bag drag

Part of the Antarctic experience is bag drag. This is when you bring all your belongings with you up to the building I work in and check-in. Checked bags are left overnight and built into a pallet (pictured), and myself, my carry on and my ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear goes home to be brought back up for transport the next day. This happens the day before the flight so accurate weights can be recorded for the flight, so there is time to load the baggage pallet, and to get paperwork ready for the flight. My job was to check people through and make sure they brought the appropriate gear.

To Christchurch, we are allowed to check up to 75 pounds and have one carry on bag. This year, I packed four bags northbound to a total of 71 pounds and have a 63 pound carry on. I'm not sure how I packed all that weight in my bag, but it's got to arrive in Christchurch somehow. From there we can mail things home to lighten our load while we are traveling.