pay attention to all the doors you go through. For fire reasons, doors in public buildings must open out however here in Antarctica they open in. Why is this? Well in a short period of time (over night) snow can easily drift in and quickly block a door creating a bigger hazard. To eliminate this risk, all doors open in. To prove this point, when I was at WAIS, a UT was sleeping in a Jamesway and couldn't get out in the morning because the door opened out. He had to wait until people noticed he was missing and go shovel him out.

I'll start with the "Chapel of the Snows." This is our chapel. Although I don't go to church every week, I do go semi regularly. This past week during mass the Palmer was coming into the turning basin and we were all watching it out the window behind the alter. This building is also used for GA morning stretching, yoga, AA, "quiet time", and bible study. It has burned down 2 times since 1956.

This is the McM coffee house. Currently it is condemned but we were told it will open again next year. This is where I did open mic night and saw many good performers. It was a fun place we could have a glass of wine, visit with friends, and play board games.

Welcome to the McMurdo General Hospital. I've only been twice, once for a flu shot and again for altitude meds.

Right next door to the Hospital is the Fire Station. Each airfield also has a fire station. The response time for in town calls is at 3min. Not bad when most towns is 10-15min. The hardest part here is not letting the water freeze.

The BFC. I've spent many days working here as a GA. They are a great crew and they have a fun job. The best comparison is that the BFC is like Eastern Mountain Sports. This is where we check out sleeping bags, tents, survival bags...

What town would be complete without a NASA Lunar Habitat? This was just set up in the MEC parking lot a couple weeks ago. I'm guessing it's a test for the moon?

Most towns have a parking lot but do they look like this? When we need a vehicle, we sign it out at the MEC. It's hard to tell, but there are power cords going down between the Pisten Bullys and Tuckers so we can plug them in.Government! Each town has a government and McM is no exception. This is the NSF Chalet. My friend Cindy works in this building. I don't know what to compare this to, but some towns do have some form of industry. In McM it's science and this is where the "beakers" (Scientists) work. Known as the Crary Lab on Beaker street, it is three levels that stretch almost to the beach. They have an aquarium, offices, labs...

The McM Gas Station. We have two choices, Mogas or Diesel. One major difference is that we don't pay at the pump. Actually, we don't pay at all. If your vehicle is less than 3/4 full you fill it up. We also use a grounding clamp when fueling Mogas to eliminate static charges.

Our Post Office. It was closed when I took the picture. We also have a mail room where we receive our mail. Each time mail comes in, a list is published on who has mail. This allows us to know when to go to the mail room.

Our flight terminal. We don't have metal detectors, drug sniffing dogs, or X-Ray machines but we do have a scale. When we go to fly somewhere, we check in the night before at "bag drag." They weigh all our checked baggage then have us get on the scale with our carry on. This lets them know how much fuel to bring. The next day they bring us from here to whichever airfield we are flying from.

The Scales are like what the DOT uses at rest stops. These trucks are finding out how much their loads (millvans) weigh so they can be loaded onto the cargo ship to be returned to the states.

The Carp Shop. Two buildings connected together full of power tools and educated craftsmen. In the distance is the flush-a-way. The carp shop doesn't have running water so they go out to the flush-a-way to "powder their noses." The carp shop has a great view of the bay and has some of the best parties in town.Trash. Since everything gets recycled, we must sort our own trash. Kim here is going through the trash can from her office and separating out all the different materials.

Every town has a bank, and this is ours. I guess there isn't anything too exciting about an ATM. At Pole they don't have an ATM so if they need cash they need to have it pulled from their pay.

The Skua shack. So the Skua is a bird but it is a bird with a great talent. This talent is scavenging for anything of use (most of the time food). We use the term in honor of the bird. This shack is like the thrift store where you can get almost anything you could dream of. This season I skua'd a tent, food, shoes, jacket, pictures, Christmas presents for my roommates... What a great culture, if you have something you don't need, give it to someone else.

Only Two weeks left!

Funny Signs Around Town

2008-02-01T11:07:00.000+13:00

Back a few months ago I stated that I would post some funny signs around station on the blog. Well, I have finally gotten to the point of doing it. The signs are pretty much appropriate but I would rate some of them PG-13 if your kid can read and G if they can't.

WARNING MAY CONTAIN ADULT CONTENT (PG-13)

This first sign is a fun sign that I found in the Waste Barn. This is the part of town where all trash if picked through and sorted for recycling, burning, or burying (back in the states that is).
This is a funny sign that was found in the Carp Shop. There are a lot of smart people up there and I all of them can still count to 10 except for "Pinky" who can only count to 9.5.
This is the less appropriate sign found in Men's Bathrooms around station. I can only guess what made this sign necessary.
This is the sign you can see while entering any of the bathrooms in Building 155. Because all trash is sorted, it is important that Food Waste is not mixed in any of the other sorting bins.
This is a fun little sign found at the entrance of the SSC that is hung on a bulletin board. Looks like a little photo-shop was used.

This isn't the best sign, but this is found on the wall of an LC-130. Usually you don't think you need to cut your own emergency exit.

Questions for 1Q

2008-01-27T11:07:00.001+13:00

Since I have been down here, I have been getting a range of questions for different school groups. I've noticed that some of the same questions come up so I thought that this time I would answer Ms Quinton's 1Q questions on my blog for other students (and parents) to learn from.

Logan - Can we call you Skippy? Why do you have snowmobiles there? You could just walk over the ice? I like arctic wolves. Yes Logan, you can call me Skippy although the nickname didn't really catch on down here. As for the second question, we could walk over the ice but some of the places that I need to go are very far away. Even with snowmobiles it can talk an hour or two to get there. Plus whenever we leave the station we need to bring survival gear with us just in case a bad storm comes in. During bad weather you can't see the flags that mark the routes and you can really only travel by GPS. These survival bags are very heavy and it would be hard to carry them. A typical survival bag (that is checked before each time going out) has a tent, sleeping bag, dehydrated food, stove with fuel, first aid kit, toilet paper, and books for reading.

Shayla - are there puffins or any other birds down there (besides penguins)? are kids allowed to go down there? We do not have puffins, but there are other birds. First off there are many kinds of penguins. In McMurdo we have Adelie and Emperor Penguins but you can find others along the coast. The bird we see the most is the Skua. It's a very large seagull looking bird that is very cleaver at sneaking up behind you and stealing your food. Skuas love to sit on top of the buildings looking down on the area were we come out of the galley. If they see someone with food, they swoop down from behind and quickly duck up over their shoulder and are off with the food. It's really funny to watch. Unfortunately you must be 18 or older to come down here with the USAP. However it may be possible to come down on a cruise ship but I hear that costs about $17,000.
Kennedi - Have you seen any whales? Did you know that polar bears have black skin? I have seen one whale. It was a Minke whale which is a baleen whale that feeds on plankton in the water. The channel that the ice breaker made is finally starting to clear out so we hope to have more whales come into our bay soon. In another day or two we will have a fuel tanker here to offload 7 Million gallons of fuel for us (that's a lot of fuel). It has been delayed over a week because of pack ice about 500miles out. Oden, our icebreaker headed out the other day to go help it. The information about polar bears is very interesting.

Jalyse - Do the penguins like you? Do you have hats? Do you like it down there? I don't really know if the penguins like me or not. I think we have a relationship that if I leave them alone, they will leave me alone. We enjoy looking at each other, but from a comfortable distance. I have a bunch of hats down here. The United States Antarctic Program (USAP) gave me two hats at the Clothing Distribution Center (CDC) in Christchurch. However I also brought two hats down with me, bought a hat, and had a hat sent to me. Lots of hats, but I like my Red Sox (thank you Steve-O) and Scott Base ones (thank you Amber) the best. I love it down here and am already looking forward to coming back again next year.

Hayden - Do you have a lot of fun on the snowmobiles? Have you caught a penguin? Hayden, snowmobiles are a ton of fun. Most of the ones we have are old and don't go very fast, but it is still nice to have the wind in your hair. The thing I like most about snowmobiling here is driving towards Erebus (our active volcano on the island) on a sunny day where you can see smoke coming out of the top and have a helicopter fly a couple hundred feet over the top of your head where you can see the pilot wave. Truly a great experience. I have not caught a penguin. The National Science Foundation (NSF) says that we can not approach the wildlife in any way that will effect their behavior. However some of the scientists get special permission to capture them for research but must let them go after they are done.

Luke - Why did the penguins walk away from you? Are there any stuffed animals down there? I'm not really sure why the penguins walked away but I bet they got bored with us. It was neat watching them go away because after they waddled a little, the dropped on their bellies and pushed themselves along with their toes. We do have some stuffed animals in the station store. I sent a cute little stuffed animal penguin to my adorable niece Ella for Christmas.
Gabe - Have you touched a seal? While with scientists, I have been very close to seals, closer than you would get to most wild animals, however the NSF and the Antarctic Treaty (signed by 20+ countries) don't allow interaction with the animals down here except by special permit. Touching a seal could be dangerous and if I got caught they would send me home. The picture above is of a bunch of seals laying on the ice.

Tyler - Do you have any weapons? Do you hunt down there? Good question Tyler, no I do not have any weapons. We are not allowed to bring any weapons here and they search our bags in Christchurch before we fly over. The rumor is that there is one gun on station that is for the station manager (who is also a US Marshal). The gun is rumored to be in three places under lock and key of three separate people. This would be used only in an emergency and I don't know if it has ever been used. Hunting is not allowed in Antarctica so there is no reason to have a weapon. As a side note, we don't have a police department, but if something does happen, the fire department is called in to handle the situation. Every now and then a fight will happen and both sides will get sent home on the next flight.

Matthew - How many penguins have you seen? More than 10 or less than 10? Good question Matthew, I'm not sure how many penguins I've seen but it is over ten. When the Penguin Ranch was up and running, I saw penguins there and now that the ice breaker has come in, we have Adelie penguins around town. If I look out the window with binoculars, I can see them along the edge of the ice. My roommate saw about 20-30 Adelie penguins walking next to one of the trails on the edge of town while I was at the South Pole. I saw some of his pictures and videos and it looked pretty neat seeing them all walking in a line.

Kelsey - Do you have any friends down there? In the summer time is there lots of food or in the winter time is there lots of food (for the people) I do have a lot of friends down here. Coming down, I didn't know anyone but people are very friendly and it is easy to make connections. As for the food, this is lots of food. We have two huge warehouses that are FULL of food (food is even staked in the isles so that you can't even walk down them). We also have a greenhouse that was made out of scrap supplies laying around. In the winter planes can't land here and this is the only place that the people can get fresh vegetables. In the summer about once a week "freshies" are flown in from NZ and we get good food like avocados, peaches, watermelon...

Shealyn - What is your favorite thing to do down there? There are a few things that I really like to do and I'm not sure I can narrow it down to one. I really like playing my guitar with friends as they sing along, going snowmobiling on the sea ice, driving a pisten bully, answering enthusiastic questions about Antarctica and watching really bad storms come through. Some of the things I don't like doing include working 6 days a week and not seeing my niece.

Hannah - Are there any cars down there? Great question Hannah. I haven't seen any "cars" down here, but we do have "normal" vehicles and some interesting vehicles. Normal transportation is in trucks and vans. Some of these vehicles have over sized tires for the snow while some have tracks. If the van or truck is only going to be used in town, they have normal tires. We also have a wide variety of snow vehicles including Ivan the Terra Bus, Deltas, Pisten Bullys, Hagglunds, snowmobiles, planes, helicopters, four wheelers, big tractors, small tractors, flatbed trucks and the list goes on.

Brian - I have 3 snowmobiles! Do you know that we made life size Arctic animals? You must love snowmobiling as much as I do. It must have been fun making the animals, what kind of animals did you make?

Taeva - How do you sleep down there? Do you wear any snow gear down there? Have you been in the Arctic? Interesting questions Taeva. Sleeping is very easy since we work 54hrs a week. If by any chance we can't fall asleep, we can get NyQuil in the store. We wear lots of snow gear and I hope this picture gives you an idea of what we wear. The clothing is known as ECW (Extreme Cold Weather Gear). I have not been to the Arctic, but did live in Alaska for a little while.
Mrs. Kern - Do you get to watch movies down there? Some of the new movies the kids like are Alvin and the Chipmunks, High school Musical etc. :) Just wondering. Also, have you seen any tourists, my dad went down there on a ship once. We watch a bunch of movies down here. We have two movie channels where they rotate the movies daily. Since we are part of the government, we get the AFN or Armed Forces Network. I haven't seen any of those movies, but we do get them shortly after being released in the theaters. While at Pole I saw some people that had skied in. In McM I haven't seen anyone yet, but I am on of the tour guides for when cruise ships come in. We were suppose to have two of them in town last week, but for weather reasons, they canceled. Maybe in a week or two. The picture above is of the three vessels currently in town. The one at the pier is the fuel tanker, left is the Oden (Icebreaker), right is the Palmer (USAP research vessel).

Thank you for all the great questions and I hope I was informative on the answers.

Marathon Day

2008-01-21T19:35:00.000+13:00

While I was at Pole I went skiing for the first time since I've been down here. The conditions were horrible but for some reason I got this great idea to ski the McMurdo Marathon. The plan was to train for two weeks but from a fall I took skiing at Pole my leg wasn't in condition for training. The race was on Sunday so Friday I rented some skis and waxed them. Saturday I continued to train by going to Gallagher's and drink like a fish.

With all my "training" I woke up ready for the race on Sunday. First all I needed to do was wash down a couple Excedrin with a Liter of water to get the pounding out of my head. The race went from Scott Base Transition (where you go from land to ice shelf) out to Willy Field then over to Pegasus and back for the grand total of 26.2 miles. (I stole most of these pictures off the I:Drive)

My one day of training really showed as my technique was quite poor. I did the first half of the race in 1.5 hrs and was enjoying a little AC/DC on my MP3 player on the beautiful day. However, at the halfway point my batteries died not only on my MP3 player, but also in my body. Wow, the second half of the race took it's toll on me. Right about Willy field I almost passed out from low blood sugar but was able to hold it together enough as I skied passed the ambulance. After hitting the Willy Road, the first runner passed me and gained a 200 yard lead. However, after the last aide station I pounded down a few Luna Bars and I was "back in black" (okay I was still sucking wind, but I wasn't about to pass out anymore). After the final turn, the course turned into a slightly downhill run covered in ice for a quater mile. This was perfect for skiing and I quickly overcame the lead runner and finished in 3hr and 26min. I'm a little sore today and I learned my lesson about not training and drinking too much before a race. However it was the best day to enjoy outside and how many people can say they did a Marathon in Antarctica? Also how many Marathons use a Terra Bus or Pisten Bully as an aide station?

Only three short weeks left and the sun will set on the longest day of my life. As the Grateful Dead put it, "what a long strange trip it's been."

The Oden

2008-01-13T21:40:00.000+13:00

This post is for my Dad and Bruce as they fish in FL this winter. Also before I forget, Happy Birthday Brian (he's my brother). When I arrived back in town, I noticed a big ice breaker parked at our dock. A few years back an iceberg by the name of B15 broke off the Ross Ice shelf and blocked our bay. B15 made it so that each summer the ice in front of McM did not "blow out" to sea. So, for the past few years ice breakers have come to clear a way into town so we can offload fuel and supplies for next year.

Oden is the Swedish ice breaker with her 18 crew members that are doing our dirty work. Today I got a tour of the boat.

After waiting about 45min to get on board, the captain welcomed us and brought us to their store. Since I have not had real ice cream (we only have frosty boy here which is made out of edible plastic although it still tastes good) in who knows how long. If it would ship, I would have someone send me some. However on the Oden, they had ice cream bars and I was more than willing to pay the dollar to get one.

Next one of the crew members brought us through the bar (look how nice it is and they even have fresh beer on tap, not 3 year old beer with floaties).

Eventually we made it up the 7 decks to the bridge. The view was amazing and we could see seals and penguins laying on the ice next to the channel they had cut. Apparently the sea ice is still 2-3 meters thick.

Brain (from the Xmas hike at arrival heights) and I did the tour together and since I had a picture of him in front of a bunch of computers from our previous outing, I only thought it appropriate.

After leaving the boat, I saw Amber's good friend Cindy managing people on the dock. I needed to send Amber a good picture as a small thank you so this is for you Amber.

Hold On Tight

2008-01-03T06:40:00.000+13:00

I just got back from the South Pole and it was a very exciting two weeks where the world revolved around me. The scary part is that there is no gravity at the pole and you can fall right off the earth (just kidding). A lot happened in that two weeks and I really hope I can cover most of the highlights. I was suppose to leave the day after Christmas but due to a medivac from Pole, flights were changed around. It looked like I was never going to make it by New Years since priority was not given to Pole flights. However a flight got canceled on Friday and we were back on the schedule. While taxing down the runway, we ran into an electrical issue that was corrected by “rebooting” the plane. I guess that works on more than just computers. So, on the 28th I made it to Pole. However I started to get a bout of the “McM Crud” and going to the high altitude Pole didn’t help me out. I didn’t take the altitude drugs since I was fighting the crud but I seemed to adapt well.
Going into the station is a challenge for someone new to the pole. The new station is elevated to help reduce the effects of snow drifts but this requires you to walk up two flights of stairs. When you are already oxygen deprived, this becomes a great workout.
The first day of work went well. They said they were going to take it easy on me since it was my first work day at altitude, but I found myself short of breath by 3pm. The first task was to help run a cable from the new station out to the HF antenna tower. For this we pulled the cable through a trench, and then down a 40’ ladder to the ice tunnels under the station. These tunnels are used for the movement of water and waste to and from the station. Adjacent to the station are “Rodwells” which are big pockets melted into the ice. The water is collected from the well and pumped to the station. After the pocket gets too big to be effective, they switch to the next Rodwell. The old “pocket” is then used for human waste which gives the tunnels a great smell.
After dinner that first night, Matt (a Janitor form McM) and I headed out to the Pole to take some pictures. In the reflection of the ball you can see the new elevated station and the old Dome. The dome is going to be torn down next year and has already been gutted. On Sunday Matt and I went on a tour of the tunnels and got to see some of the weird things under the station like the pig head and sturgeon above. To go into the tunnels we must first check out with comms and report who is going and when we will be back. There are even video cameras in the tunnels to help document who goes in. This is a safety precaution to make sure everyone comes back.
We were in the tunnels for about 1hr and it was very cold in there. The temp is about -60F which will chill you off very quickly. You can tell by the ice on my head that the tunnels are not a place you would want to get lost.
On Sunday night we had a New Years party (even though it wasn’t new years yet) and the gym was transformed into a ballroom. There were three bands that played and each was fun. Since I still had the crud I decided I wasn’t going to drink. Well that didn’t last long and I found out that the effects of altitude makes me a lightweight.
Pole has a great little greenhouse that smells amazing. Monique is one of my new co-workers and one of her part-time jobs is to run the greenhouse. The number of cucumbers she picked a couple days after this picture was incredible. The other great thing about the greenhouse besides the smells and fresh veggies is the humidity. Everything here is dry and my hands and lips are cracking and bleeding. Going into the greenhouse rejuvenates the skin. I spent Monday in here playing cribbage with one of the fuelies.
I spent the true New Years at the geographic SP with some friends and some new acquaintances. A guy there had a GPS that counted down till the New Year for us. Since we had to work the next day, the celebration didn’t last long and it was off to bed.
The next day of work was with the fire tech Joey-T again working on the HF radio. We had to finish running the cable from the tunnels into the station. For this a Ditch Which was used to dig our trench. I am still amazed at some of the equipment that was flown in here.
After dinner that night on January 1st, there was the ceremonial moving of the pole marker. Each year the winter-over crew designs and makes a new pole maker. Since the glacier that the station sits on is moving, the pole marker must be moved in order to mark the true pole. Each start of the new year, a new marker is placed at the new location found by high tech GPS units. Looking at the old markers, I can see that the pole is moving about 10-15’ a year. This means that in another 10-20 years, the pole will be right over the dome. Next to the true geographic pole is the ceremonial pole. This is the barbershop looking pole with the reflective ball on top.
One thing to note is that the crime rate down here is horrible. You can’t park your van or tractor in the wrong part of the station or who knows what will happen.
At Pole Sean (another GA from McM) and I got to work with the heavy carps. These guys are the iron workers of the South Pole. Typically GA’s do the clean up and gopher type tasks. However this day Sean and I got to help Bob build some of the new arch (will be used as a place to build cargo pallets). Sean and I got to learn how to use all kinds of new tools but the coolest by far was the cutting torch. In the afternoon, Bob was so impressed with our skills that he moved on to another task and let Sean and I continue with the knee wall. Working with iron and steel is fun, but at the South Pole it makes your fingers very cold.
Daiquiri night was a blast. Rick, one of the heavy carps, organized a daiquiri party with a wide range of tasty drinks. As a side party we watched “The Thing.” This is a great movie about aliens in Antarctica but we didn’t believe it showed the true life down here with the large amount of drinking they did in the movie ;).
Saturday night was a night at the drive in at the big gym. For this a big screen was put up, popcorn was made and people dragged in couches, chairs, mattresses, and blankets to watch Indian Jones and Star Wars. I only watched the first movie, but it was entertaining to have people come by each “car” and give out free Jello shots. It was also funny when halfway through the movie the emergency exit door to the gym opened and ~12 people came in half dressed in their ECW. They all lined up in front of the screen with their backs facing us and dropped their pants and mooned. Then they all filed out as we clapped and went back to watching the movie. Just another normal night at the South Pole.
Sean and I one day took a quick break from work and wandered into the Dome. This is the old station that will be torn down next year. So far all the structures have been removed from the inside area and is now used for food storage.
While staying here I have had the experience of living in “summer camp.” It has made me feel like living in a MASH unit. From the picture above you can understand why. These are old military Jamesways. They are warm and I have my own “room” and even have a window. Sound travels very easily in here as I learned the first day when my neighbor went to use his “P” bottle.
I don’t fully understand some of the science here, but two of the major projects include Ice Cube and South Pole Telescope. For Ice Cube, scientists are using doms (pictured top) to study neutrinos (subatomic particles). Ice Cube is drilling 86, 2.5km holes and putting 60 doms down each holes. Each dom cost about $8,000-$15,000. The total project is estimated at about $260 million. SPT (pictured bottom) is being used to view far off galaxies and the beginning of time, or something like that. They are still trying to get it up and running and work out all the bugs.
Since being here we have had many visitors. Most exciting to me was the South Pole Traverse People showed up on the 8th. If you remember, a few months ago I got to help this team load their food for the long trek here. Well they made it and now they only have to make the trip back home. We have also had a number of people ski to the pole. Trips take anywhere from 8-60 days depending on where they start from. For some reason I don’t think this sounds like fun. I remember as a kid being taught to look both ways before crossing the road. Well, at the South Pole you are taught to look both ways before crossing the landing strip. On either side of the runway there is this sign and a red beacon to help inform you when a plane is landing or taking off. It works similar to a railroad crossing.
After two weeks of fun at Pole it was time to come back to McM. Originally I was going to be the only passenger on my flight but due to bad weather in McM everything was changed around. The flight I left on was a medivac flight for a guy that broke his angle. From the airfield in McM he got to take a helicopter ride into town. Due to the weather delay and the medivac, we didn’t get back to town until 0415 this morning. It made for a long night, but the good news is that I get today off.
The best part about being away is when I got back I had a ton of mail! Thank you everyone for everything. I am truly the luckiest person on earth, even if it no longer revolves around me.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T14:45:00.000+13:00

Merry Christmas Everyone! Before I forget, tomorrow (Christmas Day for those of you back home), I'll be headed to the South Pole for two weeks. This means there is limited Internet access so the blog will not be updated while I'm gone. This also means that emailing will be limited and therefore don't expect me to write back (although I'm not very good at that anyway :)

These are two of my friends, Terry and Betty. Betty is a Yankees fan so sometimes we don't share the same opinions. The wonderful people below are Dave and Chelsea. These were the first two people I ran into at the Denver Airport on the way here.

The party on Sunday nigh was a ton of fun. I had to work on Sunday and after which I quickly ate dinner and then volunteered washing dishes in the Galley (so the Galley staff could make it to the party). I may have had a little too much to "fun", but I fit right in with the rest of the people there. It is amazing that we could transform an 8 bay garage into a large party hall. Santa even came to the party and I heard a rumor today that he to had a little too much fun and may be getting sent home (he's on the naughty list). I hope Mrs. Claus doesn't find out.

On Monday I went up to Arrival Heights with Brian, Bamma, and Megan. This section of town is off limits, but Brain works there and needed to check some of the equipment. It was a beautiful day and we could see Erebus smoking in the background. I have many more great pictures, but it takes way too long to upload them to the blog.

This is Brian hard at work. I told him to push some buttons so I could take a picture and he assured me he was going to have to push a lot of buttons. His job looks very cool.

Monday night was our big Christmas Dinner. I had to rush through it because I adopted my roommate the DA (Dinning Attendant) for an hour. This meant that he could skip work for an hour as I did his job. He truly appreciated it. However, before I left, I grabbed a tray full of King Crab Legs. Wow they were good. I ate most of them on Christmas day as a snack.

Also for Christmas I made my roommates stockings. I stuffed socks I grabbed out of SKUA (free thrift store) and filled them with all kinds of cool things I found in the trash one day working at the waste barn. I know it sounds weird, but they really appreciated it and there is a lot of fun stuff in the trash here.

Once again, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year!

Operation Tiger Strike

2007-12-19T21:33:00.001+13:00

Operation Tiger Strike was a success! We were on the ground for 70min (10min over our allotted time) but we not only completed what we were suppose to, but also completed half of the work the third team was suppose to do. We could have been back on the plane in an hour, but we had to mess around and take pictures for 10 mins. Our take-off was so smooth that we made it in one attempt and we saved so much fuel that we didn't have to go to pole (not so good). Our takeoff took a total of 7 miles and we finally left the ground with a little help from the JATO (Jet Assisted Take Off). Since we only have one set of JATO on the plane, I'm glad it worked the first time because if it didn't, we would have been stuck there. This is the tent after we finished setting it up. There is a plywood box floor on top of leveled footer. Then there are arches that are all pieced together and put up. Next "blankets" are put over the structure and secured into place. Deadmen lock it down to the snow as seen by the lines in the picture by peoples feet.
This is a little view of what things looked like right before we left. It's weird to think that scientists are going to study a mountain range in a place that is so flat (the mountains are under the snow).
Between the star and the "New Your Air Guard" sign are the four JATO bottles. There are four on each side and burn all at once for a total of 8 seconds.
To help with the takeoff, we needed to get all the weight we could into the back of the plane. For this we had 7 people cargo strapped to the back ramp. I guess technically these people came back as "Cargo."

Just after we took off, we found out we had enough fuel to make it back to McM and that we were not going to Pole. At this point, I pulled out my tiger suit from Halloween and ran around the plane to cheer people up. I don't think it worked but I did see a couple smiles. One of the NYANG guys came up to me and said "there are a lot of strange people on this plane!" Remember, this is all in the name of science.

This week we all have to work on Sunday (7 day work week) because we get Monday and Tuesday off for the holiday. It will be a nice break having two days off in a row. Merry Christmas everyone!

Boomeranged

2007-12-18T21:00:00.000+13:00

Well, the first try to AGAP was boomeranged. This means that after we sat on the plane for 2.5 hours we were told we were headed back home. Well we first continued the 30 min to AGAP to buzz the two tents already set up. We were boomeranged because the weather at the Pole was bad. Pole weather needs to be good because as I mentioned before after we set up our tent for an hour and then try to take off, we will need to fly to the pole to get fuel to come back to McMurdo. Thus if weather at Pole is bad enough that we can't land, we don't have enough fuel to make it back home and everyone has a bad day.

While on the flight we had plenty of time to have fun. I took a few hour nap on a bunch of cargo before trying to fly a broom around.

Ben pretended to drive this snow machine around. Ben and his wife Gretchen life just down the road from a former girlfriend of mine in Anchorage plus Gretchen knows my good friend Shawna Compton (what a small world).

On the way back I watched out the window to see the Trans Antarctic Mountains. I have to say it was amazing. I happened to get a shot of Mount Discovery which meant we were almost back home.

When we transitioned from the Ice Shelf to Ross Island, the road was blocked by two ambulances. I guess an ANG (Air National Guard) guy was having some health issues. They were transferring him from one ambulance to the other (one was from one of the air fields while the other was from town). After they took off we caught the ambulance on the way back to town when the transmission died going up the hill by Scott Base. They asked if we could tow them back with our Delta. Since this seemed like a bad idea and we already had one hurt guy, we radioed it in and continued on. Well, another day at the office and we were back home. We'll try again when the weather clears.

No Life Guard On Duty

2007-12-16T20:16:00.000+13:00

Okay I have been really bad about updating this blog, but I hope to be a little better as the next few weeks will get exciting. First off, I have not made it to A-Gap yet, but I hear that we may fly tomorrow, this means I'll start the drugs tonight. The past week was laid back. A couple good gatherings and some fun movies, but nothing over the top.

I did manage to go swimming last week. We are not suppose to do this, but I just had to. I was out helping take down the penguin ranch since the sea ice is starting to melt. We were taking a brake when I noticed these great holes (that were used by the penguins) just sitting there only being used by seals. So I talked Meghan into jointing me for a little swim. We stripped down to our underwear, tied a rope around our waist, and jumped in. I have to say, this water was very cold about 29F. After I got in, these two guys helping break down wanted to pull me out, but my head had not gone under yet. So I sucked in and went down. When I came up, they pulled me out. The rest of the day was fun with salt water soaking into the cuts on my legs from the sides of the hole.

On the way into town, we saw Shuttle Joe stuck at the transition (land to sea) in Ivan the Terra Bus. Meghan tried to push him out, but no luck (little joke). With the warm weather, the roads are starting to melt away.

This weekend was the Women's Soiree. It was a ton of fun with live music, skits, poems... I tried taking pictures, but it was to dark and the flash didn't work at the distance. However the picture above is of everyone waiting to get in.

Have a great week and thank you John, Lynne, Linda, Dad, Brian, Kimmy, and Ella for the X-mas presents, it is killing me not to open them. I did send stuff off in the mail, but we'll see how long it takes to get them back home.

Coach or Cargo

2007-12-09T02:29:00.000+13:00

Sorry no pictures for this post. I just wanted to tell everyone about operation Tiger Strike. This is a mission to put in a field camp at high altitude. Next week team 1 will fly to A-Gap on a LC-130, land for an hour, set up a tent and return home. Day two, team two (that's me) will also fly to A-Gap and set up half of a more complicated tent. Since we will run low on fuel, we will fly to the pole to get more gas to return back to MCM. I guess this is the first of this type of mission and there is finally a real sense of danger. They will have us all on high altitude drugs to prevent us from getting sick. They will carry O2 for us and one person is dedicated to just watching over the others. If someone does get sick, they mission is aborted and we leave immediately.

This is going to be true Antarctica and I'm looking forward to the risk associated with the adventure. This week we were had a safety meeting and did a few dry runs of the tent setup. During the safety meeting we were told everything would be fine if we do things right. However if we mess up, we would be coming back in cargo instead of coach (a little humor). I'm hoping I'll get some good pictures, but with the nature of the work and the temperature, I'm not sure I'll be able to. There is a lot of talk around town about this project and some think it is foolish while others think it will be a piece of cake. Who knows, but I'll get paid for an 11 hour day to work for an hour :)

Nothing But Fun And Games

2007-12-03T18:00:00.000+13:00

Okay, I haven't sent any post cards out yet, but I am over half way done filling them in and each one has a personal (not a form) note. I hope to get them in the mail before the end of this week so they make it back by X-mas. I've spent about an hour the past few nights working on them.

Last Friday I woke up to see it snowing out. It is amazing that for a place covered in snow, it doesn't really snow all that often. I was headed out to LDB (a site about 8 miles from town), so I made snow angels as I waited for the bus.

I worked with Ann out at LDB until about 1pm when the bus came to pick up all the beakers (scientists). The weather forecast said there was going to change to condition 1 (really bad weather), so everyone wanted to get back to town before the weather hit. In condition 1 all travel is prohibited. Well Ann, Ben, and I stayed out at LDB and risked the weather that never came. At one point Ann (who skied to the South Pole back in the early 90's) asked Ben and I to "test" all the snowmobiles out. Boy it was hard work, but someone had to do it.

Friday night I was able to get on a boondoggle out to Cape Evans. This is the site that both Scott and Shackleton have used. The last historical event there was captured in one of the books I read, Shackleton's Forgotten Men. It was really cool to step into history like this. I could feel the events of the story I had read. Another way of describing it is to imagine what it would be like to walk through the halls of Hogwarts (yeah, that cool).
On the way there, we spotted three Adelie Penguins sitting next to the road. We all got out of the Delta (our big bus like thing) and took pictures of the funny looking birds. After about 10 minutes we decided to get back into the warmth of the delta and head on. Well the funny little birds immediately wanted to become friendly and came running after us. So everyone stopped, dropped to their knees and stomachs, and the little birds ran up to us and did all kinds of cute things so we could take pictures. After another 10min they got bored with us and decided to move along.

Inside the Hut there was all kinds of things left behind by Shackleton's crew.

Saturday was a fun filled day with FSTP. We "had" to go out to the pressure ridges in front of Scott Base (Kiwi Base) to flag a safe route around the ridges for snowmobiles. While we were out there we saw Fleet Ops moving all the airfield buildings from the ice runway out to Willey Field. It's amazing that in one day they can move a whole airport. Just after leaving the pressure ridges, Thai and I had an interesting moment on the Sea Ice. I was ridding behind him in the trailer when we suddenly stopped with a big crash. We had fallen through a melt pool. Water forms on top of the ice and then freezes. Then after the top freezes the water drained out leaving a nice hidden hole for us to zoom over. Well, I guess I've been eating too much food down here because it was the trailer, not the snowmobile that fell through. However by the time we were done messing around with it, everything had fallen in and it took a lot of time and muscle to pull it out (it was fun though).

After flagging, we headed out to Turtle rock to profile a crack. I mentioned back when I first got hear how to profile a crack, but it involved us drilling five holes across the cracked area. We go down 1 meter at a time adding another flight to the drill as we go. You can see in the picture Matt with the drill and Erebus in the background. In the center of the crack we hit water at 4meters. Yes, that is a lot of ice and it was safe for us to be out there. We ended up coming home on a rarely traveled land route which added much excitement to the day.

Sunday, a day of rest (yeah right). I woke up and headed to church. Church here is kind of fun and it's a nice way to start the day. After church I ate brunch and got ready for the big race. This was a Cyclo-cross race. Rec (department) just got a bunch of new bikes and what a great way to break them in then by racing them. To make it more fun, we had to dress up in funny costumes.

The course was short, but we had to run to the chapel and back, carry our bikes over steps, bike to the top of a hill, do push ups, then the fun part. Just before the end of the course, there was a flight of stairs. Rec suggested that we walk our bikes down the stairs as they egged us on to ride it. Well I made it safely down the stairs but not everyone did. This is a great pictures I got off the I:Drive.

Here is a picture of a seal I saw today out at the penguin ranch with an Antarctic Tooth Fish. It was in one of the dive holes in a hut. Just coming up to say hi, take a breath of air, and show us his fish.

Alright, time for me to get back to the postcards!

Turkey Day

2007-11-27T20:12:00.000+13:00

The past few days have been very busy so I haven't had a chance to update the blog. I hope some of this is interesting and before I forget, happy Turkey Day!

One day last week I worked with Kevin the electrician. Kevin was in my deployment group, so I got to know him quite well. This coming weekend they will be closing the ice runway so Kevin has been tasked with setting up the runway lights for Willey Field. Willey Field is named after a US Navy man who went through the ice just off Ross Island back in 1956 when they started building the station here. This airfield sits idle during the summer while the ice runway is used because the ice runway is about a mile from town and only takes a couple minutes to get to. Willey on the other hand is ~8 miles away and takes about 20-30 minutes to get to depending on the weather. Other than distance, the other major difference between the two airfields is Willey Sits on the 200M thick ice shelf while the ice runway sits on the 3M thick sea ice that melts away each year.

On Friday I was lucky enough to head out to the sea ice with FSTP (Field Safety Training Program) people to help establish a route to Turtle Rock and re-route the Cape Evans Road around a crack forming in the sea ice. The first stop revealed a bunch more seals (this place is about a mile from Hutton Cliffs where I was earlier). I saw a mother with twins which is very rare. The sad news is that there is a good chance one or both of the pups won't make it. The mother just can't produce enough milk to feed them both. However they were still very cute.

This day was very surreal, I left town on a a snowmobile with Susan towing a trailer in front of me. I looked up to see two helicopters flying over our heads and as I looked back forward, I could see Mt Erebus (our active volcano) smoking away. On the way out, Susan pulled the trailer with our survival gear and work equipment in it. However after it came detached the second time, I stopped with it as she kept going. After waiting a few minutes for her to return, I hooked it up to my sled and caught back up. In the long run, it made work much easier having the trailer behind me.

Typically we only have Sunday off, but because of the holiday, we also had Saturday off. I got up early so that I would be prepared for the Turkey Trot. This is a 5K (3.2M) race from the chapel out to the ice runway and back. We were told that the first 50 finishers would get a free t-shirt. I wanted to be one of the lucky few. I haven't run in years so it was very tough for me. However I busted my but and finished in the mid 30's out of 20+ runners and got my T-shirt. I guess I worked harder than I had to. This is a picture of my friends Gretchen and Sarah who also ran.

The T-Day feast was amazing. I even got my own drumstick! I think I ate too much, but Turkey Day only comes once a year. Before dinner I signed up to Adopt a DA (Dinning Attendant) for 1.5 hours. This meant that someone who had to work could take some time off as I covered for them. Every Sunday I volunteer scrubbing pots so I was an old pro at the job and they liked having someone there that could coach the other volunteers. By the end of the meal, there was a standing ovation for the kitchen crew and the wonderful meal they had prepared. It was an inspiring moment that made me feel very proud to be part of this community.

After dinner, I had a little too much fun, but that story has been saved for email. However that night while at Gallagher's, I ran into a couple Red Sox fans.

I ended the weekend with a nice solo hike of the Scott Hut Ridge. This is one of the few hikes you can do solo. It was a nice day and I needed to do a little physical and mental recovery.

So far there is nothing exciting coming up in the near future, but this is good since it will give me a chance to find a job once my contract is up.

Penguin Pictures For Ian

2007-11-20T20:35:00.000+13:00

The past few days have been packed full of fun. Saturday night the Shuttles group went on a boondoggle (fun trip) to Cape Evans, so me and two other GAs covered for them. I was "Shuttle Ops" also known as dispatch. It was fun to sit in the shuttle shack with them in the morning to learn how to do the job. There are a lot of cute shuttle drivers and for some reason they seem to like me. After an uneventful evening covering for shuttles, I headed to see the bands play at Gallagher's (non-smoking bar). It was a ton of fun but the night ended with a little too much drama for me (Adult material best suited for email).
I woke up early Sunday morning and went to church. I have to say it was a nice service and it helped me start the day off right. After church I headed to brunch and then filed my "e-foot plan" with the fire department. In order to travel off station I must first file a plan letting them know where I'm headed, when I'll be back (ETR), a point of contact, and who else is going (no solo trips). We also had to carry a radio with us just in case something were to happen. Myself, Eric (roommate), and Bill decided to go sledding down the Castle Rock loop trail. One issue with this is that we don't have any sleds, but we discovered that cafeteria trays work just as well. The loop is about an 8 mile hike but we also made a quick detour up Castle Rock which was amazing. My camera died at the start of the hike but Bill is suppose to send me some good photos. The ride down was a great rush and my butt was very sore. It was a perfect day with no wind and a hot sun. When we got back, we ate dinner on our same trays before I volunteered in the Galley's Pot room scrubbing pots.

Monday turned out to be a great day too with a short trip on the sea ice with the Piston Bully, and then shoveling at the Aquarium. I got a quick tour of what was in the tanks and it made me feel like a scientist again.

Today however was an amazing day. Everyone else on our team was out of town at cool places and Tirzah and I felt a little left out. Then Barb (supervisor) let us know we were headed to Hutton Cliffs (seal hangout) and the Penguin Ranch.

Hutton Cliffs was first on the list to re-fuel so after 1.5 hr down the Cape Evans trail, we turned onto the un-tracked flagged route to Hutton Cliffs for half an hour. With the flat light, driving was a little tricky going through the pressure ridges. A couple times I was going a little too fast for the light and we slammed down off some of the cracks in the ice. The picture above is of the field camp and the vehicle to the right is the Piston Bully I was driving.

After we arrived we filled the fuel tanks and then begged the scientists there to take us on a walking tour. There were so many seals. And it was incredible to see how they interacted and called out when their mom's went fishing. We saw many pups (baby seals) and even some old males. One male was recently in a fight and had an eye hanging out (sorry no pictures). Shortly after the pups are born, they weigh 150lbs and will stay with their moms until they are a couple months old. A full grown adult male can weigh 1,200lbs.

Some of the pups put on quite the show for us!

Next it was off to the Penguin Ranch. Well Ian and Cavan O'Brien, here are your Penguin Pictures.

Here, scientist go out and collect Emperor Penguins from the Ice Edge and bring them to this "ranch." Here there are only two holes cut in the ice for them to come in and out of the water (this keeps them in the area). Around the holes is a small pen. When Penguins are on "land" they tend to wander a long ways and the fence keeps them in the study area. The researchers then observe the penguins and their feeding habits. An observation tube is inserted into the ice just outside the pen to observe the penguins feeding under the ice. I wanted to go in the tube, but they were busy filming the mid afternoon "diving" session. It's a long story, but some of their behavior was a little sad since it reminded me of a zoo.

A few great days in a row! As always, I'm still very happy to be here and am still waiting for the novelty of this place to wear off, if it wears off. Cheers!

Life at WAIS

2007-11-17T18:45:00.000+13:00

I think it was said best that our monotony is someone else's adventure. Each day was filled with shoveling snow, putting up rac tents, eating, and playing cards. To us, this was just a typical day, but to everyone back home this was an adventure (you seem to lose that every now and then).

Evening entertainment typically involved playing cards after eating a huge meal. I learned how to play Cribbage, Pitch, and Rummy. I have to say, Pitch was the hardest to learn, but I had the most fun with.

One day we decided that we were going to have a day off and that it would be nice to give the cooks a day of rest. Tirzah and I (the two GAs) volunteered to play cooks for the day. It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be to feed 21 people three meals. The highlights of the day included making "Magic" bars and a sheet cake that was the map of the camp. People really appreciated it, but working 12 hrs on your day off can take its toll on you.

On thing that was fun to do was to have races when you couldn't see the horizon. You didn't race to any point in particular, but with no reference point, and and not seeing contour with the flat light, you would run until there was only one person standing. This picture shows how white things can be. One night I tried talking Tirzah into a race which she declined, moments later I stepped off the 2 foot snow drift next to the outhouse and landed flat on my face. She reported, "I win."

One of my favorite parts of camp life was the outhouse. Under each little shack was a 5-7 foot hole dug into the snow and ice. After someone used the outhouse, their droppings would freeze. At some point in the future someone else would use it and their droppings would land on top of the first and freeze. After this is repeated for a week or two, you have a 5 foot poopsicle (edited for younger viewers) coming up from the floor (I wanted to take a picture, but never did). After these stalagmites get too tall, they take the poopstick (also edited for younger viewers) and knock it over. The other fun part of the outhouses was the poems and fun puns. Some of my favorite puns were "WAIS'ed away again in Margaritaville", "We have a WAIS to go", "These are the WAIS of our lives"...

Each morning after donning our ECW to leave our tent, I would dump my pee bottle at the yellow flag and then return to my tent and dig it out before heading to breakfast. Some mornings, my tent was really buried from the drifting snow.

One interesting part of camp life was the freezer cave. This is were all the frozen food is kept. The cave was fully stocked from last year and was full of wonderful food including ribs, stake, seafood... I had to dig open the door a couple times to help pull food for the galley. By the time I left, the Carps (Carpenters) were building an extension to the door to help prevent it from being buried by drifting snow.

Life at WAIS was full of hard work, that was instantly rewarded by a spectacular view and great company (picture below of Andy and Andy our Fulies). I don't have pictures, but we were even visited by three birds while I was there. I guess this is normal, but remember that available food is 200 miles away.

I'll add more on this wonderful topic of WAIS when I get a chance. I let you know about the science that will happen there and about how to build a rac tent.

Drifting

2007-11-16T21:38:00.000+13:00

I am back in town and I have a lot to share. If the first day in Antarctica was the best day of my life, then I knew things could only get worst from there. Well I was wrong, I now have a new best day of my life and that started when the skis of the LC-130 touched down on the landing strip at WAIS camp.

On Thursday the first of November we boarded our aircraft and left for our remote field camp. Our flight took approximately 3hrs during which I got to ride in the cockpit and see the vast sea of ice below. One of the highlights of the flight was when the load master took out a box labeled "explosives" and started fiddling with some dynamite looking things. I asked the other GIB (Guy In Back: National Guard people that don't ride in the cockpit) what he was doing. I was informed that they were the igniters for the JATO (Jet Assisted Take Off). Since this was the first LC-130 flight into WAIS this year, they weren't sure the runway was going to be good enough to take off again. So four rockets were mounted to each side of the back of the plane. If the pilot didn't get enough speed to get the nose up, he would hit the switch and these eight rockets would kick to life and push the plane into the air. After landing I waited in anticipation as the plane tried to take off, but unfortunately, they made it on their second try without the JATO.

Just before landing we were informed that the weather at WAIS was marginal and that if two landing attempts where unsuccessful, we would divert to Pole. Well, we made it and it was an amazing experience. To unload the three pallets of cargo, the pilot did a drift offload also known as a combat offload. After opening the rear door, the load master pushes the ramp pallet out the back, a lever is then pulled which releases the next two pallets as the pilot hits the throttle. The pallets slide out the back and land on the runway to be picked up later. You have to check out the cool video below, it starts with the pull of the lever.

I can't describe it all, but when we got there, there were two heated modules still stuck in the winter berm (the man made elevated platform where they store everything for the winter) that had been opened by the six person crew that arrived the week before. After our arrival, the population doubled to 15.
The second morning there, we woke up in our tents to a horrible storm (Gramma, you may not want to read this next part). The wind was so strong I thought my tent was going to blow away with me in it. After getting on all of my ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear, I dug out the snow in my vestibule to my tent, and met the other campers at the outhouse. The tenting site was about an 8 minute walk down a flagged route to the winter berm (safety of heated buildings and food). The walk was a little sketchy as we went flag to flag following the route. Each flag is 15 steps apart except for at the end where someone pulled a couple flags to use for another project. Here the last two flags were about 25 steps apart. The wind and snow was so bad that we all stopped at the second to last flag wondering where the next one was. I have to say, it was really cool to see the power of such a storm. Below is a common rainbow seen around the sun almost daily. The background is the winter berm and the new cargo line created from the cargo removed from the berm the week before.

That is all I have for tonight, but I'll try to keep updating on my WAIS trip. As far as news goes, I received my guitar in the mail and it is better than I could have dreamed. However, Dad and Linda, the package you sent is still not here (there is no rhyme nor reason as to which mail gets here first).

To Be Continued...

The Today Show

2007-10-30T21:55:00.000+13:00

Well, I'm still here, and so is Ann Curry from the Today Show. I don't know the details, but if you go to the link I'll add at the bottom, you can see video of their trip here. So far I have seen the video from the CDC (Clothing Distribution Center) in Christchurch. Apparently she arrived this afternoon in McM and will do a short thing here before heading to Pole. Follow the Today Show to learn more. I thought this would be a good way for people to see the process. I won't have TV at WAIS, so you'll all have to let me know how it is. I'll warn you now, that she has already over dramatized it a little, but the video is good.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21487380/

Life is still great and every day is full of smiles. I may be headed to WAIS tomorrow, but we'll see how it goes. Cheers!

Standby

2007-10-29T20:19:00.000+13:00

And the Red Sox are World Champions! Alright. What a great year it was for the sox! Below are a few things I've been up to lately. I hope you enjoy the pictures and the short stories.

Last week I had to spend a day working out at LDB (Long Duration Balloon Launch). I didn't do anything cool but did get to shovel a bunch and make some people upset when I took a picture of their payload they were building. I guess the flash isn't good for the electronics. Woops! LDB is about 20 minutes from station out on the McM ice shelf. In the picture, the two tall buildings are payload buildings where scientists put together fancy electronics to take sophisticated readings in the atmosphere (okay, I have no idea what they do). I do know that they cost millions of dollars. What happens is a large balloon will carry the payload up into the sky for a length of time. Eventually a small charge will blow the payload (scientific equipment) from the balloon and a parachute will return it safely to the ice below. A second charge then detaches the payload from the parachute so it doesn't get dragged around by the high winds. Scientists then recover the equipment and analyze the data. I guess this will happen in January. This field camp has water trucked in from McM, a large generator for power, and a couple other scientific buildings. This is a picture of the inside of the galley at LDB. The lasagna for lunch was great, but we ended up having the same thing back in McM for dinner. Oh well, you can't win them all. The woman I worked with all day, Ann, skied to the South Pole back in 94 with three other women. How cool is that.I spent Saturday helping change the big gym into a party room. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet more great people. So the question everyone wants to know is, did I meet my ice wife? Well, unfortunately I did not, but I still had one heck of a great time (maybe a little too great, because Sunday wasn't as fun). I made my tiger costume myself out of old runway flags. I have to say I did a fine job. I even remembered to cut a little pee hole for draining adult beverages from my system. The other fun thing about the night was beer was only $1. Above is a picture of myself and Sarah. Sarah is a shuttle drive and has become a good friend. I told her I have a parrot for her pirate costume in the mail, but there is a back log of 20,000lbs of mail in Christchurch. It didn't make it in time.This was a fun picture of Audrey and Sarah giving me a kiss on the cheek. For some strange reason, I have a lot of these types of pictures.
Hey Amber, this picture is for you! This is Cindy, Amber's friend form Last year. For those of you who don't know Amber, she is an amazing friend that helped me get a job down here. She has quite the reputation and any time I mention her name, I instantly have a new friend.

On Sunday (your Saturday), I nursed a hangover by watching the Red Sox win game 3. Gallagher’s, a bar across the street, was open for people to watch the game. There are a few sox fans here, so I was in good company. They had free wings, mozzarella sticks, burgers, chips... for us to enjoy as we watched the game. People kept offering me drinks, but I politely turned them down.

Before the game started I found out that a woman had fallen from her bed and was unconscious. Her roommate found her and the fire department was called into action. The sad news is that they had to med-evac her to Christchurch on the LC-130 I was suppose to take to WAIS today. I hope she turns out okay. I overheard some firefighters saying they were about to intibate (sp?) her meaning she was still unconscious. What a horrible way to leave this place.

After the game, I had to finish my laundry and get ready for bag drag. Bag drag is as fun as it sounds. Everyone about to depart from McM drags their bags up to building 140 and gets weighed in. There were a bunch of people there, people for the two flights to Pole and our backup flight to WAIS. Most of it was just waiting for our time on the scale. We do fly by FAA rules, so no liquids or sharps in our carry ons (however nobody checks).

This morning it was too cold at Pole to fly (has to be >-50F) as it was -56F. This means that our flight was on for WAIS. The only issue was that power was out down on the ice runway. SO they delayed our flight until 1000 when we caught a shuttle down to the ice. After 30min of sitting in the shuttle talking to shuttle driver Naoma (good friend) we were told to go into the galley and wait. Well a couple hours went by along with a lunch of burgers and curly fries to be told our plane was broken and we were now on standby for the evening flight to Pole. I was very excited because this meant I got to watch the Red Sox win the World Series! Well, it warmed up at Pole, so we are now on standby for the flight tomorrow morning.

As always, I love this place and I love the people. If I were to write a fairy tale, I would write one about the last 3 weeks of my life!

South Pole Travers

2007-10-26T21:58:00.003+13:00

Okay, before I create any confusion, no I am not going to the South Pole. However, today I got to work with the SPT team as they make their preparations to head south. A few years back, Ric Campbell got this great idea that instead of flying all the supplies to SP (South Pole) that they should create a road there and drive it. So after many years of mapping a route through the crevasse filled areas, they arrived at a "safe" route. Although there has been 3-4 attempts, only one was successful. The project was on hold last season, but they are kicking it off again and I got to join in on the magic. The plan is to have eight people drag twelve 3,000 gallon fuel bags to the pole. This round trip endeavor over the semi established route will take an estimated three months and the crew will return with Pole trash and Pole pooh. Not only will the team need to take the fuel, but they will also have to take all their own living supplies to be fully self sufficient during their journey.

While I worked with the crew I learned a lot about what will take place and I took some pictures. So here is some education on the SPT.

Above you see large tanks that will be used to fuel the pulling equipment not to mention the heating and generator as well. I'm not sure how big each tank is, but as you can tell, there is a ladder going up the side of each one. Each tank is mounted on large skis and connected together to create a long "pony parade." I believe there are a total of 8 of these tanks that will be used.
I really liked this little rig. This read vehicle is a Pisten Bully. I get to drive these around town and out on the sea ice. Attached to the front of the vehicle is a long boom with a sonar head. Bill will be driving this thing in the lead. The idea is that the sonar will pick up any crevasses before they are driven over with the equipment If a Crevasse is found, they use a hot water drill to drill a hole through the snow bridge. They will lower explosives and blow the bridge up. They then take their heavy equipment and fill in the crevasse until it is safe to cross.
NOTE: A crevasse is a large crack in the ice shelf cased by the snow and ice moving and flexing as it passes over the surface below. Wind then covers the crack with a snow bridge and hides the danger below. Often skiers or mountain climbers start crossing a snow bridge not knowing it is there until it gives way and they plummet to the bottom sometimes hundreds of feet below.
In the back ground you can see a huge tractor looking thing, this is a Case Quad Track. It has a 14L engine and is quite the workhorse as it pulls a load of up to 150,000lbs. That is a lot of weight.
In the picture above you and see the Case Quad Track in front of this giant sled. The sled has two 3,000 gallon fuel bags on it. I got to help strap these puppies on as the Fuelies (the fuel people) filled them with gas. Three of these sleds will be chained to the boom you see in the front of the picture meaning one Quad Track can pull 18,000 gallons of gas. The only issue is that in some spots they have built "bridges" across crevasses and they are worried that these sleds may slide off. However they are working on this issue to prevent dumping a few tons of gas into our nice clean snow.
The picture above is where I spent most of the day working. This is the food trailer. The door to the left is frozen foods while the door to the right is dry goods. I lugged 4 pallets of frozen food and 1 van load of dry goods into this trailer. I have pictures of all the food stacked up but I can show you those another time. I can say that these people will not go hungry!
This is the inside of the living quarters. Straight ahead is a bedroom with four bunks, and directly behind me are another four. You can see the sink, but running water is created from a 5 gallon pail under the sink with a pump in it. Water is created by shoveling snow into a box on the front of the utility sled. The box holds about 50 gallons of water and has a heating coil in it. The snow shoveled in quickly melts and is pumped to the showers and bathroom. The water can also be lugged from the utility sled to the living quarters to use in the sink. I don't know what happens to the waste water, but my guess is that it goes directly to the ice below.

I hope this was as interesting to you as it was for me. Tomorrow is the big Halloween party and my costume is all ready (I made it my self). I leave Monday for WAIS so I may not talk to anyone for a couple weeks. Take care and go Red Sox!

Getting Ready To Find An Ice Wife

2007-10-23T20:05:00.000+13:00

I'll try to get pictures up soon, but I've had some issues with it. Well the last few days haven't been as exciting, but I still love this place. On Saturday I got paid to drive around all day and GPS the roads. This involved driving a Mac Track on all the local roads and trails and pushing a button at each turn in the road. Since the roads (and trails) are on glaciers, they move from year to year. To help out the SAR (Search and Rescue) team, each year the roads are updated on the computer. I use to think the O'Briens had a steep driveway, however after driving down the trail from Castle Rock, I'll never think twice about their drive again. The pictures don't do it justice, but it was one heck of a ride down tilted to the side and going down a very steep hill. When you hit the breaks, the back tracks would slide out forcing you to keep going. Plus the bottom of the hill was marked by a huge crevasse where you get funneled over a snow bridge they made with a snow cat.

Saturday night was fun, they had the Banff Mountain Movie Festival in the Galley. It was really cool watching the short movies on extreme and adventurous activities. I loved the climbing and skiing movies and can't wait to do some more of it when I get back home.

Sunday was my "day of rest" and I was able (after a few tries) to call home and talk to Big Skip. I wanted to tell him about my up coming trip. As I have told some of you, sometime this week or next, I will be flown out to WAIS (West Antarctic Ice Sheet) to help open (dig out) a remote field camp. Because of the nature of the field camp I won't be able to update my blog for the two weeks I'm there. I don't know when I'm headed, but I should be gone by the middle of next week depending on the weather. While at WAIS, I'll be sleeping in a tent trying to stay warm as temps drop to -40F. Sounds a little chilly to me, but this is why I came.

I hope I don't leave for WAIS until after this Saturday. This Saturday is the famous McM Halloween party. This is the night where single workers find their "ice wifes." I'm not joking about this. Girlfriends here are considered ice wifes and if you don't find one by Halloween, your next chance is at Xmas when the labor pool flops and night workers go to days and day workers go to nights. I thought it was worth sharing this interesting fact with you all and keep your fingers crossed for me.

On Monday I did food pull for the galley. Picture how much food it takes to feed 1,100 people for a week. That is how much food I handled. Now picture how much food it takes to feed 1,100 people for 6 months and 200 people for 6 months, that is how much food is in the warehouse. I didn't get any pictures of it, but I'll try to get back and get some. I had to do things like pull out 220lbs of pork, and 180lbs of chicken... I saw more dead animals than I ever thought existed. Not to mention seeing tofu in 10lb blocks, or 75lb boxes of beef, or hundreds of half gallon cartons of eggs. It was so cool. (sorry Diddy, I pulled this from the email I sent you)

Weather on Monday was Condition 1 everywhere except on Station and at the Ice Runway. This means that traveling anywhere besides right in town was forbidden. In town it was condition two which is a little breezy, but the temp was warm. However, the wind piled snow up on all the steps I just shoveled. I guess being a snow shoveler in Antarctica has some job security.

Tuesday wasn't as much fun as I was hoping it was going to be. I was suppose to go out on snowmobiles to map cracks on the sea ice. However the weather was still a little iffy so instead I was inside all day helping clean up the gear room for the SAR team.

I hope every one is doing well. If there are any questions people have please email me (although it may take a while for me to get back to you). Some things I plan to cover in the future are pictures of Mt. Erebus (the active volcano, peeing on the yellow flag, and life on station. Alison, when I get back from WAIS, I plan on walking the town and take a bunch of pictures of the "everyday" type things to better fill you in on how life works. I also plan on putting together a "day in the life of a GA" post. One of the posts I'm going to get a kick out of is funny signs on station. This one may not be fully appropriate for younger viewers, but everyone else will get a real kick out of it. Go Sox!

I'm A Happy Camper

2007-10-18T19:18:00.000+13:00

The last few days have been packed full of fun. Tuesday and Wednesday were Happy Camper school. An yes, "I'm a happy camper." This class is intended for anyone who travels off the station. Since my job will drag me to very cool and remote places, this class was mandatory. After learning some basic survival information, 20 of us loaded up onto a Delta (huge bus) and headed to a spot on the ice shelf just south of Scott Base (the NZ base just around the corner from McM). I wouldn't say we roughed it but, it did make us use some of our knowledge.

In the course we learned how to set up a base camp, set up a Scott Tent, Mountain Tent, Snow quinsy, survival trench, and make a wind break. We cut a ton of snow blocks from our quarry (as seen in the picture) and built a huge wall around "snow mound city." I didn't want to sleep in a tent, so I dug a deep hole in the snow and slept in that. I stayed warm and slept well that night, but the design of my hole made it very difficult to get in and out. Things that kept me warm at night included my "P" bottle (for just what it sounds like), a bottle of hot water, candy to fuel my internal fire, sleeping pad, big red (the jacket) for a pillow, and a nice warm sleeping bag. Some people enjoyed the night out while others froze.

In the morning, we got up and broke down camp. The instructors came at 0800 to help us haul our gear to the I-hut on the ice shelf. In the warmth of the hut we learned how to use an HF radio which is like nothing I have ever seen before. The picture above is us setting up the antenna. I was told HF radios work in the same way HAM radios do. After we set it up, we called MacOps to get the weather forecast for the night before. We found out it was about -20F. These radios are what I will be using in the remote field camps to talk to people in town. Anyone in the field must report in daily at a predetermined time with MacOps to ensure safety.

We also did a drill where someone "went to the outhouse in condition 1 (bad storm) and is now missing." We needed to go find this person. To simulate this, we all wore buckets on our heads to limit our visibility. Using ropes and wands, we located our victim and hauled him back to camp but not before taking a good picture (I'm the guy without big red on).

After I got back to McM, I took a sauna, shower, and changed into my clean cloths that just arrived from Christchurch (yeah). I then went bowling with a bunch of friends. The bowling alley here is the last manually set one in the world, or so I've been told. So each lane has a person sitting above the pins. After you bowl, they hop down, pick up the "dead" wood, and roll the ball back. If you get a strike or spare, they hit a chime in the back that instantly brings a smile to your face. I don't know what my score was, but I cleaned up with 4 strikes and 2 spares.

After bowling we had a little get together for my friend Megan who left for Black Island. She will be stationed at the Com Center on the other side of McM sound at a camp filled with her and the camp manager. She will be in charge of cooking and cleaning but I joked with her telling her that she should be called "assistant manager" since she is the only other person there. She left this morning via helicopter but will return every few weeks to do laundry. She will get mail once a week, so we plan on sending all kinds of fun stuff out to her. At her going away party, we did Tim Tam Slams where we sucked hot coca through a Tim Tam cookie like a straw. After the hot coca hit your mouth, you quickly chuck the whole cookie in. The cookie then dissolves in your mouth in a rich chocolaty burst. I recommend it if you can find any Tim Tams.

Today I did my first real work. A storage building at Willey Air Field needed to be moved but the inside was filled with snow (since it doesn't have a floor snow drifted in). Matt and I headed out to the site with Rhoda and started shoveling. It took most of the day but we got it done. I got to drive on the ice road a bunch and even use the radio a little to communicate what was going on. Once again, I don't think life could get any better! Shoveling snow may not be fun, but shoveling snow in Antarctica looking at helicopters fly by an active volcano is a blast. Well, I'm off to open mic, I hope everyone here can handle my "music." Cheers

Sea Ice

2007-10-15T21:31:00.000+13:00

I know I have written a bunch in the last couple days, but this place is very exciting and I enjoy sharing my experiences. Plus I'm headed to "happy camper school" for two days so won't be able to update anything then. Additionally, sorry Dad and Linda that I haven't called, it seems the only time I have free is in the middle of your night.

My first day of "work" was great. Since we work a 6 day work week, I had to work on Saturday. However this was our day of sea ice training. What this means is that since my job requires me to travel in work vehicles on the sea ice, I need to learn how to read and assess cracks. We started the day off with learning about new cracks, working/active cracks, pressure ridges... in a class room. After about an hour of theory, we loaded up the Hagglund to travel to the ice. A Hagglund is a tracked vehicle as seen in the pictures made up of the main cab, and trailer that is towed behind. After contacting MacOps to let them know where we were headed, how many of us there were, and when we would return, we left the primary road to the ice runway and headed in the direction of Mt Erebus (the smoking volcano on Ross Island). Shortly after turning onto the flagged route, we saw a huge seal but I wasn't able to get a picture.

We headed north for about 1.5 hours until we came to our training site. The site was chosen because a route was established to the future site of the penguin ranch early last week. After a couple days of windy weather, Fleet Ops (they drive the big rigs) tried to drag ~4 huts out to the site when the driver noticed something funny in the ice and lots of signs of wildlife. Wildlife can indicate a new crack as it offers access to the ice surface. The driver ditched the huts and returned to McM not wanting to chance it with the chilly waters below.

To evaluate the ice, we dug a trench through the snow to the ice surface across the area in question. We then drilled a hole about every meter or so down the trench using a cool drill made from a weed whacker engine. The drill bits are 1 meter long, so after we drilled each of the first holes, we added another bit to the end to extend it another meter and revisited each hole until we hit water. we then used a cool measuring tool to see how thick the ice was. We found that across the area, the ice ranged from 4+M (very thick) to less then 1M. We mapped the crack and came to the conclusion that this was the boundary where the old sea ice from last year (that never went away) met the new ice that formed this winter. Long story short, the driver made the right call, but it was still safe for us to drive over it with our Hagglund. However the wildlife seen at the area were penquins and these little birds can wander a long way from open water.

We also were able to learn about Fata Morgana. This is a cool phenomena where everyone can see something that isn't really there. At one point, we saw 3 pillars of ice standing up, a minute later we turned around and there were now thousands of pillars of ice making a ~5 mile trail across the bay. Everyone could see it, although it wasn't really there. What causes this is when there is cold air on a calm day, the moisture reflects up whatever is on the ground. Its kind of like movie projector showing you whats on the ground. I highly recommend researching this on the Internet. I have never seen anything like it before.

Other cool things that I have done include have prime rib for dinner (two helpings), drove a Pisten Bully (snow cat), drove a Mac Track (Ford F-350 with tracks instead of tiers), climbed Ob Hill (that's me in the picture), shoveled some snow, yoga in the chapel, and much more. So far, I love this place, I love my job, I have great new/old friends, and there isn't much more that would make me any happier. I now fully understand the "Life is Good" slogan. Cheers.

The Happiest Day Of My Life

2007-10-13T18:56:00.000+13:00

I made it! After an early rise, I dragged my bags through the rain to the CDC. While Paul returned the damaged van to the rental place, I changed into my ECW for the flight. I checked in my bags (later to find out that I forgot a bag at the CDC) with the military and ate breakfast. Around 7am we went back to the CDC for the flight debriefing and loaded up on a bus that took us to the awaiting C-17

The flight took about 5hrs and I even got a cool tour of the cockpit (this doesn't happen on commercial flights). Without windows in the cargo area, it was weird not knowing when you were going to land, but when the wheels touched down, I knew I was there.

I heard that the first time someone steps off the plane they become awestruck at the reality before them. I was determined not to be one of these people. However, after I saw the cargo door open, and a line of forklifts coming to remove the non-human cargo (sorry the picture is on its side), I lost cool. IT WAS SO AWESOME! I stepped off the plane to a -10F world only dreams could do justice. I knew this was "the happiest day of my life."

I loaded onto "Ivan the Terra Bus" with Amanda and Eric and all we could say was "we are in Antarctica." We headed to Building 155 (my new home/ cafeteria/ store/...) for a debriefing and afterwards met my new supervisor, Barb. Barb gave us (Sean and Zack) a quick tour of the town and showed us where to retrieve our bags. I quickly moved into my new room that doesn't have any windows with my new roommates Eric, Sean (different Sean), and Adam (Sean and Adam came in during winfly 6 weeks ago). After my first meal of turkey and potatoes, I headed to the Coffee house where I met a bunch of new people and started some great friendships. I know this will be a day I will never forget.

Buckle Up

2007-10-13T18:44:00.000+13:00

I'm a little behind with all that has happened lately, but I'll try to catch up. I was suppose to fly out on Thursday for the ice, but because of weather and mechanical issues, our flight was delayed 24hrs. At 9am I headed to the CDC with a bunch of others to collect our travel funds ($230) and plan for another day in Christchurch. There were 15 of us that decided that we would pitch in on a 2 rental vans and head 2hrs north to Hanmer Springs to enjoy the hot spring pools.

To keep a long story short, "Buckle Up." I know what you are thinking, and no we didn't drive on the wrong side of the road although that was the cause of the accident. About 1.5hrs outside of CHCH in the middle of nowhere, we crested a hill to find a little red car trying to pass an RV. Going 120kph our driver hit the brakes and pulled to the left (in NZ this was the "right" thing to do). We almost hit the red car head on. However, the poor guy in the truck behind us did not see everything going on until it was too late and an wham!

No one was seriously hurt (although Bree is still not working b/c of it) but a few of us have sore backs. We called the police but they never came. The other driver called them back wondering where they were and they just asked us to swap info and leave. We made our way to the hot springs and after a few beers and some hot water, I was feeling much better. Our deductible is $250 so 5 of us split the cost and will be reimbursed later when the other insurance company pays up. It was an exciting day, and the O'Brien family curse lives on.

Drink Up Mates

2007-10-10T14:59:00.000+13:00

Okay, I'm at a computer Kiosk in Christchurch so I don't have too long and I still can't upload any pictures.
On Sunday, I woke up in Denver and headed out to do the safety training. It was really cool to see a familiar face in the safety video. That's right, none other than Amber Morse. I didn't realize she was so famous. After the safety training, we pack up our bags and left for the airport. They dropped us off at about 1pm but our flight didn't leave until 5 so we had plenty of time to get to know each other. There are about 30 people in this group and I feel I already know most of them. While at LAX waiting for our next flight to NZ, I was talking to my new friend and fellow GA Sean. I asked him what seat he had and he informed me 40J. I looked at my ticket and I too was assigned 40J. It seemed that Sean and I were really going to get to know one another.

It was nice to know that they switched our seats for the 12+ hr flight to NZ and it turned out to not be as bad as I thought it was going to be. After arriving in Auckland, we had to go through customs. I thought I had washed my boots well enough, but I was wrong. However, since I had told them they were in my back, they took them and washed them for me. I was a little nervous at first, but felt much better when they came back with the shiny pair.
The trip to Christchurch was an easy 2hr flight with little excitement. After arriving at about 10am on Tuesday (we left Denver on Sunday) we took a shuttle to the YMCA and checked into our rooms. Paul, who had been to the ice before showed a couple of us around. We found great food and ended the tour with a great beer. Later that afternoon I took another group of people around to show them the sights. Of course it ended at the the same bar (The Bog), but this time with many more drinks. We found out that if you buy 6 drinks, you get a free beer mug. It seemed like a good idea at the time but I have to say, I was a little tipsy when I headed to dinner with everyone else. After dinner, we made the rounds to the other bars in the area including Baileys where they give "Ice" people a discount. We ended the night back at The Bog with free double shots of Jameson given to us by the leader of the Irish Jam that was going on. So we drank free drinks and sang drinking songs. Through out the day we had made friends with some of the staff and after they got off work, they drank with us. Trish, taught us how to do an Irish Jig, and Nick told us why New Zealanders don't tip. Needless to say, it as a lot of fun.
Today I went to the CDC (Clothing Distribution Center) and received my ECW. While I was there, I learned that my flight to the ice had been delayed so tomorrow I need to head back to the CDC to pick up travel funds for another day. I hope all is well and will post pictures when I get a chance. Cheers!

Bye

2007-10-07T11:31:00.000+13:00

Well, I can't add photos for some reason, but I'll be back when I find a new computer and update the posting with some pictures.
Yesterday I took off from the Burlington Airport. Nancy, Ian, Cavan, Linda and Big Skip came to see me off. Big Skip and Linda have been great at helping me pack and get ready for this next adventure. I can honestly say that I didn't cry, but after reading the good bye notes from the O'Brien family, I did get a little sad. Ian wanted to see me off, so after waving good bye to me as I entered the gangway, everyone headed up to the visitors tower to wave to the plane during take off. I was very luck to have a window seat that looked out over the terminal and as the wheels left the ground, I could see the hands of my friends and family waving. I waved back, but I am sure that my tiny hand in the 12" window was impossible to pickup.

I thought some of the people on my flight from Chicago to Denver looked like "Ice People", but it wasn't until waiting for the shuttle that I finally introduced myself to them. I already have met a ton of great people and can't wait to meet the rest. After an hour or two wait, the shuttle picked us up and brought us to the hotel. I have to say, this is a great hotel! After getting settled in, I joined a few of my new friends at a Mongolian BBQ for dinner.
This morning I woke up, ate breakfast with my new friends and then headed over to RPSC headquarters. After signing in and receiving an arm band, I got to visit the finance person. I have to say, she is my new best friend. Stephanie gave me $440 in cold hard cash. This money is suppose to be fore meals while in Denver (dinner only), hotel in Christ Church, and any other meals while in NZ. I also found out that if my flight to the ice is boomeranged, I get another $200 a day in NZ. Any funds left over from travel are mine for the keeping. How great is this.
Orientation was pretty basic. You know, company mission, safety, harassment, other policies... One of the interesting things was that if you bring muddy boots into NZ, you could get fined $600 and your stuff confiscated. We also learned that someone from RPSC passing through customs yesterday in NZ was detained after they found "Adult" material in her luggage. The great thing is that the Raytheon Travel rep said if we have any items of that nature to visit the post office and mail it down. I don't know if anyone else gets a kick out of that, but I thought it was a funny story. In a little while, I'll be headed to dinner with a bunch of people and going to bed early so I will be rested for tomorrows departure to NZ.

Thank You

2007-10-04T01:43:00.001+13:00

Well it is almost time to say goodbye. Today is my last day at work and on Friday I'll be leaving for training in Colorado. Before I go I thought it would be appropriate to give a big thank you to all the great people that have helped me along the way. Without these people this would not have been possible.

Thank you:

Buddy Marsh for giving me this great idea and also for all the help you gave me with the move. You are a great friend with a great family.
Nancy O'Brien, Tammy White, Todd Wright, Jaime Robertson (Miles), Amber Morse for giving me a great reference in order to get the job.
Big Skip and Linda for helping with countless trips with my junk and organizing the storage unit.
Wanda Huff and Wise Rokobili for your support as I learn to entertain, open mics in Antarctica will never be the same.
Thank you to all the great people who have helped me over the years including the great people at Vermont Adaptive, the friendly Vermont Cavers, high school and collage friends, soccer buddies, and drinking buddies.
Most off all the great O'Brien family for letting me live with them and become part of their family. Your love and support is greatly appreciated and I will never forget it. Thank you Ian for letting me be your big brother and read you books at night. Cavan, you were the first baby I've ever held. Nancy, you make a great southwestern apple crisp. Sean, you grow the best vegtables around.

I'm sure I have forgotten others, but I assure you, everything is appreciated. The next steps are CO on Friday, I leave for New Zealand on Sunday, and will leave for the McMurdo Station next Thursday. Thank you EVERYONE!

Rice On Ice Going Away Bash

2007-10-01T07:35:00.000+13:00

Last night the O'Brien's threw an amazing going away party where 50+ of my friends showed up to wish me luck. The afternoon started off a little slow but as the day progressed, so did the party. There was amazing food including Wanda's famous wings, Nancy's "Rice On Ice Cake", and Kathy's cabbage salad.

Around six o'clock, the drinking games began which included a shot ski (four shot glasses mounted to a ski) and beer pong. I didn't realize beer pong was a family game, but Buddy's son Hunter really got a kick out of it (we filled his cups with water). Although we all had fun, it stayed low key with Wise's great music and a few (too many) songs played by myself. Mary (Kampie) was the only one who cried a little, but I am going to miss her just as much.

In one week my flight leaves Denver for New Zealand! I have my tickets, I'm almost done at Stryker, and still have a little packing to do. This week is going to go fast, but what a great weekend! Thank you to all of those who showed up, we had fun and I am going to miss you all.

Book #4 (Shackleton's Forgotten Men)

2007-09-26T13:24:00.000+12:00

Shackleton's Forgotten Men wasn't a great book, but if over the winter you are looking for an interesting story then I recommend it. The book starts off slow and by no means is there a Hollywood ending, but it is history. From the little I remember about Shackleton from the IMAX movie I watched with my brother back in Boston, it was a failed attempt at crossing Antarctica. Shackleton's story is interesting because after his ship was trapped (and crushed) in sea ice, he and his men, survived by hunting seals and traveling from ice flow to ice flow. Shackleton then built a small sailboat from the scrap wood and sailed to a small island that he needed to traverse to find help at a whaling village. The great part of the story is that out of the 20+ crew, everyone survived even after spending 2 years in the barren place.

Shackleton had a great outcome, but on the other side of the continent, he had a team of men setting food caches for his trip. These are the men of this story. The best part of the story is when the men are marooned after a storm that rips the ship from its mooring. This leaves 10 men with few supplies and equipment. To survive (and complete their task of laying the food caches), they found old food and equipment left behind by Scott and his men.

I don't want to kill the story, but like the other books I read, scurvy takes its toll. It may be worth while to research this trip on the Internet instead of reading the whole book.

About Antarctica

2007-09-13T08:13:00.000+12:00

In less than one month I'll be on my way to the ice. I have sold my home, given my notice at work, and have begun the final preparations. I thought that before I head south I should share some interesting facts about McMurdo Station and answer some FAQ.

Where am I headed? I am headed to the largest US station in Antarctica, McMurdo Station. That station is located on a small island connected to the the rest of the Continent by the Ross Ice Shelf and was used by many of the first explorers as a jumping off point. The station sits about 850miles north of the South Pole. The US runs two other stations, Amundsen-Scott Station at the south pole and the Palmer Station on the Antarctica Peninsula. To get there I will be headed first to Denver Colorado for orientation. Then to Christchurch New Zealand to pick up ECW and then on to the ice. I copied a map off the Internet to help show what the continent looks like. In the role I have on the Ice I may get to travel to locations like the Geographic South Pole and the Dry Valley.

What is ECW? To the military it is Extreme Cold Weather clothing. While in Christ Church the NSF (National Science Foundation) will issue me the proper clothing for the job. Each station has different requirements as to what clothing will be issued, but the following is a list of what can get issued. It may be difficult to work wearing all this clothing.

Duffel Bag
Balaclava, polar fleece
Boot, Rubber, Thermal
Cap, Yazoo
Carhart Coveralls
Neck Gaiter
Goggles
Polar Fleece Jacket
Glove Liners
Mittens
Polar fleece pants
Bibbed wind pants
Parka (Big Red - you will see many pictures with big red after I get there)
Wool Tube Socks
Thermal Underwear

What is the weather going to be like? Well it won't be as bad as you may think. The mean temp is 0F and can reach a high of 46F. However the mean wind is 12 knots and can reach over 100 knots. The following is a list of how weather can be classified. If you wish, search the Internet for more info on the mean temp or YouTube for a great movie of Condition 1. Although the summer is warmer than the winter, this is also the time of year for the worst storms.

Severe Weather Condition 1
Issued when at least one of the following conditions is occurring or imminent:

Sustained wind speed greater than 55 knots
Wind chill temperature colder than -100°F (-73°C)
Visibility less than 100 feet

Severe Weather Condition 2
Issued when at least one of the following conditions is occurring or imminent:

Sustained wind speed 48 knots to 55 knots
Wind chill temperature -75°F (-60°C) to -100°F (-73°C)
Visibility 1/4 mile to 100 feet

Severe Weather Condition 3

Issued when all conditions exceed criteria for Condition 2

What will I be doing? My job title is Operations - GA (General Assistant). This means I am going to be jack of all trades. Some days I may be shoveling snow while others helping input data into the database. I could help with building projects or even use heavy equipment. I know I didn't go to school to drive a big forklift called a "pickle", but how cool is it to do that in Antarctica? I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing, but I assure you if I do anything worth mentioning, I'll post it on the blog.

How many people are at McMurdo Station? Each year about 1,200 people are sent to spend the summer (your winter) at McMurdo. 34% of them are women (I know the odds aren't in my favor) and all of them are as crazy as I am. I will be working 6 days a week with 9hr days but in my spare time I'll be able to enjoy such activities as bowling, rock climbing, soccer, XC skiing, hiking, drinking at 1 of 3 bars... Above is a picture of the station. Most of the orange specs you see are large crates used to ship supplies in.

Will it be dark the whole time your there? Nope! I'll be there in the summer when the sun is up the whole time. Because it is not at the exact pole, McMurdo does not get one long day/night a year but pretty close to it. I'll get to see the sun circle over head until it will set for the first time in Feb when daylight over a day will quickly fade to a longer nights.

I hope this answers some questions and please feel free to add comments after a post. Also don't forget to sign the guest book!

Passed!

2007-08-20T00:29:00.000+12:00

A little bird just told me that my name has appeared on the flight manifest for October 11th. This means that I passed! I have successfully completed the PQ (physical qualification) screening process. Everyone that deploys to the ice must first complete a comprehensive PQ screening to ensure medical emergencies are averted. The following is my condensed story.

After verbally accepting the position, the process started with a drug test that I needed to submit in Springfield Vermont. I called Lab Corp (the contract lab facility) and told them what I needed done and they informed me that it was a “walk in” clinic and to stop by anytime. I took a long lunch at work one day and headed down. After showing up at their facility they informed me that I would need to come back the following week and arrive before noon. I was very upset that I had been misinformed and wasted two hours of my day, but the following week I successfully completed the drug screen.

Step two was getting all the information for the rest of the PQ off the internet. This was the first year Raytheon Polar Services Company (RPSC) did it entirely online and the instructions were less than perfect. The confusion first started when the instructions informed me to send the pink papers to DSG and the blue papers to HR… but I had printed them all off on plain white paper. The instructions where carry over from the hard copy days. I think I did fairly well with the paperwork but had some issues with pages getting stuck together going through the fax and forms going to the wrong departments.

Next I scheduled my doctor’s appointment as I wrote about in a previous post. When I received the bill from DHMC they did not apply my insurance and the bill came to $850. I was able to get that straightened out with a simple phone call. However when I called RPSC medical department in the beginning of August I found out that my doctors information had not yet been received. I called the hospital again and sure enough, my file was sitting on their desk. I got that faxed out only to receive an email from RPSC informing me that they didn’t have a release form (that I faxed to a different department) and a RPR blood test. I called DHMC to reschedule the RPR asap. I later found out that this is a test for antibodies caused from Syphilis and was a little embarrassing when they cute phlebotomist was drawing my blood. The good news is that I am now immune to the affects of needles and I don’t even get light headed. By the end of it, I got to know Gloria, the receptionist in the Occupational Medicine department, very well (thank you Gloria). Now I just hope they charge it correctly to my insurance.

The dental aspect went well except my dentist was on vacation and a new hygienist did the paperwork. It is also note worthy to mention the dental office is under construction and has a new x-ray machine with a few bugs in it. The hygienist had to “zap” me a few extra times and was still unable to get the fourth picture. I thought for sure I was going to have to go back.

After that whole saga, the PQ process is complete and I am now cleared to deploy to the ice. Next steps include finishing moving my stuff to Swanton and giving my notice at work. Stay tuned as I continue to prepare for my trip to the ice. Don't forget to sign the guest book!

Book #3 (Ice Bound)

2007-08-12T03:31:00.000+12:00

A touching tale of a doctor's incredible battle for survival at the south pole. When I read the back cover of this book I really didn't think it was going to be the type of book that captured my attention. However, on Amber's advice, it was put on my book list to read. I remember a few years back watching the Discovery Channel's reenactment of this story and this is what first got me interested in the icy continent. I don't want to get too sappy but by the end of the story I did have a few tears drop from my eye.

Ice Bound is an inspirational story about Dr. Jerri Nielsen and the heroic early season evacuation from the south pole. Dr. Nielsen was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after the south pole station closed for the winter. While the station is closed there were still about 40 crew members that stay through the winter to keep things running until planes could land again in October. In mid winter (July) temperatures at the south pole reach below -100F in the eternal darkness. Most machines can not operate at this temperature because hydraulic lines break and fuel turns to jello making an evacuation impossible.

A good portion of the book contains copies of emails sent to and from Dr. Nielsen capturing the "true" mood of the events that took place. Having lost my Mom to breast cancer, this book had a little more meaning to it than the others I have read and I could better grasp the fearful emotions. This book is a must read for any adventurer whether it be moving to the south pole or helping a loved one with an illness. The book starts off a little slow but once you reach the half way point you will feel that you are right there trying to survive with Dr. Nielsen.

Book #2 (Mawson's Will)

2007-07-23T05:14:00.000+12:00

This is truly a great adventure/ survival story. Mawson's Will, by Lennard Bickel, tells the tale of the Australian explorer, Douglas Mawson, and his fight for survival. If you liked the story about the rugby team stuck in the Andes, then I am sure you will find this book exciting. The following is what the author has to say about the tale.

Setting out with two companions and two teams of dogs, Mawson encountered daunting mountains, crevasse-filled glaciers, and sixty-mile-per-hour winds. Six weeks and 320 miles into the journey, one of his fellow explorers and a team of dogs disappeared into a "bottomless" crevasse, along with the tent, most of the equipment, and all but a week's supply of food. After losing his second companion and the remaining dogs, Mawson fought his way back from what seemed inescapable death, enduring blistering winds, snow, and cold, thirst, starvation, disease, and snowblindness.

Lennard Bickel is also the author of Shackleton's Forgotten Men which I picked up today and will add to my reading list (after reading Harry Potter). I strongly recommend this book and anyone who reads it will surely remember to take their vitamins.

Book #1 (Big Dead Place)

2007-07-13T12:58:00.000+12:00

The first book that I read was called Big Dead Place by Nicholas Johnson. This is a great story about what life is like in Antarctica. This book does cover some of the interesting journeys of the first explores, but the main topic covers what life is like in Antarctica today. The struggle today mostly takes place at McMurdo Station where I will be headed. The reader quickly learns about the author's struggle with authority. Bureaucratic organizations such as the NSF (National Science Foundation) and RPSC (Raytheon Polar Services Corporation) have left the author bitter and I came away with the feeling that the book was published as a form of revenge.

To get a taste for the book I would recommend going to www.bigdeadplace.com. Here you will learn a lot about the NSF, RPSC, and life in the Antarctic. Currently my friend Amber is borrowing the book but it is up for grabs when she is done. This book is not intended for the sensitive person as there are some crude stories told.

A Trip To DHMC

2007-06-29T11:54:00.000+12:00

Today I made my way over to DHMC to start the PQ process. I have to say I thought it was going to be a lot worst. They did all the normal things like "read the bottom line, follow the light with your eyes, height, weight..." After all the normal things were done, I got to start the fun tests. For those of you who don't know, I really don't like needles and today was filled with them. It's been 9 years since my last tetanus shot so we started with that before they sent me "down stairs" to have four vials of blood drawn. Typically when I go to APD (the other local hospital where Stryker typically sends us) it takes them a few tries to get three vials of blood. I wasn't sure this was going to be easy, but moments later I was walking away and I didn't even get light headed (yeah). I then was sent "next door" to have my first EKG. I have to say that was really cool. They stuck about 9 little patches all over my body including legs and arms and hooked them up to the machine. I felt like some horrible science experiment. However ten seconds later they were plucking the wires off and I was ready to go. I don't think I have ever had such a complete physical but it's nice having a clean bill of health. Because of the weekend, I'll have to go back again tomorrow to start the TB test. I have to do this for Stryker every two years. If you haven't had one done before, they put a lump of TB solution under your skin (yup with another needle) and then check in 48-72hrs to see if the lump is gone. I just had this done a year ago so I should be clear to go. Next week I have my dental exam and then I'll be done with the PQ process, I hope.

This summer I won't be updating my blog much, but I just ordered a few books about Antarctica and hope to post short book talks about them. I'm getting very excited and I'm sure the next few months will go quickly. For other good news, my house is under contract so with the closing in August, I'll be ready to head south. I'll try to make a posting with the "lump" under my skin over the weekend.

Getting Started

2007-05-31T09:08:00.000+12:00

I have spent the last year preparing myself for this journey. My time and dedication has paid off and in five months I'll be traveling south to march with the penguins. It hasn’t been easy, but I have had a lot of help increasing my odds of being 1 of 700 new candidates picked from the pool of 35,000 applicants.

Talking with Amber I realized that to increase my odds of being selected I would need to travel to Denver CO to visit the Raytheon Headquarters. To prepare I created employment packages including: Customized Cover Letters, Resume, Curricula Vite, 3 great reference letters, and topped off with a Vermont Maple Candy. The picture to the left shows the great amount of work that went into the preparation. I have spent the past year preparing, accelerating my schooling, and pestering Amber, so I wanted to take every precaution needed to successfully be selected for an opportunity of a life time.

The Job fair was a little crazy. I showed up around 9 in the morning on Friday the 13th of April and spent a total of about 8 hours at the Raytheon Polar Services Headquarters. Shortly after arriving I had the pleasure of meeting Cori Manka, Amber's roommate last year in McMurdo. Although Cori was very busy, she was able to answer a few of my questions and point me in the right direction. Cori is very cute and nice and I'm hoping she deploys again this year. I am guessing that there were a total of 2000 people that showed up for the job fair. However I got many rave reviews for my organized employment packages (a few people thought the Maple Candy was a bribe) and I feel that I was able to make an impression. With so many applicants it is very important to make an impression and stand out from the others. I think the maple candy was a great touch to help remember "Kevin from Vermont."