28 Oct 2011

Watching the launch of NPP from McMurdo, sametiming with the guys in Svalbard – talking pole to pole sort of surreal.

Launch went smooth, we’ve received telemetry at both Whitesands and Svalbard, all seems to be going well.  Chris and I watched here at the JSOC with the NASA crew.

Some great launch pictures to share from people who were there.

22 Oct 2011

We (Colleen, Chris, Mary and about 100 others) flew to McMurdo on 14 Oct on two planes, an airbus and a C17 – I was on the C-17.  It was a good flight – smooth, quick and no boomerang (a return to Christchurch because the weather is to bad to land at McMurdo).  I got to go up in the cockpit and take some pictures on this trip – that was pretty cool.

I am in dorm 203C this year in a two person room.  Definitely beats last year – a little over two months in a 5 person room – 14 ft by about 19 ft, 5 single beds, 1 wardrobe , a shelve and a about 3 drawer units.  I had wonderful roommates but there was very little storage and even less privacy.   Then I moved to a two person room for the ten days before I left and my roommate was a pain – a real princesses type who had to have things her way or she threw a fit – way too much drama for me.   This year I had the dorm room to myself for the first week which was really very nice!  Maybe there is something to karma or paying it forward?  I have to admit that I had a sinking feeling when I got the email to expect a roommate on 21 Oct, I figured just hope for the best and see how it goes.  I walked over to the room after work that night and walked in and there was Maggie.  We hugged and said how good it was to see each other and laughed about the fact that both of us had been particularly praying for a good roommate.  Have to admit I was ecstatic - someone I knew, liked and thought I would get along with.  Maggie and I meet my first trip down to McMurdo – she was my roommate Angie’s boss.  She is an engineer with CRREL (http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/).  CRREL comes down every year to help McMurdo work on improving a lot of infrastructure projects -  The traverse to the south pole, the ice runways, the town roads and various other things.

Back to McMurdo - the trip down

17 Oct 2011

So back in Antarctica again at McMurdo Station....  This season is at least starting out better than the last one for me.  On the flight from Denver to LA I got upgraded to first class, no idea why but it was nice.  Then on the flight from LA to Auckland I sat next to an interesting chap, he is the tour manager for Def Leopard and he and several members of the band were on the way to Auckland NZ on the next leg of their Mirror Ball world tour.   We talked about various things and it made the trip pass pleasantly quickly.  The weather was beautiful the morning we landed in Auckland and Chris and I walked the 15 minutes between the international and domestic terminals to catch our plan to Christchurch. 

In Christchurch we (Chris Tillery and I) were meet by a representative of RPSC NZ.  She was there to warn us about the devastation in Christchurch and that most of the downtown is off limits to everyone because of the earthquake damage.  Chris and I got checked into our airport hotel (the Sudima, an okay place) and then grabbed a cab to a restaurant closer to downtown.  The devastation is horrific and heartbreaking.  Christchurch was a beautiful little city – gardens everywhere, a lot of beautiful brick buildings from the mid 1800’s – it was known as the Garden City and it was lovely as the name implies.  Now the city has lost almost all of its central downtown (both the modern and the historic) plus there is damage everywhere one looks – it is extraordinarily disquieting and sad to wander around the city now.

Sue and I got together for dinner while I was in Christchurch.  She is a friend that I meet on my first season at McMurdo and I have spent some lovely times at what was her farm in Lyttelton.  Lyttelton was a captivating little port city just outside of Christchurch before the 6.3 that had an epicenter about 10 km from the town.  The town has lost both its church’s (historic brick buildings both) and all its bars – and as Sue said what is a port without churches and bars.  All of the buildings on the waterfront street have been torn down plus a good many others throughout the town.  Sue’s house has been red tagged (declared unsafe).  Sue is living in an enclosed area of her barn and just received notice that it can be considered alternate lodging (I think I have the terms right but if not at least the gist of the storey is correct (no internet access in my room so I cannot Google the terms.))– this means that most of her farm is considered safe and she will not be forced to leave.  I am not sure how the town will carry on – it is hard – so much destroyed, the uncertainty of future quacks, homes and land that have been in families for generations declared unsafe/uninhabitable and yet I know Lyttelton for a vibrant town, a mix of old and new, traditional and alternative, a safe port to return to and a place that has for centuries nurtured the adventurous from Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition to the players at the Loon to my friend Sue.  With this kind of heritage and a present-day population who are just as diverse and strong I hope that Lyttelton will not only survive this trying time but come back and be a safe harbor for all who find their way there.

Halloween at McMurdo

McMurdo 2010

Saturday, 17 Oct 2010

We arrived in McMurdo on Thursday the 15th to a glorious day +8 F. The day started with a 5:15 am ride to the airport, changing into our extreme cold weather gear (ECW) for the flight and then milling around waiting to load. We were loaded aboard the C-17 about 8:00, taxied down to the other end of the compound were the Air Force crew picked up a pallet of explosives and then took off for McMurdo. It is a 5 hr flight to McMurdo with most of the passengers, including me, in jumpseats. Actually the jumpseats are not as uncomfortable as everyone says, I have been on many flights in coach seating that are worse. I think the saving grace of the jumpseats is that you can stretch out your legs as far as you need to, as long as you do not have chains or tie-down straps in the way. In a C-17 it is a 5 hr flight from Christchurch NZ to McMurdo. The flight landed on time, dropped off the pallet of explosives then dropped us off to the vehicles waiting to take us up to the base. The airfield at this time of year is rather amazing – it is out on the sea ice just below the station – the ice is about 8 ft thick and they groom it to make a runway.

We got our billets after the briefing and I am sharing a 5 person room with 4 other women. The bad thing is it is fairly tight and there is not a lot of storage, the good thing is that all the women are fabulous – funny, self sufficient, considerate and adventurous.


21 Oct 2010

So I am sitting here in the coffee shop trying to finish this to post – it has been a long sort of slow week, we have been busy coordinating a bunch of stuff and it seems to be coming together, but takes awhile. I cannot seem to get enough sleep, it does not seem to matter if it is 5 hrs or 10 hrs I just seem tired. Hopefully it gets better as I acclimate.

Hut Point

Whale off of Hut Point

Young Skua that hangs out at Hut Point

Seal, out by Hut Point

View of Hut Point

SACRED

TO THE MEMORY OF

GEORGE T. VINCE

AB R.N.

OF THE

" DISCOVERY "

WHO WAS DROWNED NEAR THIS SPOT

MARCH 11TH 1902

Vince's Cross at Hut Point. This was first erected in March 1902 by Scott's "Discovery" Expedition, the first expedition to overwinter at McMurdo Sound, Vince was the first man to lose his life here.  Vince slipped off the edge of the cliff and fell to the sea while returning to the ship during a blizzard.  The original cross has been subsequently re-erected on a more stable concrete plinth seen here.

Ice breaking up off Hut Point Jan 2010

View From Vince's Cross Nov 2009

Adelie Penguins at Hut Point

http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/wildlife/penguins/adelie.shtml

Emperor Penguins

Trip to see the mottling emperor penguins just off the road to the ice run way, 10 Jan 2010.

Last day on BI

Today is my last day on Black Island ………. at least this season. I leave by helo this afternoon, the last trip on my oh so cool ride to work.

  

We switched over to the 11m equipment last Friday/Saturday night and have been running on it for 5 days. Last night the electricians took the 11m rack of equipment off of it’s on generator and wired the rack back into the normal BI power grid, there was not enough power at BI to run both strings of equipment so we had our own generator all season.

  

We were up testing till 2:00 last night, in bed at 2:40 and I was up at 6:30 – everything feels a bit hazy and distant. The really good thing is all the testing is done and the system looks nice and solid.

  

I have been out here since 12 Nov 2009, so just at 2 months. I will not really miss BI, we all live very close here and I like a little more alone time. I will miss the people, Jesika has been wonderful – an extraordinarily gifted cook and we found more than a few things in common. And then there is Tony who is a lot more than his well deserved rough reputation – he can be extremely funny, insightful and I found his occasional burst of song surprisingly nice but most of all he really cares about BI and the NSF presence in Antarctica and he does his best to insure that the BI station is the best it can be.
Things I will not miss –

 

• going all week without a shower
• being ultraconservative with water
• the waste disposal situation here
• winds that blow so hard for days that you cannot leave the buildings

 

It is a cold grey day outside, occasional flakes of snow and a fog that hides this cold black rock outside our little circle of humanity – it seems a good day to leave a place I will not miss.