Stuff From Down Here

Here's a cool site with some awesome time lapse photography from a Kiwi down here:

http://www.antarcticimages.com/Antarctica/Video-Clips/5140882_DDG9nC/1892431567_Z8ZrX9r

And some more pictures!

C-17 Landing at the Annual Sea Ice Runway

And this pretty much sums up everybody's attitude about the company that employs all of us!

It's Been So Long...

Since I've written anything! We've had some changes here at the Antarctic Fire Department Dispatch office so I've been working a lot more hours. That leaves me no time to have fun! I've been training up some firefighters to work in dispatch and am thrilled they are using my training abilities! This upcoming week is Thanksgiving. I guess the kitchen staff puts on a nice spread. We will have seating times and they will have table cloths and linen napkins. Instead of overalls and Carharts, people will dress nicely for dinner! Dinner will be on Saturday, November 24th. That is also the day I will be taking a tour of the Pressure Ridges out at Scott Base. That is the one trip I have been looking forward to all season!

I saw a dreaded Skua the other day hanging out between the dining hall and the dorms. I saw it come in for a landing - it had the wingspan of a B-52! It was huge! Really, the wingspan is about 5 feet across and the body of the bird is about 3 feet long. I can't imagine getting hit by one of those!

Here are some pictures from one of the firefighters I know. He took these out by Cape Royds when he was out assisting a science team. This is Barne Glacier. Barne Glacier is a steep glacier in Antarctica which descends from the western slopes of Mount Erebus and terminates on the west side of Ross Island, between Cape Barne and Cape Evans where it forms a steep ice cliff.

Antarctic Cartoons

Enjoy these cartoons. This gives you a little taste of the humor down here!


Thanksgiving Dinner - Notice the Bunny Boots!

Happy Camper Pictures

I wanted to give you an idea about what we did at Happy Camper. I didn't take too many photos because, well, I was cold and so was my camera battery! Here's some photos from one of the instructors and another guy in our group.

Me Carrying Ice Blocks

Our Happy Camper Group

Our Camp - My Tent is the Big Yellow One up Front

Me ^ With
My Glasses Iced Up

Skuas

Here is an e-mail from my boss about the arrival of the Skuas:

We’ve had our first official skua sighting for the season.  Skua? What’s that you say? They are a very large scavenger bird similar to large brown sea gull. They are big (up to a four foot wing span) and have a large, sharp, hooked beak (“All the better to eat you with my dear”) and strong sharp claws on their feet.  They hide on buildings and pounce down on unsuspecting people (ESPECIALLY those carrying food that is visible to them – blue trays and bowls/plates of food are their prime hunting ground) or circle over head and swoop down from behind you before flipping around your shoulder to confront you face-to-face. Sometimes they have bonked you on the back of the head and then swoop quickly around to the front and snatch something away all before you ever knew it was coming.

Be aware they are here. Watch the skies for them if you’re carrying something. Let someone in front of you know if you see one coming in for a grab.

We laugh, and if you aren’t their intended victim, it can be quite the site to see. However, all joking aside – these are large, strong, aggressive birds. It’s not uncommon for at least one or two people to end up in Medical with stitches to their head, face or hands. 

It is against the Antarctic Treaty to defend yourself/harm these birds. Instead, try to avoid the problem to begin with!

Please be cautious and avoid making yourself an easy target!

Also, watch your step – as the snow starts to melt and we transition into “Mud Season” skuas can often been sitting on the ground in direct line of foot traffic. They are fairly well camouflaged and generally do not move out of your way.

Finally, they also next in the rocks near Roll Cage Mary and the Hut Point Ridge Loop Trail. Watch your step and use caution – if they have eggs or chicks they can be even more aggressive.

Skua!!

There was nothing "Happy" About Happy Camper

Seriously. Nothing. After being up all night at work and having every stitch of ECW gear on it was still quite cold. After having instruction in Hypothermia and frostbite (what happens, what it looks like, getting scared that I was going to somehow lose a limb out there) we headed out to the ice in our Delta. There were 16 of us. Once we got to our site we were issued sleeping bags, 2 mats and a sleeping bag liner. We then went to our camping site and began to work. We had to cut out blocks of snow to build a wall to protect out tents from the wind. Not just any wall...a 50 foot long was that was 5 feet high. We then had to put up tents. We had 2 Scott tents (they are bigger, stronger and  WARMER) and then 6 regular 2 man tents. We had to dig holes to secure the lines of all the tents and for the Scott tents we had to shovel snow all along the bottom of them so it wouldn't catch any wind. 5 hours later we were just about done with that. About 6 PM total physical and mental exhaustion was setting in with me. The instructors saw that and took me aside and told me that I was a trooper but I needed to go to bed. So I went to bed before the kitchen was dug out. I immediately fell asleep. After a couple of hours one of the guys brought me some hot water bottles so I could stick them in the sleeping bag with me. Good thing cuz after a while it got COLD. Really COLD. Imagine laying on the ice...-2 degrees WITHOUT the wind chill. I think I slept about 5 hours. The next morning I had to put my boots back on. Imagine super cold boots. It was terrible! I fueled up on hot chocolate and peed...in the out house (thank goodness!) and got to work with the rest of my group tearing down camp. All of us were cold and tired. We were out on the ice until 1400 learning how to set up and use a HF radio (like the radios the military used in WWII and Viet Nam) and we called the South Pole. We also had to set up a survival bag...yep another tent! We were all done! All of us just wanted to go home, shower and sleep! NOPE! Had to finish all this stuff and got back to town at 1600! Trust me, I am happy I did it but I WILL NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT EVERY AGAIN!! Oh and no frostbite but my toes and fingers were extremely cold!!

Scott Tents

Setting Up Camp

Setting Up the Kitchen

Me Right Before I Climbed into Bed After Getting Home

Snow Craft Training I or Happy Camper School

I was notified when I got to work tonight that I have to go to Snow Craft I training tomorrow morning at 0815 - yes , right after work. What is Snow Craft I training? They call it Happy Camper School down here. See this article:

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/28/rediscovering-ross-island-getting-ready-with-survival-training/ 

I have been threatened with this course since I've gotten here by one of the LT's. I guess it is no longer a threat. I'm going....tomorrow...and I have to camp outside...in the cold and the snow and the wind. And I have to pee in a bottle.

They said I have to bring ALL my ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear and water bottles. The first paragraph of my letter says, "You are scheduled to attend our basic overnight course: Snow Craft I. First of all, this should be an enjoyable and educational educational experience, not a cause for anxiety. Many people often find it to be one of the high points of their season." It BETTER be "enjoyable and educational"! So I get to go out on the ice...work outside...camp outside...pee outside and hopefully stay warm enough...all on NO sleep!

If I click my heals 3 times and say, "There's no place like home" will I magically be back in Arizona where it is warm, there's a bed AND a bathroom?