Antarctica: Take Three

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

Christmas is official today! This is my first Christmas in Antarctica. The holiday season has been awesome; the lack of family is made up by the wonderful friendships that have been made here. Today has been a really relaxing day, sleeping in, watching movies and swapping a few gifts. I made a couple of guitar hangers for Ry in the carp shop and made sure Santa filled his stocking. Santa was good to me giving me a 1-hour massage and a few sweet Skua items (Skua is the station free thrift store).

Tonight was the big Christmas dinner. This is formal dinner you have to reserve your seats. The Galley is all decorated up and the spread is phenomenal, crab legs, duck, prime rib, fresh veggies, cheese, salad and killer desserts. ….

As for what else I have been up to here ….

Many of you would be surprised to know that McMurdo is not covered in snow and many days here are warmer than you are experiencing at home. We have been having temps 15 – 30 degrees F, quite enjoyable. The thing that is the toughest to get used to is the 24 hours of sunlight – this can make it tough to wind down after a long day …. ☺

Took my second Helo ride, this time to the Dry Valleys. Ryan was the helo-tec on the flight. The Dry Valleys are on the Main Continent (I can now really say I have been to Antarctica now (McMurdo is located on Ross Island, not on the actual continent)) and are an area is where a lot of science takes place. Zack, Danny and I were sent out to re-paint a research hut on the shores of Lake Frxyl. The three of us got to spend 3 nights camping, hiking (we did a little painting) and doing our own cooking, a rare pleasure. We got our water from the streams feeding the fresh water lake that is thawing and gets quite a bit of water from the surrounding glacier melt. This area was beautiful with two large glaciers at each end of the lake, the Commonwealth and the Canada Glacier. The valley floor is covered in rocks, mainly small ones that have been exposed to years of erosion from glaciers and now wind. The ventifacts were relatively small but beautiful in this area.

I don’t know when or where my next working adventure will go, but is amazing to get out and see the continent. The life in the actual Carp shop is pretty fun as well. I have been tasked with a few more of my own projects. I am currently building a shelf system the largest project I have been assigned to yet…. I am hoping it all works out so the shelf is stable and doesn’t fall over by the time I am done…. A true test ☺

Well I wish you all a Happy Holiday. Enjoy a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year with all your favorite friends.

Thaona

Antarctica Part Dos

Thing here continue to be fantastic...

Top events of the past two weeks --

Went to the Antarctic Under The Sea Prom - Ryan and I have officially been to prom now ;)

Went to Ice Caves - It was an ice slide entry into the most beautiful room made of glacier.

Pretended I was an early Antarctic Explorer when I visited Shackleton's Hut built in 1904.

Drove a Piston Bully (Watch out groomers, here I come.)

Shared Thanksgiving with a wonderful group of people, enjoyed good fresh veggies and played games.

Completed my own project in the Carp Shop using table saw, router, hinges and other fancy pieces of equipment




Now I can place installing Windows on my resume

Took my first flight in a Helicopter. Hooked massive loads to the chopper.


Saw a Penguin -- That is correct I have now seen a Penguin

Saturday, December 6 -
It was a really special day. I got the chance to spend it with new friends. Followed by a great hike on the Hut Point Ridge overlooking the Ross Ice Shelf. It was a time of reflecting on the crazy and wonderful year. It has been a year now and not a day goes by that she is not near.

Today ---
Sunday December 7
Day off--Woo Hoo!!! Sunday is Brunch day,we even got cheese with our fabulous spread. It was a beautiful day and Ryan and I took off on the Castle Rock Trail to ski/hike and get out of town. On the trail we ran into Jules Uberaga a fellow Idahoan (and a former Emmette resident and friend of the Sarah Wilcon Family) that has been coming down to the ice for 30 years now. The 7 mile loop trip took us out on a ridge under Castle Rock and then down to the New Zealand - Antarctic Ski Resort. We were invited to take a ride up their rope toe. It was great, I can now say I have skied in Antarctica, Hawaii and Idaho and Utah this year. :) Oh the novelty.










I am still loving it here and having a hard time believing I am actually here sometimes.

Antarctica Take 1

Greetings from the continent of ice. This place is amazing who would have thought a place that is majority white would be this beautiful . We flew down on 11/10 in a C17 with a helicopter on board. It was a flight unlike most intercontental flights, the fight attendents were with the New Zealand Air Force and they provided little service and uncomfortable jump seats. It is about a 5 hour flight from Christchurch NZ to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The plane had windows on the doors and the views out were amazing as we approached the continent. The plane landed on an ice shelf and Ivan the Terror bus picked us up and took us to McMurdo Station.



Ryan was waiting in town for me when I arrived. It was great to see him after a month and a half. I have quickly taken over the room and made it smell better with the help of some candles.

My first day on the ice I went to Happy Camper School. We got to experience a field camp situation with overnight camping, cooking on stoves and building snow structures to protect us from the wind. It was a great experience some in the group of 20 were not used to cold weather and are headed out to the field for 6 weeks... (should be intersting...)

As for my actual job down here, I am a general assistant for the Carpentry shop, which means I get to play with tools and make various wooden items for scientists at thier field camps or items that go around the station. I am really enjoying working with my hands and piciking it up relativly quickly... i can see a new hobby in my future. Hopefully I will get the chance soon to go out and work at one of the field camps and see other beautiful locations on the continent. (Today I got my first taste and got the chance to set up a big Jamesway tent today at teh willy airfield.)

There is an endless amount of things to do down here, we work 9 hour day, six days a week, but there is a plethroa of activities from Tap Dance to Yoga each night. I helped clear the Observation Trail on Sunday as part of the second official Antarctic Trail Day. Each week there is a couple of science lectures each week and it is great to have a better understanding of the projects that are down here. Just about everything you can think of is being studied here.

I got to see some seals sunning themselves the other day near the New Zealand Station Scott base. But no live penguins so far…