the world is waiting

While we were delayed and canceled in McMurdo, my motto was "The world can wait." We kidded about how that would change after we were waiting for our flight for a couple more days to "The world is waiting." Now that I'm back on "living" ground again, I feel like the world is waiting.

I'll start at the beginning, waking up in McMurdo to blowing snow and low visibility. Our transport coming down Scott Base Hill is to the left. We honestly didn't think we were going to see a plane land at the Pegasus White Ice Runway. But, the C-17 ducked under the clouds and made it's descent towards us. After unloading, waiting for a bit with anticipation, and then loading the Air Force plane, we finally took off toward the northern living world.

Since our department, Antarctic Terminal Operations (ATO) is in charge of transport and airfield logistics, those of us on the flight, ICE55, from our department received a special transport in a separate vehicle. We have a nice group camaraderie and watched the hour long transport pass along under white skies and over white sea ice. J, my traveling friend from last year and I were on the same flight out of McMurdo this year. I'll miss his companionship while traveling this year.

As a perk for being in Air Services and giving the Air Force crews tours of McMurdo at the beginning of the season, the five of us get to have some flight deck time on the plane when we redeploy. The cockpit of a C-17 has a lot of windows compared to other (commercial) aircraft. There are windows at the feet of the pilot and co-pilot, windows to the side, and to the front, too. I was able to see some stunning views of Antarctica as we flew over. The pilot explained what different mountain regions were and pointed out the mountains that Sir Edmund Hillary climbed to prepare for Everest. I cannot explain, nor put into a photo what it's like to fly over glaciers that feed into other glaciers like rivers off the continent, or to see snow covered steppes and buttes and white mountain ranges!

waiting on ice

You may have guessed, from my rash of blog entries, that I have a bit of time on my hands. I do.

The sun is sinking in the sky; we're only a couple days away from the first official sunset after summer.

My bags are packed and checked in. I spent my last night in McMurdo and met up with friends at breakfast. I have passed my room inspection and made preliminary travel plans with Storey and friends in Auckland. And now I wait.

The weather is bad. I woke up to a flight delay and now we are canceled for 24 hours; though their is a weather system rolling in. I really don't mind. I like storms and I do not have to work today, but I still get paid for the day. I am enjoying one more day of not making decisions, not paying for food, or transportation, or lodging, or travel.

I have been having a difficult time seperating myself from the idea of being in a safe closed environment like Antarctica. I sit, anticipating a new job and possibly a new career path this summer, but have little direction right now. That being said, I do hope to be back in the "living" world soon. I can't wait to see plants, and children, and night. I look forward to being free from work for a bit of time, spending some time with my friends, and exploring the Great Barrier Reef in Australia! It's a bitter-sweet departure.

“Yet you get a strange feeling when you’re about to leave a place, I told him, like you’ll not only miss the people you love, but you’ll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you’ll never be this way ever again.” -- Azar Nafisi, Reading Lolita in Tehran --

the crazy thing about ice

Down here, in Antarctica, where things are a little harder to acquire, and it's a bit more difficult to enjoy some certain comforts of life, we try to make use of what we have. One thing we have a lot of is ice and snow. While we cannot take much from the continent, we do occasionally have an opportunity to indulge in ice.

Last year, Laura brought me some water from the South Pole. It was pure, unfiltered, aged ice. This year, some people who had been out in the Dry Valleys at Taylor Glacier had some glacier ice to get rid of before they flew to Christchurch, so I had some more clean and clear glacier ice in my drink. It's pure and a bit bubbly and plenty of years old. After trembling down a valley for years, I got a taste of it!

the news

CBS and NPR were here a couple weeks ago. Tonight, on the CBS nightly news, there will be a special on Antarctica:

If you are interested in seeing the internet pieces, you can locate it here after the broadcast.

The NPR coverage is scheduled to air in March.

what plans

I took a walk a few days ago. I started around Ob Hill and couldn't do the entire loop because it was so bitter and windy out. I have never come so close to frost nip; but that's another story.

I did a little daydreaming on the beach and took a headshot photo like the one I had in Christchurch.

This year, it has been difficult for me to figure out what I am doing next. I am leaving on 19 February. I intend to be with my friends in Auckland within a few days for a week, or so, and then fly to Sydney for a couple days. I hope to take a short flight to Brisbane from there, rent a car and drive up the East Coast of Australia to the Great Barrier Reef. Eventually, I'd drive back to Brisbane and fly home.

And then? Well, on my walk, I was struck by the grace of God to provide a place for me. He already has made a place for me. I am working on a few options, but do not know what direction I will head next in life. I'll likely be in Washington long enough to do taxes before heading up to my parents house, outside of Toronto, to find out the "next" part of life. I would like to try a new place overseas out. If you have any leads in the marketing/event planning market, I'm open to give it a shot!

Thought the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines; though the yield of the olive should fail and the field produce no food...yet I will exult the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like those of a deer; and makes me walk on my high places. -- Habakkuk 3:17-19 --

a polar solar eclipse

Today was a special day in McMurdo. Being within the Antarctic circle, we were priviledged to be able to see a partial solar eclipse. I like to call it a "polar solar eclipse." My department manager likes to call it "the moon is eating the sun."

Whichever it is, we acquired a piece of welding glass and have been enjoying the astronomical movement (and a better photo will be posted if I get one; it's still a-waxing away as I type).

This is the darkest it will get in McMurdo during the austral summer season since the sun hasn't gone down since October. There is visibly less light coming in the office due to this extraordinary event.

Right at the peak of the eclipse, a cloud pulled over the sun. And, now, only a half hour later, we are seeing snow in McMurdo.

blazing trails over a millions colors of white

What goes 60kph, has a studded track, warm hands, and is red and yellow with a black helmet? Me on a snow machine!

Typically, we mind our own business and work in McMurdo, or drive the same routes out to the airstrips and back, but on Wednesday, my name was drawn for a "boondoggle" ski doo trip to a point called "Room with a View." This is the place on our island where our peninsula meets the volcano, Mount Erebus.

After two weeks of weather delays and watching multiple other trips head out on this trip in front of our "Wednesday" crew, we finally had our turn under mostly cloudy skies to venture out on the snow.

Our first jaunt was out to Pegasus White Ice Runway. This air strip is about 10 nautical miles from McMurdo, but more like 17 miles when we skirt along the permanent sea ice road to get there. The airfield is named for the Pegasus airplane that resides there permanently due to an "emergency landing" (aka. crash). This site is now of some historical value and a fortunate number of us on station get to tour the site.

Most of the airplane is buried in windblown snow now. We all got a laugh when Dave, a sheet metal worker down here, told us that he had a work order for the Pegasus last week. They needed him to cover a part of the plane with sharp edges so no one would injure themselves. It seems counter-intuitive to work on a crashed plane, but this is a strange place for an airplane to be parked anyway!

The second part of our trip was back to our starting point and then on to Room with a View. Before heading out of the area, we had to refuel our ski doos. I took a picture of our line at the fuel pumps. We had 10 people in our party, and we were all able to ride our own machine!

After covering about 12, or more miles by ski doo along the permanent Ross Ice Shelf and back up onto the spine of our peninsula on Ross Island, we climbed to our perch at the side of the volcano and looked back at our travels. Pegasus White Ice Runway was just a few specks in the far distance, but the open water of the Ross Sea was grand sight below the Royal Society Mountain Range and the Dry Valleys.

I had a great time singing in my helmet, and smiling really big, and enjoying my heated hand grips. I didn't get cold at all! I had my thick long underwear top and bottom, a pair of thick fleece long underwear bottoms, my awesome windpants, my new mustard-olive colored polartech fleece from Laura, my black Scott Base windbreaker, and my big red parka, plus a neck gaitor, Laura's hand-me-down arm warmers, two layers of gloves, a pair of sock liners and expedition-weight socks, blue FDX boots, and my super-cool new hat from Matt. If you think that is a lot of gear, I had about half that amount again in my back pack, along with food for lunch and our leader, Toby, also had to pull 5 big red bags of survival gear; just in case we got stuck.

My favorite parts of the trip were seeing all the different "colors" of white while we rolled up and down hills and looked across the sea ice and up into the clouded sky. I also loved our descent from Room with a View when we started coming down the hill on fresh powder.

gorgeous time off

This morning I woke up, walked outside, and nearly felt like I was in the real world. It was comfortable to be outside; the skies were clear, the air was easy to take in, and I had a day off!

Our ship is offering us another connection to the life-filled world up north; breaking up the sea in anticipation for our various vessels to arrive.

My friend, Storey, and I took a hike around Ob Hill today. The Oden made it's rounds breaking up the ice as we walked along our beach. I dared to take my layers off down to my tank top for a fun photo (it was chilly, and I was glad to put my fleece back on, but not as bad as I thought)!

Around Ob Hill, there is a section of open water that caught our attention. After months of ice as far as the eye can see, Storey and I were fascinated by the ripples and wetness before us. We saw plenty of seals lounging around the icy edge and thought it would be funny if the ice broke beneath them, forcing their fat bodies awkwardly though the ice. We waited awhile, and it didn't happen. We did, however, get to see a whale surface, exhale, inhale, show its fin and duck under the water again. This happened over and over again. Meanwhile, a pair of adelie penguins torpedoed out of the water and waddled around below us. So, we were able to witness the Antarctica wildlife tri-fecta: the seal, the penguin, and the whale, all at the same time!

gray days

My "crud" has finally moved through and with a bit warmer weather on the horizon, I took a walk with a friend to Hut Point. There have been penguins out and about lately, and we thought we might see a few of them, but we only saw some footprints along the water.

While the weather was a bit warmer, there was a thick fog rising up from the ice edge, capturing the Swedish Icebreaker in its' haze.

We are processing redeployment paperwork at work and answering many travel questions. In the next weeks, I will see a few ships come in, a few planes fly here, and there, some friends leave, and hopefully some wildlife, in the meantime.

One month from today I will be departing this beautiful continent of Antarctica.

now a memory

Last year I met someone who was likely the most adventuresome explorer on earth. He climbed the highest peak and was the first to motor down to the southern point of the earth. He left behind a legacy of awe-inspiring motivation for the adventure-seeking-wanna-be's, like myself, to follow.

I met Sir Edmund Hillary last year at the 50th Anniversary of Scott Base. He founded this station just over a mile from me at McMurdo Station and his involvement with Antarctic exploration is an important piece of history. If you could have seen his smile when he walked off the plane, or reminisced at the luncheon about his time spent here, you would have seen an old man with a young heart. Today, he passed away after 88 years exploring this earth. Now, his life, legacy, and my brief greeting with him are only a memory.

I've had a full and rewarding life. Life's a bit like mountaineering - never look down. -- Sir Edmund Hillary --

pole marking

Every January 1, there is a bit of a celebration at the South Pole, marking the new Geographical South Pole with a new marker. The actual location on the earth does not change, but as the ice shifts and slides (20-30 feet per year) over the continent, the "spot" where the South Pole actually exists on the snow changes. There is a competition each year to design the new marker and the design that won for the 2008 year was produced by my sister, Laura, while she was wintering this past year. While, I was not able to attend this fun gathering, I found some photos on the internet. Doesn't it look beautiful under the super-UV-intensive South Pole sun?

Good work, Laura!

the more things change, they also stay the same

I recently ran across some old photos of the McMurdo area on our shared network drive. When I say 'old,' I mean from the year 1957 when this place was but a speck in the imagination; or on the continent of Antarctica; and when black & white photography was en vogue.

The first picture is something you don't see around the area anymore unless you are fortunate to shadow a penguin scientist for a day. The Antarctic Treaty prevents us from touching or interfering with wildlife if it changes their behavior.

The second picture though is common practice around these parts. When a penguin shows up, everyone surrounds the critter looking for the best shot and hoping the little guy wanders up close to us. The birds don't adhere to any treaties and if they approach us we just get to sit still, snap a few photos, and enjoy the unprecedented view of Antarctic nature at its finest.

big balloons

New Year is nearly here and our LDB (Long Duration Balloon) facility has been letting off enormous balloons to celebrate. Actually, they launched three of these monstrous white pillows the size of football fields with nearly no weather or launching problems, to conduct a great amount of scientific research up in the sky. If you are interested in their projects, or tracking the progress around the continent, you may access that information by clicking here: Long Duration Balloon Projects in Antarctica.

good ending to an unfortunate day

My day at work was overwhelming, busy, and stressful. Though we didn't get this e-mail from station management until the end of the work day, we were aware of the situation and making changes and arrangements from the time we walked in the door to the time we left work yesterday:

Sent: Thu 12/20/2007 5:37 PM

To: MCM-RPSC All

Subject: Basler Incident

Hello all,
A Basler (DC-3 aircraft) was working with the POLENET project yesterday in the vicinity of Mt Patterson (along the coast to the grid west from McMurdo). The aircraft and passengers were leaving the site when a mechanical issue developed and they decided to return for a landing. There was some damage sustained by the aircraft on landing and it is currently not flyable. Ten people were on board and, thankfully, there were no injuries. There are currently two Twin Otters dispatched to Mt. Patterson that will pickup the passengers and bring them back to McMurdo this evening. I just received notice that both Twin Otters are indeed on the deck at Mt. Patterson.
RPSC Site Manager

McMurdo Station

The Basler is a DC-3 aircraft, retrofitted to fly in Antarctica. It holds 18 passengers and four crew. We tried sending a search and rescue air drop out, but we ended up getting to smaller planes into the location to get the passengers and crew from this flight. In summation, the day was made of all sorts of flight changes to accommodate a search and rescue mission; combined with a C-17 late night arrival and a couple weather delays and mission aborts.

So, by the end of the work day, my friend Lucas was still stuck at Siple Dome (a field camp), we made dozens of changes, and I wore a hole in my jeans.

So, after work, I went to the galley to put on a blank stare and vegetate for a few moments.

The rest of my evening was spectacular. I had an opportunity to catch up with my friend, Michael, sit by myself in the Coffee House, sing in the Chapel with Martin, and then head back to the Coffee House for a few minutes before bed.

Only, my few minutes at the Coffee House turned out to be nearly two hours. First I ran into our town "Santa Claus" who told me about his flying experience on a DC-3 in Morocco with his father when he was 8 years old.

I was a bit distracted by the Italians who had just flown in from Mario Zuchelli Station (at Terra Nova Bay), though, as they were getting drinks and had no American cash to pay for them. So, I bought their first round of wine and then conversed as well as I could with their broken-English-over-Italian-accents.

They were fascinating folks, just dropping in for for an evening before catching the midnight C-17 express up to Christchurch. The French chef was leaving to go back to his job as chef to the Emir of Qatar. I wished he could have made us all dinner last evening; rather than chowing on microwavable mini-pizzas. Instead, after he raided the cash machine for American funds, he paid for my drink. Their pilot told me that he was given a couple months off from his work in Qatar and asked where in the world he wanted to go. Antarctica was his answer and they found him a position at Terra Nova.

Bob, the Kenn Borek Air pilot had plenty of fascinating stories to tell of himself! He's been all over the world. I heard tails from the Arctic, the Maldives, Chile, and many other stops he's had on the way. He finds a touch of humor in the opulence of people and isn't above staying in the dirty town of McMurdo for a few nights.

At the end of the evening, I had to say good-bye to my Italian friend, Roberto, who was based out of McMurdo this season. He is a journalist, funded by the National Science Foundation. He will spend some time in Washington D.C. before traveling back to Italy. Roberto spoke impressive English; though he was as embarrassed, as I might be, when he spoke at times.

When I left, I got to walk the short way back to my dorm in a beautiful snowfall. The flakes were big, and wet, and a perfect way to end the day!

ice pressure

Today I wandered out on the soft sea ice and found my way through the pressure ridges by Scott Base. The temporary sea ice and the permanent Ross Ice Shelf collide in this area, creating some unbelievable ice sculptures in the sky. Yesterday was the last day for these tours as the melt pools are getting deeper beneath these formations and ice conditions are getting dangerous.

The temporary sea ice has been known to "blow out" up to the permanent ice shelf before. The wind helps aids the warmer summer temperatures down here to push out the ice. When this happens, a boat could pull up in front of Scott Base. This hasn't happened in a number of years, but we all hope the open water comes this far in. Until the temporary ice leaves the area, the pressure will continue to mount between the two frozen bodies and create intricate designs in the sky.

The permanent Ross Ice Shelf forms from glacial ice flowing off the continent. Our island is half surrounded by the edge of this massive ice flow. The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest floating glacier in the world and our sea ice sheet is roughly the area of California. Beneath our feet at our Williams Field Skiway, or Pegasus White Ice Runway there is 600-800 feet of ice. This is the "shallow" end of the glacier which actually floats on the water.

The day was a bit cooler than our just-over-freezing temperatures which made for a little more solid footing. A few seals lined the ridges (nothing like the hundreds that will populate our area in a month). We actually heard their sublime calls echoing through the icy structures. They have their grunts and groans, but they also have beautiful pings and whistles like a whale or submarine.

Back on station, I reflected on the awesome power that was reflected in the energy of the sea on itself in the Coffee House while I downloaded my pictures. In the bigger picture, these little ridges are such a small part of a much grander creation. They are but a reflection of the 12-14 thousand foot mountains across the sea; and those mountains are but a fraction of a reflection of what my God is.

amazing sunday

Today is an amazing day. It’s such a great day because I’m wearing capris in Antarctica and I’m not even cold outside! It’s also a great day because it’s my first Sunday off in a long time where I can have Sunday morning brunch with unlimited fresh fruit, and Belgian waffles and everything breakfasty that I could possibly want! It’s a great day because I was able to go to the Chapel and sing Joy to the World to celebrate Joy on the third Sunday of Advent; I love to sing! It’s a great day because my favorite mountain range, The Royal Society, is out so brilliantly it forces me to believe in some Creator far greater than I, who squished and squeezed the earth together to form such a tremendous natural skyline. It’s a great day because I slept 10 hours, feel refreshed, and had a casual morning over coffee and tea with Lucas; my best Antarctic friend. It’s a great day because God has been good to me and I can feel Him; his love, beauty, life, grace, joy, and creation moving around me in the beautiful people, places, and scenes.

Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire. -- Hebrews 12:25-29 --

the ridge trail

In my time off, I completed the Hut Ridge Loop Trail. I'd never done the entire track, so it was a treat to run, walk and snap some photos along the way. From the top of the ridge, I was able to see open water; a vivid blue line along the horizon that will get larger and larger as the summer goes on. Our volcanic island is quite peculiar. At some points there is hard, exposed rock, and around the next bend, it turns to dust, or loose rock. Due to the snow, ice, and glacier erosion, there are numerous riverbeds, hills, and mounds that form as the rock is eaten away and washed into the Ross Sea. And, this portion of the Ross Sea, along the coastline of our island, and shoved up against the permanent ice shelf ripples with pressure ridges.

I saw a little seal sliding its' way across some of the icy ridges from my perch on the hill. More and more of these sea slugs are popping up now that the temperatures are warming and the ice is getting thinner along the shore. The Weddell seals have a big chisel of a front tooth and are able to chew through up to six feet of ice to reach the surface if they need to; so even the smallest of openings can be a great door to the underworld.

The weather was sunny and beautiful. The mountains were out in amazing array across the sea from our island and town of McMurdo!

under the ice

I don't post other people's pictures often, but I retrieved some photos from Bruce Miller on our common drive. I have become friends with a couple of divers this year and they describe their ventures under the ice as indescribable; as their own surreal cathedral. These pictures capture a glimpse of their underwater scenery in Antarctica. From ice crystals forming in the water to dancing star fish, the seascape appears crystal clear in the clean cold Antarctic waters.

Because the water is salty, the temperatures down here are a chilly 28.5F. Divers wear a few layers of clothing under their dry suits. The only part of their body that is exposed is their mouth. Due to the cold temperatures, there are many safety precautions in place for these people. While they can see a long way under the ice, their diving depth is limited.

Some of these scientists come to explore the oceanography and the sea floor, some study the effects that our presence has had on the habitat and species in this area, and others study the sea creatures that dwell under the ice. One group , in particular, is studying the "anti-freeze" that fish (particularly the Antarctic Cod) use to keep from stiffening up. I wondered aloud to one of these researchers if they weren't really part of a covert operation to get antifreeze from these fish to inject into their own bodies as part of a global espionage scenario. Probably not.

I've already mentioned Werner Herzog's new film, Encounters at the End of the World (I have his autograph somewhere from his stay here last season). Herzog's work also includes some of the fluid scenes underneath the Ice we all walk on. I would recommend watching the film if you are curious about what goes on here on our Western side of Antarctica in the summer. He talks to many people who I know or am familiar with from my time here and offers his audience some amazing Antarctic scenery.

runway to skiway

Every year, our little community of about 1000 people makes use of three airfields.

Annual Sea Ice Runway: This airstrip is built on temporary sea ice on the fresh ice in the shipping channel that the ice breakers come through. The Ice Runway sits about 1.5 miles from town and hosts wheeled aircraft until the end of November. The photo is a view of what is left of our Ice Runway after the airfield was moved.

Williams "Willy" Field Skiway: The skiway is used by ski planes. This includes the LC-130 aircraft as well as the Ken Borek fleet of three small privately owned planes. The skiway is built on packed snow on the permanent ice shelf. Because it's about 7 miles out of McMurdo, it is only used as an emergency landing airfield until it is officially put into place after the Ice Runway closes.

Pegasus White Ice Runway: This is packed snow that has become white ice. It is named after the airplane, Pegasus, that crashed near the airfield and is still permanently parked under snowdrifts. Pegasus is the runway where we land our C-17 and other wheeled planes after the Ice Runway is closed. Pegasus is about 10 nautical miles from Station, but nearly 17 miles by our permanent ice roads.

This past weekend marked this year's transition from the Ice Runway to Willy and Pegasus. It means taking down the tower, the galley, the toilets, and ice melter, the departmental trailers, the communication lines, generators, and all other equipment to run the strip. Once this is done, the other airfields become populated with those buildings and equipment and Ice Town becomes Willy Town.

This change also means that the fuel lines get stretched out from our storage in McMurdo through Scott Base via a permanent pipeline and then through temporary hose all the way out to the airfield. We unroll big spools of hoses and eventually fuel our planes with jet fuel by way of these huge tubes. Our fuel lines are marked with blue flags and there are special places in the roads where we drive with care to avoid rupturing the lines.

A few years back, the temporary ice froze over too soon for the fuel tanker to dock in McMurdo, so they anchored the ship to the temporary ice with big beams and rope frozen into the ice (like a "dead man"). Then they ran some of this hose all the way from the tanker back into McMurdo for four miles. Because fuel is so important to our operations down here and the inability for the ship to dock was unexpected, they ended up keeping people on late that season to make the operation happen.

melting permafrost

It's the time of year when the sun's power becomes overwhelming our Antarctica island, and the ground begins to thaw, and refreeze, and then thaw some more. Ross Island consists of three volcanic peaks; Mount Byrd (out of sight, out of mind), Mount Terror (visible from Scott Base), and the ever-present Mount Erebus (the most active, continually steaming, and occasional lava-bomb-shooting peak). While the island is host to a few glaciers and good deal of snow pack, the summer months, the radiant solar heat produces a good deal of snow melt; even though the temperatures have not warmed up to the freezing mark.

On my way to my dorm the other day, I took note of the dirt and ash on the ground. It is wet right now; which is a relief, as the dust becomes excessive and a nuisance in January. Wet also means it is not frozen on the top any longer. But, not too far under the surfaces is a lot of permafrost-laden ground.

At night, even though we are experiencing 24 hours of daylight, it still cools off. Right now, it is still chilling out enough to freeze the streams and puddles that form during the day. Sometimes we see fun ice formations; but most of the time, I think people overlook what is happening right under their feet.

Tonight I was walking out of my building and came across a ice coated puddle. Normally, I like to see things untouched; in their pure form here. But, like a 9 year old, bent on testing the waters, I tested my weight to the flimsy skim of ice. It didn't take much to crack through the puddle and watch dirty water seep through the fissures I created. I continued to break the little puddles all the way up to my work center. Sometimes it crashes through. Other times, it's a bit like stepping on a Christmas ornament and hearing a thousand tinkling glassy sounds under my feet!