Not much to report

Bad weather is comming in, we may have to leave work early if it reaches "Condition 2" . . . exciting!

On a random note, I was talking with the CSBF (Columbia Scientific Ballooning Facility) guys at lunch today, and we came to the realization that this organization is a bunch of Texans (not know for cold weather) run by two Australians (also not known for cold weather) operating on a 90 foot chunk of ice in the coldest place on earth. However, it all works out great, they have done this for years!

Hiking to Scott's Discovery Hut

Last evening Matt and I hiked out to Scott's discovery hut, a trail that leads to the hut made by Scott's failed expedition to the South Pole. Its located on a small peninsula protruding into the sea ice shelf past McMurdo. There are some crosses put up to remember the explorers, as well as those who died during the construcction of McMurdo some 50 years ago.

Something interesting about the hut is it looks perfectly preserved. This is because there is nothing alive here to eat away the old wood or decompose it. The same is true of the ground. The sections not covered by ice and snow consist of loose rock and sand, like the ground around a volcano. There is no soil, as there is not organic matter to act as a binder. It makes the hiking a little more "interesting".

We encountered the strongest winds out on the point I have felt down here in Antarctica, and it got cold in a hurry. This was the first time I had to use the hood on my expedition parka, I felt like Kenny from South Park, but it worked great!

Scott's Discovery Hut Trail Point (very cold)

Bliss did a little searching on our expedition parkas, known as "Big Red", made by a company called Canada Goose. He came across this site which sells the parkas for $500! Having experienced only 1/2 of the cold that these things repel, I will fully endorse this large cost as worth it, in exchange for prevention of hypothermia and frostbite. That said, they do come in colors other than red, but the "US Antarctic Program" badge is already sewn on from the factory! Antarctic Approved and Appreciated!

Here is the gallery of images from the hike, I think the sea ice cracks are particularly interesting:

11.16.06 - McMurdo, Ice, & Hiking

Its going to be a white christmas . . .

. . . Wait, thats a given here in Antarctica. Regardless, its snowing today, quite a little blizzard. Its not that cold, but to get an idea of what it looks like: take a standard white 8.5x11 sheet of printer paper and put it 3 inches in front of your nose. Voila! Now I don't need to post a photo!

I know this site is claeed "Penguin Spotting", and so far I have not seen any penguins. Perhaps I'll start a counter. That said, we did see a few seals on the way home on the terra bus yesterday, comming out through holes in the ice shelf and "warming" themselves on the snow. Exactly how anything gets "warm" here is beyond me, but they seemed to be having fun. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera. Sorry.

Bonus Round!

Some of you may have noticed I added two more photo galleries of my time in Christchurch to the Picassa galleries. The first is a series of photos I took wandering around downtown Christchurch on my second afternoon. I was particularly interested in the blend of cultures that time. The gallery is here:

11.8.06 - Christchurch Afternoon

The second gallery is a morning tour of the Christchurch aquarium, and a trolley ride around the city. The aquarium did not allow flash photography, so the pictures are poorer quality, and I could not take any photos of the kiwis at all. They are much bigger than I thought, about the size of a soccer ball to small beach ball. They do look kind of like big fuzzy coconuts with a long beak and big feet. This gallery is here:

Aquarium & more

Later!

What’s Really up in Antarctica*?:

What do you know; people have been leaving comments and asking questions! I have replied in the comments section, but I feel that is kind of obscured and most people will miss it, so I am going to do a Q&A post every once in a while when I get questions. I will still initially reply in the comments, so keep ‘em coming. Hey, what’s interesting to me here might be boring as watching paint dry to you guys, so give me feedback. Anyway, here we go (in somewhat chronological order):

Q: Are there traffic cops in Antarctica? What's the speed limit? Reasonable and prudent?

A: The terra bus we ride most of the time does about 5 MPH tops. If I were to commandeer and drive any of the base vehicles or snowmobiles I would most likely be deported, so its not really an issue for me unless I really want to get home (but I can think of more interesting ways for that to happen). Speeding is an issue around town, there are no speed limits, but if someone is caught zooming around, I'm sure they would get an earful and then some! Even if all the pedestrians are wearing big red parkas.

Q: There's a BAR down there? Now THIS I want specifics on!

A: There are 2 1/2 "bars" in McMurdo (I believe they are labeled as “social clubs”). One is traditional style with a pool table and juke box, is dark and allows smoking. The other is a bit more off beat, does not allow smoking, and has talent shows/60's sex-ed films on Saturday nights known as the "Freak Train". Really. Lastly is a coffee house that also serves wine, making it 1/2 of a bar. Drinks are cheap, the atmosphere is friendly, and opening the door to blinding sunlight to go home is a really, really strange shock to your system at night.

Q: How far away are those mountains? Can you climb them?

A: There are several mountains that you can see around McMurdo and the surrounding area. Right behind the base is Observation Hill. It’s a steep 15~30 minute hike with great views of the surrounding area and ice shelf. Castle Rock is the large pure rock protrusion from the ridge across from Willy field in the photos, its 3 miles from McMurdo and you can scramble to the top. Its one of the better ski/run/walk loops in the area. Mt. Arabus is 25 miles away from Willy Field, and is over 12,000 feet high (remember we are at sea level here, on a 90 foot thick sheet of ice). So that one is off limits.

Observation Hill

Castle Rock

Mt. Arabus

Q: Have I lost my i-Pod yet?

A: The clip functionality (check the apple website) works very well, and thus far has stayed securely fastened to my pocket.

Q: How do you spend your day? Is it all work or do you have a lot of spare time?

A: Basically I getup at 6:30, get dressed and eat breakfast, and get on the terra bus which takes us to the field at 7:30. We work there until the bus leaves at 5:30, so home by 6:30, eat, change etc. That leaves a few hours to either relax, go out for a hike, or work at the lab in the base if required. Then its time for bed to get some sleep and do it all again.

Most of the base personnel have Sunday off (not so for us unfortunately), so Saturday night is more lively. That said, they have an activity board (kind of like college) with all sorts of stuff every day (for example "guts & butts in the laundry room – some kind of aerobics class held in the laundry room?!?). Right now I am trying to get plenty of sleep to avoid getting sick while I adjust. I may take a photo montage of my day, I'll feel a bit odd taking picures of breakfast in the cafeteria, but anything for you guys.

Q: Nathan, you're being so diligent with this... what exactly does work consist of? paperwork? computer work? and do those two tallest buildings you work in not have windows? do you have to keep on your layers when you're inside or is it warm?

A: Work consists of preparing our telescope and gondola hardware for launch in a few weeks. This involves assembling all the components (telescope, cameras, computers, wiring, solar panels etc.) and checking all the electronics and programs. After final calibration and testing, we get the ok from the NSBF, and we launch it!

Yes, there are no windows in the two payload bays that we work in. That would let the cold in. Depending upon how cold it is outside, and if I will be out long, I often wear my long underwear under my pants, a sweatshirt of light jacket, and my polar exploration parka when I go outside, I take it off indoors. It’s kept a pretty reasonable temperature indoors around here, so if you are not outside for long you can get away with no long underwear and just run from building to building. When out in the field (where we work) you always need to have your extreme cold weather gear with you in your bag though, as a storm could roll in.

To better show you, here are some photos from around McMurdo and the interior of the payload bays we work in:

11.13.06 - Willy Field Camp & McMurdo

That’s all for now, tune in next week for more**

* Everything, with the exception of the South Pole, they are further south than us.
** Or whenever I feel like it.

Something random about New Zealand

When I was walking around Christchurch I noticed: (a) Cars drive on the left, this is important for not getting run over (b) They have some cool cars you can't get in the US. I snapped a few pictures here and there, trying not to look too odd taking random photos of peoples cars. The comments in the gallery describe each car, but in summary:

• Skylines are awesome, 2009 they come to the States
• They have some fruity car colors in NZ
• The cars are much smaller, and tend to have trailer hitches
• Souping up/hot-rodding/pimping out (not ATL style though) is alive and well down here

Here is the gallery:

NZ Cars

I'll see what other flashes of inspiration hit me as I am exposed to 24 hour sunlight for a full week in another day.

To answer Scott's question:

There are 2 1/2 "bars" in McMurdo. One is traditional with a pool table and a juke box, is dark and allows smoking. The other is a bit more off beat, does not allow smoking, and has talent shows/60's sex-ed films on Saturday nights known as the "Feak Train". Lastly is a coffee house that also serves wine, making it 1/2 of a bar. Drinks are cheap, the atmoshere is friendly, and opening the door to blinding sunlight to go home is a really, really strange shock to your system.

Scott also wins the prize of being the 1st to ask a question, which gets him a ziplock baggie of real antarctic ice and snow.

Photos of the Real Antarctica!

OK, so today I was able to get out and take some photos on the way to work, as well as during lunch and heading home. It was a beautiful day, sunny, clear, warm (well, for polar standards). I took a few panorama shots that currently you have to click through. I will work on splicing them together into a QTVR movie or something more exotic for a true "put yourself in my shoes*" experience.

So, without further delay, here is the album:

11.14.06 - Willy Field

Also, thanks for your comments! It should be set up such that you don't need to register, so let me know if this is not the case and I will fix it. Please ask questions, such as how are the people? Is the food really that good? (yes) What kind of beer is avaliable? Whatever you want to know about the 7th continent I'll answer, or differ to Google and Wikipedia.

Goodnight!

*without the itchy wool socks

Late photos . . .

Sorry, I know I promised photos of the field camp, but most of them didn't come out well. I took some more pictures today and will try to get them online tonight. The food at the field camp is still the best on the continent. It really helps morale around here.

John (a fellow Antarctic visitor I met on my flight down here) and I climbed Observation Hill yesterday, its a small peak just behind the McMurdo base. Its kind of funny, heading out at 7:30 and not having to worry that its going to get dark. The view from the top was incredible, you could look out over the ice shelf to the mountains on both Ross Island and the Continent itself. Waching the light snow blow over the ridges and ripples in the ice almost looks like a sparkling ocean as the sun hit it. Then we started to get really cold and headed back down. John spends the next 2 days in outdoor survival camp (or "Happy Camper School" as its known here), including one night spent out in a snow shelter. Good luck John, keep warm!*

*To you APL'ers Bliss already took and survived this course, he said it was quite an experience and he enjoyed it a lot.

The social situation at McMurdo

I believe my roomate, the base Dentist (and only dentist on the continent to boot), summed it up brilliantly:

"Its a cross between a Fraternity house and frontier mining town"

Its an interesting mix of people, all ages, nationalities, races, backgrounds. Everyone is working hard either in the field or supporting the base operations, while trying to stay sane in this very hostile environment.

I'll have to see how I fit in to this crowd.

Things about Antarctica that seem obvious . . .

. . . but only hit you a few days after you have arrived.

Perhaps its because of the shock and excitement of arriving somewhere completely new, the relief after ending nearly three days of traveling, or heat exhaustion for wearing the extreme cold weather gear all morning of the flight to McMurdo. Regardless, there are some obvious things I figured I would talk about to give an idea of this place.

(1) Its really cold here – Yes, now give me my Nobel prize. Its not as cold here as the South Pole station (-56 F yesterday), but it hovers around 0 F, which combined with the blowing wind here makes being outside for any period of time not something to be taken lightly. It feels like a very cold Montana winter, the kind just before they close the Ski Resort because of the cold. This is about as warm as it gets.

(2) Its very dry – You may not have known Antarctica is the driest place on earth (yup, drier than the Sahara Desert). This is a good thing temperature wise, as the cold feels less chilling (experience winters in the UK or North East and you know how a damp cold chills you to the bone). However, you wash your hands and instantly become white and cracked. Lotion and drinking a ton of water are serious requirements down here.

(3) Its dead – There is no vegetation, at all. This is best shown from the photos from the launch site, but you can look to the horizon in all directions and not see a tree, shrub, grass, or even moss on a rock. Apparently, there is some mold somewhere in the dry valleys, and even some fungus. So far the only animals I have seen are Skuas (think of a seagull with a serious steroid abuse issue, including the increase in hostility), but there are Penguins and Seals near the ice shelf and ocean (which I can’t go to).

(4) Its never dark – Ever. You get up at 5:30 am, its bright out, lunch at noon, its bright out, coming home from the bar at 11:00, its still light out. The sun just circles high in the sky, it won’t start dipping to the horizon until the end of February.

In a few days I’ll see if I have any other enlightening thoughts. Until then, enjoy looking at the stars for me.

P.S. – Yes, I know the dates on when I am posting this stuff is a bit off, I don’t always have time to post to the blog when things happen, so bear with me.

Traveling to McMurdo, Antarctica

I made it to McMurdo, Antarctia, the 7th continent. I am alive, well, and only a little cold.

I woke up at 5:00 am in order to finish packing and check out of the Grange B&B to catch the shuttle to the Antarctic Center at Christchurch airport by 6:00. After arriving at the Clothing Distribution Center and changing into our extreme cold weather gear, we were debriefed on our deployment to Antarctica. If you have looked at the gallery already, clothes are designed for Antarctic temperatures, not New Zealand summer or indoor temperatures. It was rather warm waiting to board the plane.

The plane itself was a C-17 air force cargo plane. This is the “luxury” plane, taking only ~5 hours to reach McMurdo, and it actually has seats and even a bathroom, unlike the Hercules transport plane, which takes 8 hours and has neither of the mentioned creature comforts. This was actually a quite plesant (althougth loud) trip, as the passengers all sat sideways along the edge of the fusaleage, as the ceter was used for cargo transport. Also, the military does not bother with pretty things like carpet, sound deadening, or covering up exposed pipes, wires etc. That said, we were provided the best brown paper bag airline lunch I have had: Two sandwiches, drinks, fruit, snacks, chocolate, muffins, and no peanuts to speak of. Fantastic.

5 hours later and some 60 degrees colder, we landed on the ice fields in McMurdo.

When we unloaded from the plane after landing at the airstrip outside of McMurdo, I was suddenly very glad I was wearing my cold weather gear. Speaking of McMurdo airport, that’s a funny name for a big ice field with some flags to mark a runway and a couple of trucks. After snapping a few pictures we boarded “Ivan the Terra Bus”, which is a snow transport bus with wheels the size of a monster truck. It is also really, really slow. But it took us to McMurdo where we were given the introduction presentation and keys to our accommodations.

This would prove a bit of a challenge, as all the buildings here are marked by numbers only. For example, I live in building 209, eat at the cafeteria in building 155, which is a difference of 54, but they are almost next to each other. Fortunately, they gave us a pocket map. That said, they didn’t tell us which building we were in during the orientation, which made figuring out where you were, in order to plot your route home kind of a challenge.

I picked up my checked luggage and went to my dorm. Its pretty nice, kind of like college but in the middle of the worst winter ever. Obviously I made it to my dorm on once piece, didn’t get frostbite, or go snow-blind. Shortly thereafter I met up with Matt also of the SBI project who showed me around a bit, as he and Bliss had arrived 2 days prior. Tomorrow we go to work out on the ice shelf.

Here is the Picassa Gallery:

11.10.06 - Morning travel to Antarctica