Merry Christmas From The Bottom Of The World

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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