My Typical Day

Two Hercules C-17s sitting on the Ice Runway

Most days I don't ride in airplanes. My usual day (six days a week Mon.-Sat.) starts when I get up between 5 and 5:30 AM. I try to get to the Galley for breakfast between 6:30 and 6:45. Then it's up to the Carp Shop by 7:30. All the carps assemble in the shop so that the supervisors can tell us any pertinent information/stories/jokes etc. They then give us our tasking for the day which could be anything from building crates, building endwalls for RAC tents, fixing things around the station, flying to the Dry Valleys by helocopter for the day, staging for the field camps, etc. We then have stretching and maybe a safety training. We usually finish with all that by 8:45 and start working. Lately it has been really warm outside so it has been really nice to work outside. Unfortunately I have been working in the shop which is still nice and you can listen to music while you work. I have been building two additional stage components. We have a 15 min. break at 10. It's nice to have a break to relax after working with equipment that has the potential to maim you or worse. Breaks are especially welcome when you have been working outside when it is very cold and windy. Lunch is from 12-1:00. Afternoon break is at 3. Cleanup at 5. Do time cards and finish at 5:30. There is usually some work done in there, too. I usually go to dinner right after work and maybe get on a computer. I might get home by 7:30. I am usually pretty tired by then and try to get to sleep by 10, but sometimes it's more like 11. Get up the next morning and do it all over again. But tonight I'm feeling pretty good, and I'm going to go for a hike. There are a couple of hikes that you can do without signing out. Good views and it's just nice to be a little ways away from the town. Even though it is Antarctica, we still live and work in close proximity to 1200 other people. Some people say that McMurdo is a cross between a northern mining town and a college campus, which is probably not too far from the truth.


Arriving back from WAIS and waiting for the sahuttle back into town