The Holidays Are Approaching

In a couple of weeks we will celebrate Christmas and then New Year's here. The town is decorated and people are having their work center Christmas parties. Our Fire Department Christmas party is on December 21st and somehow I got the job of planning it. I am by no means, a party planner. It is just not my forte. But I am doing the best I can. We are having it at Gallagher's, one of the 2 bars here. The bar is closed that day so our department has reserved it just for our party. We've enlisted a volunteer bartender. I have ordered the food from the Galley supervisor (pasta, marinara, garlic, bread and butter, some sort of side salad, brats or Italian sausage, chafing dishes, sternos, plates and utensils). I put together a sign up sheet for people to grill, set up and clean up and music. More to follow.

Today (Sunday 12/13) was the Firehouse Open House. We made chili and cornbread and the firefighters set up different areas of activities for the people of McMurdo to try their hand at firefighting. They had a medic station, a person could work the jaws of life cutting up a 55 gallon barrel, put on bunker gear and go up into a smoke filled area looking for victims and a person could hold a hose line and knock down traffic cones. I did all of them...well mostly all of them. I had all of the bunker gear on including the mask and air pack but then I started to have a panic attack. The mask was tight (so no smoke can get in) and it was so close to my face and well, IT NEEDED TO COME OFF NOW!! The guys peeled the mask off of me and that was it. I did not go up into the smoke room. But it was still fun! And holding the hose and shooting water at the traffic cones was the best! It was definitely a Sunday Fun Day at the Firehouse for everyone!

And earlier this week I finally hiked out to Castle Rock. It is 4.1 miles long. Here is the description:

"This trip leads to the prominent landform called Castle Rock, named for its shape. The Castle Rock routes are the most ambitious hikes in the McMurdo area. As you walk across the snow and ice field, you see the prominent landform of Castle Rock ahead, spectacular views to the north, and the Trans-Antarctic Mountains to the west."

It has been on my "To Do" list for the past seasons I've been here but quite honestly I was not in any shape to even think about hiking it. But as some of you know I've lost some weight and am in much better shape than I've been in for years so I went out there. I completed it in 4 hours and I am so glad I was able to do it. The average time to complete this hike is 6 hours so I think I did pretty good. It was so beautiful! See below for some photos of my hike out to Castle Rock.

Learning How to "Knock Down a Fire" By Shooting the Cones Down at the Annual Firehouse Expo

Out at Castle Rock

Dive Tending, Giant Sea Spiders, Turduckens and Glacier Tongues!

Sorry for the delay in posts. This past weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving here at McMurdo Station. I actually got out of town twice this week! Last Thursday I was chosen for a “Moral Trip” aka Boondoggle by the people at the NSF. I was able to assist the divers and a science group as a Dive Tender. I travelled by piston bully out to Turtle Rock - a small island shaped like a turtle. I was able to sit in front with a researcher/diver, Bret, who is studying polar gigantism in sea life in Antarctica. He is the person pictured under "Biomechanics" on the website I've included. Here is the website: http://polargiants.squarespace.com

They had to return some sea spiders back to the ocean. My job was when all 5 of the divers jumped into the hole in the ice and had disappeared from view, I had to throw a rope ladder into the hole so they had something to climb out with. They did 2 dives, each about 25 minutes long. When they came up they would unlatch their air tanks and I’d have to haul them off of their backs. Dang, those tanks are heavy! It was so much fun! The island had many seals just lounging around so in between dives I was able to take photos of them. Here’s some pictures of my diver tendering trip.

The next 2 days I worked but Friday night was the Turducken 5K race. Temperatures at race time (9:00PM) were 12 degrees with a 2 degree windchill! It wasn’t bad until I had to go uphill against the wind. That’s when it got really cold! Luckily when I had to go back downhill the wind was at my back, giving me a good push! I finished dead last (31st place) with a time of 53:11…but I finished! They had a Turkey Trot 5K the next day and I had a better time than 6 people who did that race!

Saturday was Thanksgiving. I worked that day and had my meal with the B Shift at 7:00PM that night. The food was OK but it sure wasn’t even near as good as Thanksgiving at home!

Then on Sunday I was gifted a trip to the Erebus Ice Tongue Glacier Ice Caves trip! My boss’s husband was drawn but was unable to go so he gave it to me! At 7:00PM 12 of us boarded a Delta (A big ugly semi truck/bus looking thing) and drove out on sea Ice 1.15 hours to the ice tongue glacier that flows off the active volcano, Mt. Erebus! After walking a half mile to the cave entrance in 34 degree weather all of us peeled off our warm (sweltering) ECW gear. I left most of mine on because I figured it would be much colder inside the glacier and I was right! I slid on my belly downhill into the glacier. Once inside I was able to stand in a small room and take some pictures. Then I had to continue on, sliding again on my stomach which led to a much larger room. The ice crystals were so beautiful! There was also an ice arch in that room but in order to get to it, I had to hug an ice wall and walk carefully along a narrow trail. On the other side was a deep crevasse so I was very leery of trying to get over there! One of the girls already there grabbed my arm and assisted me across the path. It was so well worth it as it was so amazing! I WAS INSIDE A GLACIER! In ANTARCTICA!! It was probably the highlight of all 3 of my seasons combined! 

Dive Hut and Piston Bully At Turtle Rock

Sea Spiders!

Crossing the Finish Line of the Turducken 5K

Just Inside the Entrance to The Ice Cave in the Erebus Tongue Glacier

Me Inside the Ice Cave

Ice Crystals Inside the Ice Cave

Band Practice, the Crud and Other Things

I have been here 4 weeks, almost to the day. I think I’ve taken maybe 10 pictures. For those of you who know me, you know that that is very odd. in seasons past I’ve already taken at least an 8G card full of pictures. Not so far this time. Maybe its because I've been working a lot. Maybe its because most of the stuff I would've taken pictures of is just “old hat” to me. A sort of a been-there-done-that deal. Maybe it’s a little of both! This next month I will work on taking more pictures. I went out to Hut Point last night and saw some seals. There's some pictures below.

During this month here I’ve managed to dodge getting sick or getting the McMurdo Crud. That is until a few days ago. I have the coughing, sneezing, wish I could sleep head cold that everyone else seems to have. All it takes is one person. One person to come from the States and board that plane in Christchurch bound for McMurdo with a scratchy throat and that’s it. It spreads like wildfire. We are a contained community highly susceptible to any foreign germs. That’s why we all have to have a flu shot in Christchurch even if we got one before we boarded the plane for Sydney. The “Flu Shot Nazi” stabs all of us without even speaking. Get in line, roll up your sleeve, BAM! Next! But the flu shot doesn’t protect against the Crud. And I have it. I’ve lasted longer than most by not getting it. My suite mate is on her second go around with it. It’s a virus. There is nothing that can be done for it except rest, drink plenty of fluids, wash your hands and take NyQuil at night and Mucinex during the day to try to get some relief. I’ve slept more in the past 2 days than I can remember. I think it’s working. Or maybe I am just hoping it is.

I’ve started playing drums in a band here! For those of you who don’t know, I played drums in junior high, high school and some after that. I was in Concert Band, Jazz Band and Orchestra. I was in the Marching Band. I played all the percussion instruments. And I had my own drum set. It’s been a good 30 years since I’ve done any serious drum playing but that changed a few weeks ago! I’ve joined a Fire Department band and am having a lot of fun! We are getting better (I think)! There’s even talk of playing at Ice Stock! See below for some photos! More to follow on this development! 

Sitting Behind a Drum Set Again!

Wes, Sissy and I at Band Practice. So far we do not have a name for our band. Any ideas?

Out at Hut Point at 10:00 PM

Weddel Seals at Hut Point

Settling Back In

I have now completed Week 3 on The Ice. I have picked up where I left off at work - 5.5 calls and 2.5 spills - the most out of all the dispatchers! The .5's are calls that I've had to share with the new dispatcher. We took those while I was training her. Work has been fun! It's kind of nice dispatching again after an eight month break. The other day I had 2 calls and was also working as ATC Ground for the 2 airfields. We had a Basler (DC-3) and a couple of Twin Otters taking off from and landing back at the Skiway at Williams Field and the FAA Challenger and C-17 flying in and out of Pegasus Field. I had to give approval of and denial for vehicles entering the runways/skiways. It was challenging as I did not/do not have a visual on either airfield. Both are about 15 miles from where I am and I'm in an office without windows! Challenging, and have my heart in my throat scary! Thankfully everyone was safe and we went without incident. I think tomorrow the tower opens for Williams Field so those planes and vehicles there will talk with air traffic control in the tower (who can see what's happing there) for movement requests on the skiway. I will only have to manage the other field where the C-17's fly into. It's always something different here on The Ice!

2015-2016 Summer Crew Antarctic Fire Department

Basler (DC-3) at Williams Field Skiway. The peak in the the background is Mt. Discovery.

View from under the wing of a Twin Otter.

I've Made It!

Finally, after an extra 3 day vacation in Christchurch, New Zealand, I've made it to McMurdo Station, Antarctica! The weather here has not been good at all. I was supposed to arrive on the Ice on October 9th but because of bad weather at McMurdo I did not arrive until October 11th late in the evening. By the time I got done with yet another orientation and got my room key and bed  linens, it was 10 pm. I got to bed at 11 and had to be at work the next morning at 7 am. Needless to say I am still a little jet lagged!

I'm on dayshift and it looks like I may be on the dayshift for the whole season. I think that's a good thing but I guess that remains to be seen! I've worked 2 shifts so far and have wreaked havoc on the fire crews. I've toned out 3 calls and have had 2 hazardous spills - one of which was one of our fire vehicles that had an active leak of foam and had leaked 10 gallons with a potential of leaking 700 gallons! Thankfully, everything turned out OK.

I met my roommate last night and she is very nice. She is a dispatcher at MacOps and is currently on the night shift. So it works out very well because when I am at work as she is sleeping and visa versa...except when I am off. I am staying out of the room and not running in and out of it so she can sleep. I have to go find somewhere to go so I hang out in a lounge as the coffee house isn't open quite yet. What is MacOps? That is the dispatch center that tracks all of the science groups.

Here are some photos of Christchurch, my room and what things look like around here at the moment.

On one of the delay days we took a bus to the mountains where there was a gondola. We didn't take the gondola up, we hiked up a trail! I made it half way and that was good enough for me!

The cathedral in Christchurch. It was damaged in the earthquake. One evening they had a food truck festival here! I had Chicken Tikka and it was fantastic! 

My room and my sleeping area. My friend Cindy gave me the blanket, sheets and bedspread. It feels more homey but my walls are still a little bare. I'm working on that.

The view out over the ice. Thankfully, today it is sunny and not as windy. Temp is -18!

Friday FunDay/Friday (Ice) Flight Day! More Like Friday (24 Hour) Flight Delay Day!

Today was the scheduled day to fly down to the Ice. As luck would have it, the flight was delayed 24 hours due to bad weather at McMurdo Station. And as luck would have it, I was notified just after I got out of the shower! What time was that you may be asking yourself? It was 4:40 am. So as I debate about going back to sleep or staying up to get breakfast, here are some photos of my afternoon in Christchurch.

The city is still recovering from 2 devastating earthquakes. The first one happened in September 2010. It was a 7.1 magnitude on the Richter Scale. It lasted 40 seconds and was felt through most of the South Island of New Zealand. the second was actually an aftershock and it occurred on February 22, 2011 at 12:51 PM. It was a 6.3 and lasted only 10 seconds but it created the most devastation damage. Buildings were already leaked from the 7.1 quake a few months before and this one caused liquefaction, which Wikipedia defines as:
" A phenomenon whereby a saturated or partially saturated soil substantially loses strength and stiffness in response to an applied stress, usually earthquake shaking or other sudden change in stress condition, causing it to behave like a liquid."

The quake killed 185 people.

There is a lot of construction going on in the city center. This is where most of the damage, and loss of life, occurred. It is the area I am staying in. The people are extremely resilient and very friendly. The Kiwis are pretty special people!

There are many murals on the sides of damaged buildings to help the city look better . This is a mural of penguins and the artist made a statement about Global Warming - the penguins as well as the ice appear to be melting.

More artwork

There are many food trucks in downtown Christchurch as most of the buildings that housed restaurants were destroyed.

This is a sculpture in the "Re-Start" mall. The mall is made of shipping containers. New Zealand is a series of 2 islands and all supplies, including building supplies are shipped in these containers. 

The church that the City was named after is still in disrepair. They have build a new, smaller church about 4 blocks away. This church is a Catholic church.

Getting ready for Season 3

It is 100 degrees here in AZ still but where I'm going it is minus 3 with a minus 20 degree windchill. Yep, very soon I'll be heading back to Antarctica and McMurdo Station for my third season. 

My bags are mostly packed. Even though the airlines allow two 50 lbs. bags, I am limited to a total of 85 lbs. for my Ice Flight. I had my bags mostly packed and I was below the 85 lbs. limit when the Fire Chief called to tell me he was FedExing my uniforms to my house. Usually I receive my uniforms when I arrive on the Ice but not this year I guess.  So I've had to rethink what I need to take with me. The good thing is is that if I'm over the weight limit, there is a US postal facility at the CDC (Clothing Distribution Center) in Christchurch, NZ. I can ship my remaining items! 

My job on the Ice will be the same job I've done in the past - Fire Dispatcher. So I will be working 12 hour shifts answering 911 and other phone calls and dispatching the Fire Department on Fire and EMS calls. 

The adventure is about to begin. My fingers are crossed that all goes well! 

3 Days and a Wake Up!

I will (hopefully) be leaving McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica in 3 days and a wake up...or Friday, February 27th. I say hopefully because we've had 4 scheduled C-17 flights and 3 of them have been delayed a day each because of weather. The weather is turning towards the winter-type with howling winds and blowing snow. Today's flight has a 24 hour delay because of the winds and the ice fog. The temp with the windchill is -7 right now at 1400 hours. Yesterday morning on my way to work it was actually dark enough with the clouds that I saw a light on for the parking area between buildings! Also yesterday evening I saw another minke whale but again, I didn't get any pictures. Rumour has it that there are 2 Adelie penguins melting down by the power plant so I'm thinking about putting my Big Red on and taking a walk down there.

I have had an amazing summer down here! It was so much better than my first summer here. I have made some wonderful friends that I will have for a lifetime. I have done and seen so many different things this time around that I will remember forever. I worked with a great group of people in dispatch as well as with the fire department. But I am missing my friends and family back home and can't wait to see them again!

Wednesday is my last day of work down here but more significantly, it is my last time dispatching on the radio. It's kind of surreal. By Saturday, I will officially be retired. YIKES!! Here's some photos of our dispatch group this summer.

In Our Job Shirts In Front of Engine 1

In Our Big Reds, L to Right Me, My Roommate, Tasha, My 2nd Work Husband, Wes, Danielle and our Supervisor, Lori

Me in Front of the Scott Base Sign Last Thursday Evening

Soon...Very Soon!

The Summer season is winding down here at McMurdo Station. All of the ships have completed their assignments and have departed our Ice Pier. Scientists, research students and workers are starting to head off the island via the C-17, Airbus or Kiwi 757. I have 2 weeks exactly before I get to leave.

The weather is also beginning to change towards Winter. We had a huge storm last weekend that closed both airfields down and trapped our firefighters at Williams Field for 3 days as it was Condition 1 out there on the ice. In town we had Condition 2 most of the time. The storm started on Friday and didn't leave our area until late Tuesday. We had winds well over 50 kts and snow. It ended up blowing all of the ice out and exposing the frigid waters of McMurdo Sound. We have seen some Minke, Beluga and Orca whales here but I haven't been able to get any pictures as they have been too far away. The sun is lower in the sky and our first sunset since October 18th will be February 20th at 01:48 AM. I will not see it as I'm still working dayshift and will be sleeping at that time. We have more cloudy days than sunny days.

There is a fishing vessel stuck in the ice down here about 900 miles from here. We had an EOC activation because of it. The Polar Star is on it's way to rescue them as well as a New Zealand fishing vessel. Read about it here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/south-pacific/66096627/us-icebreaker-talleys-ship-on-antarctic-rescue-mission

Below are some pictures from the past couple of weeks.

During the storm Friday, February 6, 2015

The fuel tanker, Maersk Perry backing out from the Ice Pier on Tuesday, February 10, 2015
The Polar Star is waiting in the distance to escort the tanker.

SAUSAGEFEST at Lunch! My favorite meal here!

Myself and 3 Italians from Mario Zucchelli base.

Vessel Offload and Other Things

This week marked the arrival of the supply ship. It is known around here as "Vessel Offload". There's trucks, forklifts, mil vans and all other kinds of big, heavy equipment all over the place around here with WAY too many people. It is a very dangerous situation to be in here. They have set up "snow fences" to keep us out of the way of things. We have a certain way to go when we walk out of our dorms to walk to get food, the coffee house, the gym, etc. Most of the town is now on 24 hour 12 hour shifts to get everything off loaded and then to load the ship with millions full of garbage. People get very tired working long shifts with heavy equipment. The chance of something catastrophic happening is very real. Because it's so dangerous they have closed the bars which is a really good thing. So far (knock on wood) nothing has happened.

Ocean Giant Cargo Ship

Twin Ships-USCG Polar Star and the Ocean Giant

A couple of days ago I went on a hike. I did Ob Hill Loop, a 2.5 mile trail around Ob Hill. We had beautiful weather and it really didn't hurt until after the hike! I went a couple of my firefighter friends. Afterwards we went for hot chocolate and a muffin! Then they had band practice so I tagged along. I played the drums for the first time in about 20 years! I was a little rusty but it was fun!

Me on Ob Hill Loop

Dan and Sissy On the Ob Hill Loop

The next day was my birthday. I was working when the lady at Rec called me and told me that she and my boss arranged for me to take a snowmobile ride that evening for my birthday! I had so much fun! Of course I paid for it the next day, but it was totally worth it!!

Me In Front of the Active Volcano, Mt. Erebus

Aboard My Ride

A Very Busy Time of Year

We are in mid-January and activity here in McMurdo has picked up. We have the Coast Guard Ice Breaker, Polar Star here to break up the 6 foot thick ice in McMurdo Sound so the re-supply ship and the fuel ship can come in. The National Science Foundation research vessel the Nathaniel B. Palmer arrived yesterday and is docked at the ice pier. Once the fuel and re-supply ships get here, operations really ramp up. But for now we have a whole lot of people here in anticipation of the arriving ships. We  have 50 plus members of the New Zealand Defence Force (the NZ Army) and about 75 NAVCHAPs (Naval Cargo Handlers) to assist with the off-load. We also have future Winter-Over people here from the South Pole for their “R and R”. And a couple of nights ago the Polar Star docked so the Coasties could get some liberty for 18 hours so it was a little crazy for an evening. 

I was able to board the Polar Star while it was docked! I was able to tag along with my boss’s husband’s work centre for a tour! I was working and she came into the dispatch office and asked me if I wanted to go on the ship and of course, I said yes! It was great! We got to go on the front of the ship where the anchors are set, into the kitchen, computer lounge, where the rudder is powered, the helo deck and the bridge! Our Coastie tour guides and other members on board the vessel were great! My surprise was that most of the men and women were very young. My guess would be just barely 21 years old. One of them came to visit the Firehouse on his liberty (he was 20 years old!) and swapped t-shirts and patches with us and the fire fighters gave him a tour of our station and equipment and took him for a ride in the engine! See below for a few pictures of the Polar Star.

The Nathaniel B. Palmer or just “The Palmer” or “The Nattie B” arrived yesterday. It is a research vessel owned and run by the National Science Foundation (NSF) or basically the agency that all of us working down here is supporting. Anyway, the ship is a floating laboratory and partial ice breaker. It can break the thinner ice that is found on the other side of the continent where the Nattie B is from - near Chile. They are here to change out their crew (more people!) and to off load their hazardous waste from Palmer Station It is cheaper to bring their has waste here and then have it shipped off on the re-supply ship to Port Hueneme, CA than to ship it there via South America. It doesn’t sound “cheap” to me either way! I am hoping I can score a tour of that ship as well! See below for photos of the Palmer.

Work has been busy and should get busier! I had a couple more In Flight Emergencies (IFE’s) with the LC130’s. Yesterday one was half way to Pole and had to turn back to MCM because of a “mechanical issue”. And the day before it got real scary. The weather changed quickly that afternoon and we had an LC-130 coming in from Christchurch. They attempted twice to land on 2 different skiways in blowing snow and very bad visibility and couldn’t do it. So they said they were going to land in the “White Out Area” as they had to get the aircraft down because they were out of fuel. This is a crevasse-free snow covered area that is not groomed. It is basically a place for an aircraft to land when all else fails. (So far that has been the 2nd LC-130 to land there this week!) So after they said they were going to land there we had no further radio transmissions from them for 45 minutes. I sent the crews out there to start looking for them (remember there was a snowstorm) and this went on for a while. I activated the EOC and at one point I turned around to the firefighters in the room all gathered behind me and I said to them, “You all better start praying.” Finally the Tower came on the radio and said they had made contact with the aircraft and it was taxiing back to Williams Field and they needed to know where our vehicles were. They were safe! There was a collective sigh of relief by many people (as well as the people on the aircraft I’m sure)!

US Coast Guard Ice Breaker Polar Star

                  

                           
                             The Polar Star Bridge

                 
                       Me on the Deck Aboard the Polar Star

                 
                         The NSF Research Ship, Nathaniel B. Palmer

Happy 2015 From Antarctica!

2015 came into this part of the world 22 hours before it did in Arizona. I was working. It was an uneventful evening however I did get a kiss at midnight from one of the firefighters! Actually I think I won by default as he said he wasn't going to kiss any of the guys at midnight! Of course the next day he proceeded to tell everyone that he, "Kissed Russo at Midnight". See what I have to put up with! I guess boys will be boys!

Our big New Years party, IceStock, was held on January 2nd this year. Even though it wasn't on New Year's Eve it was still a lot of fun. There were 17 bands and it went from 3:30PM to 1:00AM. There was a chili cook-off (the fire department took 3rd place) and the cooks grilled hot dogs and elk sausages! I went out there at 4:30 to see the fire department band, Skuacide and then I went inside until about 9:30 when the fire chief's band played. Below are some pictures from Ice Stock.

The next day, after brunch, was the annual softball tournament. The Fire Department took 2nd place and they said that I should've been the coach! Anyone who ever played softball with me knows that I cannot keep my mouth shut-especially when an umpire makes the wrong call. That would've been the case that day. He should have called Infield Fly Rule and he didn't. The ball dropped and 2 runs scored. I started hollering and that got some members of our team asking the ump about it and he ended up making the right call and sending the runners back to their bases. Our guys said they were happy I was there and that I saved a couple of runs for them. Hahahaha!! The fans in the stands were the real game though. They would heckle everyone and it was really funny. And if they didn't like a call they would throw all their empty beer cans at the backstop! It was crazy! And one of our guys hit the ball literally out of the park and next thing I knew some guy had stripped down to his skivvies' and was running around on the field! Like I said, it was crazy! Here's some pictures from the softball tourney! Happy 2015 from Antarctica!

                                                             Skuacide At IceStock

              The Heckling Beer Can Throwing Fans In The Stands at the Softball Tourney
                                           

The 2nd Place Fire Department Team!