12/8/2011

No one showed for the women's "Self Awareness/Defense" class on Monday. Not surprised as there was only one name on the sign up sheet and it had been up for less than 24 hours. I didn't know they only post flyers every Sunday night at around 5PM. Will wait and see what happens the coming Monday. I see there are two names now on the list as of last night. I gave Darrell a quick orientation on the holds and embraces he will be using on the girls if he decides to show up to help. He's a BIG boy. I can barely get my arms around him and his arms and I sure can't lift him.

Snowing again. You probably think "Well No $&!# Sherlock"!! But in reality it doesn't snow much in Antarctica. Antarctica is classified as a desert. Less than 2" of precipitation annually. This year we've had an uncommon amount of snow and it's been warmer all year So warm we weren't able to freeze 12"+ of ice in the harbor to construct an "Ice Pier".

Went up to Crater hill on Tuesday night at 7PM to mark all the shelters and antenna masts with GPS coordinates. That was a Hike! Almost straight up. Usually the techs and riggers take a Pisten Bully up there since a wheeled vehicle can't climb it.

A "Pisten Bully" tracked ice vehicle.

Top of the crater and the communications sites with antennas.

The "Crater" in "Crater Hill".

You would normally be able to see Erebus, Terror and all along the front of the Royal Society Range. It's higher than Observation Hill here in McMurdo.

Lower slopes of Mt. Erebus, the most southern active volcano in the world.

Royal Society Range across McMurdo Sound with Ferrar Glacier to the right taken about 10PM at night.

But tuesday night was overcast with low clouds and Mt.s Erebus and Mt. Terror were both obscured. I could see all the way across McMurdo Sound though and had good views of the other side all along the Royal Society Range, Mt. Discovery, Black Island and White Island.

Base of Mt. Terror, the ice cliffs. All I could see this night.

Looking over McMurdo, across McMurdo Sound into the Royal Society Range and Ferrar Glacier. Sun never sets now. Still strange to have it this light almost at midnight.

Looking over the Crater to White Island. Still 10PM

Looking North towards open sea and a couple of massive glaciers 60+ miles away at 9PM.

Black Island on the left, Mt. Discovery to the right of Black Island.

Me with Castle Rock off my right shoulder and the base of Mt. Erebus in the background, top shrouded in clouds.

Castle Rock, then the base of Mt. Erebus miles away.

All in all it was a good hike, though it took me four hours to complete the antenna survey and take pictures of locations and of the scenery. Took a total of 187 shots. A few were washed as the settings on the camera changed from "Auto" to "Shutter" and the shutter was set on 1/10th of a sec.

Later!

 12/1/2011
Sun is out, it's warming up, and the ground is a muddy mess of volcanic sand and rock. A bit different from when I arrived here almost two weeks ago. Then, it was colder (around -3 with wind chill, about 15 ambient), overcast and usually snowing. I guess this year has been way warmer, even over the winter. So warm in fact, that we won't have an ice pier done for offloading fuel and supplies in late January from the cargo and fuel ships. This Ice pier was usually 9'-25' thick and covered with sand/gravel for insulation. Right now they have about 3' of ice and 9' of slush underneath. Not enough to hold vehicles for offloading.

Working and taking hikes when I get time so I can take more pictures. I bought and brought down a small pocket camera this year, a Nikon S3000. This pocket camera takes "Ok" pictures but they are near the clarity of my D90, nor even the Sony pocket camera I had last year. Don't buy one as your main camera. Find something else with crystal clear picture results. The S3000 doesn't cut it for me.

In different dorms this year. B210, an older 2 story barracks with 2 man rooms. It's nicer than 155. Inconvenient though to go eat, and it only has a single mens bathroom. And that's downstairs.

I completed all my training within two days this time. Only needed Snow School refresher, driving light vehicles and the recreational class (Outdoor Orientation) to be able to go on hikes around the area. Snow school refresher was 4 hours as I didn't have to go to Happy Camper.

Got to see something for the first time in my life. The blasting crew dug a trench with explosives and I videoed it. First time for me seeing something blown up with high explosives. I'll try and add the video to this blog.

I will be starting a women's self awareness/defense class on Monday (Dec 5th) both to teach women some self defense but also to be self aware in locations they would normally ignore or take for granted. We'll see how the turn out is on Monday.

I need to walk up to Crater Hill over McMurdo to get GPS locations of all the antennas and comms buildings up there. I also want pictures as not many people make it up there since it's restricted to just the comms people, riggers and others that only need to work up there (not many). It's called crater hill because it's an old volcano flue, that has filled with water and frozen. Should be interesting.

Crater Hill Comms site.

All for now. Enjoy

11/24/2011

Condition 2 and not too bad either. Mostly due to lack of visibility and not the cold. By the station weather report it's 7:50PM and the temp outside is -9 with wind chill. Today and tonight the weather is supposed to get worse but not Condition 1. It was actually getting nicer.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving Holiday.

11/17/2011

Flight down was nice but I was dead tired the whole way. Slept most of the time and never did feel refreshed. Not sick either. I was so tired any time I started to relax I fell asleep.

Flight to L.A. Was on a little commuter jet (American Eagle). I was surprised that it was so small going to L.A. Maybe 90 people total capacity. Layover in L.A. Was the usual. Had an added 30 minute delay due to weather preventing the flight from leaving N.Y. On time to make L.A.

From L.A. To Auckland NZ it was just about a 12 hour flight this time.

11/19/2011

Auckland has been renovated from last year. Renovations were in full swing so the airport was a bit trashed. Lots of changes to the international and domestic terminals. Auckland airport is pretty nice now.

Customs in Auckland was uneventful. Easy to clear. Not sure if it was because I was attached to the U.S.A.P. (United States Antarctic Program) or because I was on a cane this trip. I re-injured the right foot on Tuesday trying to do a “Tornado” kick for one of the requirements for next belt. I injured it in June and it's been hard healing all this time.

Flight from Auckland to Christchurch took a little over an hour.

Hotel I was assigned to in Christchurch was called the “Sudima” and was within 500 yards or so of the airport and within a block of the CDC (Christchurch Deployment Center?). Wasn't much nearby, no restaurants. Good thing the airport had a decent food court and not too expensive. The hotel was a bit pricey but they usually are for their food. I didn't feel like jumping on the local public transport (Buses) to head into Christchurch to go shopping.

11/20/2011

Today is very overcast and threatening rain. The streets were wet when I woke up so must have rained last night. Humid, not used to it coming from Denver. I need to go to the airport later for razor blades for the shaver. I purchased the wrong ones in Parker as they don't fit the handle I have and I don't feel like letting the beard grow for a couple of months.

Razor blades and new handle at the airport came to a whopping $58.50 NZ. OUCH!

The weather has gotten worse in the afternoon. Sun came out and it got pretty humid, sticky and warm. Reminds me a of a mild day in Okinawa. Gear issue is at 1PM.

1PM – 4PM: Gear issued. 

Took me the longest as I was determined to make sure everything fit well or comfortably. Last year I had a few items never used as they were slightly too small or uncomfortable. Everything fits nice this year. Coming later in the season (End of main-body) sux as the gear has been mostly issued and they are short on a lot of common sized items (Like boots, windbreakers, long underwear and gloves). I did get issued a brand new parka though and brand new Carhart jacket (Insulated). Both still had the tags on them. This year I took leather mittens rather than the military style gauntlets that fit over a sleeve of your parka. Those gauntlets just aren't very usable if you have to work with your hands. Great if you just walk around and don't hold anything though.

Rest of the day was spent having a few beers (NZ beer) and meeting the people I will be stationed down there with this year. All new people to me as all the people I know already are on station.

11/21/2011

Got up at 3:40AM to get a trolley for hauling all my gear and luggage to the CDC where it will be checked to fly down with us on the US Air Force C17. It's raining, not hard but enough to soak you in about 10 minutes in it. Showered and headed to the CDC (In the rain) running and pushing the cart to not get so wet. We are supposed to report there at 5AM and I left the Sudima at 4:45.

Went into the gear issue, dressed in our ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear for the flight down and then checked all other luggage and bags to be loaded on the C17. You are required to wear a minimum of ECW gear on the flight (Parka, Gloves, Balaclava/hat, insulated coveralls, boots, goggles) in case the plane goes down and you live through it. I kept back an extra set of heavy socks just in case my feet did get cold or damp from sweating. I also get either the blue boots or the brown . I will not wear the white, rubberized mickey mouse boots I had in Korea.

Makes one think that someone is Jone's-ing as you are flying over water almost 99% of the way and could only land on ice the last hour (maybe) of the flight. You'll freeze to death in the water in 15 minutes with or without the gear.

We then went to the CDC center for breakfast at 5:30AM, we have a training film (one of many over the next few days to a week for some) “Welcome to Antarctica” on what to expect, what to do in case of emergency and general orientation about you trip and time in Antarctica. We had a SPECIAL guest join us. The King o Malaysia is headed down to the ice for a look-see at the Kiwi base (Scott Base).

Next we all gather all our gear and back through NZ security to get on the C17. Same as any other airport. Drug dogs, no knives on the plane, everything gets x-ray'd etc.

Then once we clear security we get loaded onto a bus for the short ride across the street to the waiting C17.

Off the bus, grab a water and sack lunch on the way into the plane. 

You are filed into the cargo bay of a military C17, handed ear plugs (Yes, it's LOUD the whole trip down) and directed to sit as if you were in the military. On these military planes you either sit along the wall in long lines, 

or in the middle where they have loaded passenger pallets (with seating attached) into the middle. 

Now you have decent leg room even with the large carry on bags full of ECW gear you will be packing. Another good thing is if you are really tired, after the plane is in the air you can take your parka and go lie down between the cargo pallets and sleep.

 

Our C17 only had 78 people on it. It was packed with cargo though. A pallet of pallets and a pallet of alcohol. Probably 10 more pallets of stuff but I saw those two since they were right in front of my seat.

Once we were in the air the King started going around attempting to greet everyone. Nice enough guy in this situation. But I wonder what he is really like since in his country they cane people for spitting on the street or chewing bubble gum in public. He had a couple of photographers (Bodyguards) with him too. They were bodyguards as their ECX clothes were tight on their 5'10” frames. They were as built as Arnie used to be. The king tried to talk to me but I couldn't make out much of what he was saying due to the noise of the engines. I just nodded and smiled and told him where I was from. Must have said something right as every time I passed him on the plane after that he was grabbing my hand and shaking it or putting an arm around my shoulder.

I listened to music off the Droid X almost the whole way down. The Sony ear buds helped filter out the jet noise. Unlike the ear buds I had last year, they didn't so I had to use ear plugs.

I also checked the flight crew for “Operation Deep Freeze” hats but they had sold out the previous trip.

We arrived on the ice runway just off Scott Base and had a short ride into town.

We had a “Welcome to McMurdo” orientation and then received our room assignments. 

I got assigned to bldg. 210 (yea, I know, like you are supposed to know or care what that means) into a 2-man room. 

Room mate is cool, older and quite pleasant. After unpacking (maybe 30 minutes) I went down to bldg 159 (Comms Shop) to see if there was anything they wanted me to do right off the bat. 

Stupid me, of course not. I'm a permanent person intruding on the contractor domain. I did get asked to find some gear I had stashed away the previous year (Iridium data modem). Found it for them the next day in bldg 120, Comms/Electrical supply.

11/22/2011

Joe got me signed up for the push course for Happy Camper. Means I only sped 4 hours going over what they have to do in two days out on the ice in the cold. Also refreshed the “Sea Ice” course even though I never had it before. Makes you aware of what is involved if you travel across the sea ice in vehicles or on foot.

11/23/2011

Recreation course at 7PM so I can go off base hiking on the marked trails. Restrictive, yes, but you don't want to take chances hiking across the glaciers on unmarked paths if you don''t know what you are doing. There are crevasses all over the glaciers and average temperature in the bottom of the cracks is never over -10F. Now the info will slow. Work prevails. I will hike and work out when I can in the evenings. 

 

I have been meeting a lot of people I briefly met last year. All are friendly and somewhat surprised to see me back. It isn't that I complained any last year, just the opposite. I like it here. It's both exciting and challenging working in an environment like this. It's more these people that have been here year after year don't expect newcomer's (FNG's) to come back. HA! Little did they suspect, my lifestyle has run across worse places than this many times and I liked those locations also. This place is easy and fun to work just part of the year.

I am also going to offer to teach a women's “Awareness” course. Can't call it “Self-Defense” because it will have no contact. It will just be escapes from holds and grapples. After that they are on their own.

Will be posting pictures to match some of the above info.

And I have gotten out already (Been here three days is all) and already gotten some decent shots....

Hut on "Hut Point" with mummified seal left over from 90+ years ago.

Hut point looking north along the "Ridge Trail" to Arrival Heights.

Panoramic of Hut Point of more than 180 degrees.

Weddell seal off Hut Point.

Snow was blowing in a 20+ mph wind. Wind chill had it touching -30.

McMurdo from the "Ridge Trail" below Arrival Heights protected area.

Later.

10/20/2011

Been a while since I opened this up. Had to leave the ice early last year on the 27th of December due to family emergency. Actually never expected to still be employed at Raytheon Polar Services and returning to Antarctica. Like they say, "Never say Never"! Looks like I'll be headed south again in the next month, and definitely by Dec. 1st 2011 unless something drastic happens. Just a few things about this job and the process of being able to work in Antarctica. Due to the remoteness, cost and logistics of getting a worker to the Antarctic area, and the lack of good medical assistance for the more severe injuries one has to pass a medical exam to be able to head to the bottom of the planet. Last year I sustained an injury (pinched nerve in my neck) that took quite a while to reverse. Anyone that has had a pinched nerve (serious) knows the pain and discomfort of moving or not being able to move the parts affected, the numbness and even the hypersensitivity of the nerves that can cause extreme pain when even touched. Long story short, I was being treated with some pretty serious "nerve" drugs up to two days before my medical exam. Being the honest person I am, I told the Dr. I was on prescription drugs but didn't say I would quit taking them in two more days. Anyway, unknowing to me (lack of experience) this immediately disqualified me going down this season. I didn't find out until two weeks later that I had been "NPQ'd" (Not Physically Qualified). I immediately started the "Waiver" process since I had quit taking the drugs and no longer needed them. For this I needed a letter from the treating doctor stating I was in good health and that the injury wasn't going to need any special attention on the ice and that I could perform my job (RF Engineer). Thinking this wouldn't take long and I could still make the first flight down with the others for WINFLY (Winter Flight) in mid August, I contacted the Doctor. Unfortunately they took 5 seeks to get the letter, they couldn't find my medical records as they had been placed in off-site storage. Anyways, I got the waiver (Late) and now wouldn't be able to go down till after the sun is up (Winfly it's still dark 24/7 and you can see the Auroras once you are out of McMurdo and not blinded by the lights) at the beginning of Dec.

Due to other circumstances I will now be going down within the next three to four weeks (Mid November) and I figure I will add more photos to the blog along with tidbits of info that I experience now that I have a job that doesn't require me to work 10 to 16 hour days seven days a week (Inventory control SUX!, but is an important aspect of making sure the science teams succeed in their research in the field aand it did get me down to Antarctica, plus, my foot into the door to a better job). I missed "Icestock" last year having to leave early. I heard the bands were great and played all day and into the night on New Years eve. Hopefully I get to experience it this year, and maybe see the marathon race they run down there. With Christchurch, New Zealand still recovering from the devastating earthquake in February of this year, it will be interesting to see how the trip down to the ice turns out. I will miss the great Thai restaurants that were so abundant in the city center I visited last season. So far there hasn't been any complaints from others that have went down, so it should be no problem. We'll see.

Four Month Mark

Four months have come and gone. Sun is up constantly now. Always seems like it after noon, even at 11PM at night. I have been busy as hell till this week. Putting in over 70 hours a week, and actually working 6 out of seven days gets tiring. I am finally getting out though. Last Tuesday I went to the Dry Valley's on a site survey mission. Flew to three mountain tops to survey the location to possibly install radio repeaters next year there. The mountain tops were Hill 1750 (Some hill), Mount Mahoney and Mount Newell. We left at 7PM and got back at 11:30PM. Spent most of the time in the air in a small helicopter flying from place to place. I still took 389 pictures from the helicopter. The temperature on the mountain tops, with no wind was -8F. With the wind on Mt. Newell it dropped to -28F.

I took a lot of pictures of the actual glacier fields and geography of the Dry Valleys.

It was hard to judge distance from 2,000' in the air with no familiar size references (normal cars, buildings, even trees)you would normally see on the ground.

The sea ice was interesting too. So many different patterns the ice can assume from movement, drifting, melting and thickness.

Ice and snow are melting in McMurdo and the Dry Valleys. It still doesn't get above 32F degrees temperature wise. Sun must melt the ice and snow even at that temperature. With the wind it is commonly still -8F to -20F.

Went to Moor's Bay to help fix a internet connection problem. This research station out there has dropped sensors down into the ice (drilling holes) and then detects reflected neutrinos from space. The camp is about 50 miles south of McMurdo, and only has the one big tent and 4 small ones. They need network to pass data back to servers here and back to the US. We installed a 802.11 shot all the way out there with a repeater on Mount Discovery. Pretty ingenious archetecture for support. Anyways, here's a few picts of that area.

And the rest.......

Lots has happened, and I have a few more months left. Will try to enter more but time is minimal when working this many hours and trying to loose weight. Have done pretty good at that so far as I have lost 20 lbs.

Till Later