gone south

More MAAG Pictures

2011-12-27T01:14:00.000-08:00

Wall of Catastropic Failure back bar. Photograph by Holly Troy

Translucent dance screen. Photograph by Holly Troy

The goat path up to the shop. Photograph by Holly Troy

A dangerous type. Photograph by Kresly Gunn

Up the goat path to MAAG at the Carp Shop. Photographer unknown

A beautiful, warm night for a party. Photographer Unknown

The Centrifuge of Excellence. Photographer unknown

The Carp (carpenter) Shop. Photographer unkown

Jamesway Arches. Photographer Holly Troy

Sean Cornish's Newton's Balls made out of bowling balls and Jamesway arches. Photographer unkown

Front of the shop. Photographer unkown

Tim Nicotera's submarine. Photographer unkown

Nick in the Centrifuge of Excellence

Amy & Stephan on the goat path. Photographer Holly Troy

Jamesway arches pathway at the top of the goat path

Anna prayer wheel. Photographer Holly Troy

Jonathan's video machine. Photographer Holly Troy

Jinga! Photographer unkown

Mel Li & Sharona Thompson. Photographer Holly Troy

The Heavy Shop's light brite set made with glass bottles. Photographer Holly Troy

MAAG 2011 - McMurdo Alternative Art Gallery

2011-12-25T08:57:00.000-08:00

MAAG evil monkey entrance sign made by me

Well, it was another great MAAG party this year. MAAG which is held in the carpenter shop is part art gallery, part party and a whole lot of fun. We hold it on our Christmas Day here which this year fell on Sat., Dec. 23. People contribute artwork, performances, sculptures, etc. Very loose interpretation of art which basically means anything goes. Very high energy. I left at two am, dancing went on till three.

We are still trying to get to PIG (Pine Island Glacier) Deep Field Camp. Weather and mechanical problems among others have plauged the camp put in. One passenger flight has made it and the traverse arrived to groom the skiway. The second (first carpenter flight is again scheduled for this morning. I am on the third flight. One reason for the two week + delay may be is THAT PIGS DON'T FLY!
Travis Moose's Centrifuge of Excellence (aka the gerbil wheel) Moose is in red shirt spinning the wheel, Graham Love as the gerbil. There was a box of hardhats and a first aid kit next to it.
You know, for kids.
Nick Romano (aka Rick Romero) and his girlfriend Tera.
Carps playing Beer Checkers. We take our checkers very seriously here.
Entrance to MAAG with Tim Nicotera's (aka Dr. Sawzall) sweet submarine in the foreground and Eileen Szeto's (aka DZ) awesome fire breathing, rocking (literally) dinosaur.
Sean Kennedy, electrician foreman, as Nacho Libre. Mui bueno senoir.

Robin Carrocia in fashion show outfit. The "hair" are shavings left over from drilling holes in steel from shop work and the rest is tires. Robin is actually a male 200 lb. Fleet Ops driver, so the costume was really pretty amazing and quite slimming.

Fuelies Brian and Seth aka the Swede.
MAAG bartenders Handsome Rob and Pullstart in front of the Wall of Catastropic Failure.
Paul Stewart, Kiwi of course.
Jeremy Stephens and his Jamesway scooter
Solomon West of the BFC
Me sporting my Raybans, sweet mustache trim job and borrowed chapeau.
Legendary Boozy the clown makes an apearance

A Couple of Antarctica Snapshots

2011-12-13T00:30:00.000-08:00

A gorgeous day on the road to Happy Camper (aka Snow Craft School)

The view to Mt. Erebus from the Ice Runway as weather come in.

Mad Max Party

2011-12-12T01:02:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday the fuelies had their annual Mad Max Party which based on the three Mad Max films with Mel Gibson: Mad Max, Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome. Everyone had on their best post apocalypse fashion. Lots of sharp metal, guns and whatever anyone even remotely thought of as being appropriate. Here is some guy in a kilt, Hillary of Science Cargo, Karen Joyce of Crary IT and me.
photographer unknown

South Pole Ice Tunnel

2011-12-12T00:51:00.000-08:00

In a few days it will be the 100th anniversity of Amundsen of Norway reaching the South Pole for the first time. A lot of "tourists" are showing up at the pole for the occasion including the King of Norway. This is not him but one of my bosses Geordan McQuiston. He is seen here in the ice tunnels below the pole holding a thermometer which reads 65 degrees below 0. This is where all the water and sewage lines run and is forty feet below the surface. Geordan and a crew of three or four carpenters went there recently to put up a couple of RAC tents to serve as a gift shop/store and information center. If ya got tourists, ya gotta have a store.
photo by Jess Ackerman

A Current Fuzzy Photo of Me

2011-12-07T16:19:00.001-08:00

Lisa Keller, fuels operator, snapped this picture of me yesterday returning jerry can fuel nozzles to the fuels barn. The fuelies affectionately call them donkey "appendages", if you know what I mean.

Views From a Helocopter

2011-12-04T00:36:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about this job is some times you get to fly to work in a helocopter. This is one of the glaciers in the Taylor Valley.

Lake Bonney Camp from above.

Close up of one of the ubiquitous company issued orange bags.

The Ferrar Valley
The Ice Runway on the Ross Sea

Fuel tanks at the pass and the road to Scott Base.

McMurdo Station. The long buldings on the left are the Upper Case Dorms. My dorm is 211. Of the two brown shorter buildings in the middle of the picture, 211 is the one on the right. The big building in the lower right corner is Building 155. It houses the Galley, store, computer kiosk, finance office, two ATM's, Human Resources, Housing, and REC (recreation office) along with first year dorm rooms. Basically the main building on station.

Lake Bonney Polar Havens

2011-12-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

Dave Story, Tirzah Juskalian and Robin Carrocia styling their Big Red jackets.
Robin Carrocia, Tirzah Juskalian and Dave Story in casual wear.
Fashion by Carhart on Lake Bonney
Getting ready to head to the West Lobe to put up a Polar Haven tent.
Me
Dave Story, aka Mombok, very happy.
Robin Carrocia in Halloween headgear.
Celebratory halloween at the Lake Bonney Jamesway.
Preparing dinner on Halloween.
Four runner transportation at the narrows of Lake Bonney.
Tirzah taking here sled and going home.

Robin and Tirzah. Tirzah was sporting the one piece pink snow suit at work all day on Halloween. Robin did not wear her flashy headgear all day because she is just not a team player.

All our gear
The Polar Haven frame is up. Tirzah is working the Kovax drill to make V-loop anchors in the lake ice.
West Lobe Polar Haven Floor which rests on jacks so that as the ice melts under the jacks, the floor can be leveled.

The West Lobe of Lake Bonney with the Taylor Glacier and Blood Falls in the background.

Lake Bonney Chem Lab

2011-12-03T23:39:00.001-08:00

My roommate, George Harrison, on the left, built the new Lake Bonney Chem Lab in the shop and then he, myself, Graham Love and Sparky spent five days there erecting it. Here we are discussing the best way to flip the twelve foot by sisteen foot floor over.
G. Love and George Harrison in the Jamesway doorway.
The chem lab was built in four foot by eight foot wall panels so that it could be slingloaded by helocopter to Lake Bonney.

G. Love putting in the roof rafters.
View from the helo pad

One of the older labs that will also eventually be replaced as the lake rises because there is no lake outlet.
Some of the stuff that is Lake Bonney Camp. A Polar Haven on the lake ice, the Jamesway, propane tanks, fuel barrels and the new Chem Lab.

What we were really building. Two days after the Chem Lab erection, I came back out with Tim Burns and Aaron Barbee to add the deck and stairs to the lab.
Interior of the Chem Lab.

Looking towards the narrows.

Finished building

Helo refueling at Marble Point on the way back to McMurdo

Crary Lab Tour

2011-09-17T23:02:00.001-07:00

Crary Lab touch tank. It's kind of like an Antarctica petting zoo full of strange creatures - and I'm just talking about the people from the carpenter shop.

In The Carp (Carpenter) Shop

2011-09-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

Nickie and Tirzah in Condition 2

Tirzah Juskalian thinking inside the box

Nickie Gerome and her field camp toilet seat production

Carps playing Dominoes after work in the shop

Flomax fuel pump winter berm storage boxes for Siple Dome Field Camp

Return to McMurdo

2011-09-03T22:33:00.000-07:00

View from the Carp Shop deck

Carp Shop at 7:30 am with crescent moon and Ob Hill

The Christchurch Earthquake

2011-09-03T22:23:00.000-07:00

It takes about a week from when I leave home to get back to McMurdo. We spend three nights in Denver for training and then two nights in Christchurch before flying to the Ice. It is not the same in Christchurch after the February 2011 earthquake that killed 200 people and devastated the downtown. The city center is still closed and many buildings have been torn down. It's sad to see how hard Christchurch was smacked down, but the city and it's people are resilient.

Heading North

2011-02-15T13:37:00.000-08:00

Leaving today (Feb. 16) on a Air Force C-17 heading back to New Zealand, or redeploying as they call it here. It has been a good but long season, and I, like most everyone else, am ready to leave.

I've added some pictures from my last two field camp trips. Enjoy.

WAIS Divide Deep Field Camp

2011-02-15T13:12:00.000-08:00

A final toast as we prepare to close and leave WAIS Divide. We were the last camp standing.

Winter Berm storage. This is to prevent the pallets from drifting over with snow during the long winter.

Dr. Charlee McClellans "Artic Oven" tent. Skiway markers are visible in the background.

The Carps

Just after condition 2

Condition 2 (Condition 3 is normal, Condition 1 is don't go outside)

Jonathan Castleberry-Scott

Me in front of the Arch. Here the scientists are drilling down through the ice to study the gas in the ice cores to learn about the earth in past years. It goes back about 100,000 years. They have reached 3330 meters so far. This is the deepest US ice core in the world.

It is flat white here, except for the man-made winter berms.

Robyn and Angela

The Artic Chief - this is the Carp's warming tent, lounge, etc.

A fine fishing hole. Hold on Dr. McClellan, looks like you've got a big one!

Angela and a "dead man" - these are what we bury in the snow to anchor the RAC tents, the dead man that is, not Angela, although Angela would probably work just as well.

Lake Bonney in the Dry Valleys

2011-02-15T12:46:00.000-08:00

Hooking Helo loads

Mark Miller, electrician, and the Bonney Camp Jamesway

Tourists at Blood falls

Taking down a Polar Haven

Angela with the Taylor Glacier and Blood Falls in the background.

Dr. Charlee McClellan, the most interesting man in the world

Happy Hour at the Lake Bonney Yacht Club

MAAG Fashion Show

2011-01-08T17:54:00.001-08:00

MC's Phil & Traci

Marty Dukes and his Stupendous Juggling of Doom

MAAG

2011-01-07T23:48:00.001-08:00

MAAG - McMurdo Alternative Art Gallery is one of the funnest parties of the year. It's held in the Carp Shop on Christmas Night. There is art, music, performance art, costumes and this year a fashion show. It is a good time.

This entranceway was my contribution to MAAG this year.

Travis Mooses's "Wolverine" muttonchops

Spsarky's MAAG barbershop

Toby's chainsaw art

Tim Nicotera's sweet submarine

The Jamesway arch see-saw with Shawn Kennedy, Travis Moose and Robin Carrosceau

Moose's carousel in progress in the foreground

Marty Dukes juggling later that night

Eli's bowling alley

Jeremy Stephen's beer suit

Jeremy's Beer Can Toilet Smash Game

Fabio Fabilicio

Michal, Sheri, Joolee and Bill

Mel Li

The awesome barbershop quartet

Dry Valleys

2011-01-07T09:50:00.000-08:00

Mark Farmer, Robin Carroceau and I flew out to the Dry Valleys in the new Kiwi helocopter for a day trip to maintain the polar havens.

An incredible beautiful day

The Canada Glacier

Lake Bonney Camp from above
Lake Bonney Camp

Robin crossing the moat

Blood Falls frpm above

CTBT

2011-01-07T09:45:00.001-08:00

CTBT - ComprehensiveTest Ban Treaty. This site monitors seismic activity from anywhere in the world including earthquakes and nuclear explosians.

We had the warmest day yet out there. Our job was to close out the camp and take down two polar havens. We rode out in two Pisten Bully tracked vehicles. The top speed is 15 mph and it took two hours to get there. two hours to get there, three hours of work and two hours to return. Here is a picture of our lunch. Almost a picnic. I got sun burned on my neck. It happens.

One of the polar havens and the Pisten Bullys

lunchtime

The CTBT building with all the recording instruments

Cosray

2011-01-07T09:36:00.001-08:00

Cosray is the oldest continous research experiment at McMurdo. It has been going since 1962 and is located on the road to Scott Base.

They are measuring nuerons. The tubes are encased in lead and heavy plastic called UMWA to shield out unwanted rays. We had to take everything apart to encase the eperiment in an insulated box so that they can turn the heat off in the building. The experiments put out enough heat on their own.

Here is Aaron Barbee getting the lead out. Each lead ring ways 220 lbs.

The three wind generators visible out the front door of Cosray.

BYRD Deep Field Camp

2010-12-11T19:38:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving dinner

I was on the second flight scheduled to go to BYRD to set up the camp. We ended up being delayed about two and a half weeks and so ended up spending Thanksgiving out there. The five carppenters on the first flight had there hands full. After being delayed they discovered that crates had been blown off the winter berm during the winter. These are very heavy crates. Three crates containing Kuma stoves were completely destroyed. The carps spent three entire days digging boxes out of the snow. Yea, lots of fun. Then they had condition one weather for a couple of days where you can't leave your tent let alone work. They had been there for a total of two weeks when the weather got better and allowed another four of us to come in. The camp was very happy to see us. We were lucky and had pretty good weather and were able to finish setting everything up in a week.

Thanksgiving spread in the galley. Rob and Tom were amazing cooks

Tent City

My tent

One of the outhouses

Setting up Jamesway vestibule

Setting up the "Tweedy" tent

Setting up the Galley RAC tent

The "Chief", the carps warming tent and hang out place

Havoc on the winter berm

BYRD Carps

2010-12-11T18:56:00.000-08:00

Sparky, Laramie, Wyoming

George Harrison, Gunnison, CO

Grey Davis, Sandpoint, Idaho

Kristen Lamberson digging "deadmen"

Rob Holtry, St. Louis, MO, previously Key West

Jeremy Stephens, Wyoming

Ben Satterwhite, Ops GA

Tim Burns, Montana

Kristin Lambertson, aka Sparky

Grey Davis

Rob Holtry

George Harrison

Aaron Barbee

Jeremy Stephens

Carpenters waiting for the Air Force C-130 to take them back to McMurdo

Ob Tube (Observation Tube)

2010-11-22T09:41:00.000-08:00

Robyn with our bikes and the dicovery hut, McMurdo and Ob Hill in the background.

Still trying to fly to BYRD deep field camp after a week of moostly weather delays, but I think that we may actually fly today.

Last friday Robyn C. (also known as Robyn with a "Y", as there are two Robyns/Robins in the Carp Shop who happen to be roommates) and I got a what would normally be an ordinary work order of fixing a window in a fish hut next to the Ob Tube.

It was a beautiful day. We took a shuttle as close as we could get to hut point and then walked down. We investigated the situation and then walked the fifteen minutes back to the Carp Shop. We did this twice and then went to lunch. After lunch Robyn had the idea to bike back to the hut which we did. Pretty nice day already, but it gets better. While we were there, the divers showed up and were preparing to dive and so we went down in the Ob Tube to watch them underwater. We photographed them , and they photographed us. Some days are better than others and this one was amazing. Well, I'm off to BYRD like a prom dress after a quick breakfast in the galley.

Waiting to go in the Ob Tube on a different day.

Robyn and her new seal friend in fish hut #6

The divers getting suited up in their dry suits

My pictures of the divers taken from the Ob Tube

Us inside the Ob Tube. It hangs about twenty feet below the ice. It really is just a big tube. Not thre best picture. You can see Robyn, my hat, but Val is obscured. The tube is not real big. Tight with two, so with three it is a wee bit cozy.

The diver's pictures.

Good work if you can get it!

Seals

2010-11-14T02:10:00.000-08:00

I've been working for a few days in one of the fish huts on the sea ice. These huts have a dive hole where the scuba divers in dry suits can enter the water and study the underwater sea life. It becomes a convenient breathing hole where the seals can come up for air. A few came up to say hello while we were there. Some get scared and make a hasty exit when they see people, but some are not so shy. Damn cute those seals.

Views of Erebus and Other Things

2010-11-14T01:56:00.001-08:00

Open water on the Ross sea. The ice edge is about 19 miles from McMurdo which is pretty close for this time of the year. Photo by Travis Moose

Nick Salava doing work high up. Photo by Travis Moose

Wrecked helocopter on the side of Mt. Erebus. The crash occured in 1971, and no one was hurt. Photo by Travis Moose

Nice photo of the Erebus Ice Tongue by Travis Moose

Erebus from the sea ice

The view of Erebus from Happy Camper

Big Razorback on the sea ice with Erebus in the background. The dot in front of the island is Big Razorback camp which is made up of about four fish huts. The researchers study seals there.

Cape Evans with the road leading to Cape Evans Hut. This was Shackleton's hut. There are two big icebergs protuding from the sea ice in the foreground.

Return to Mt. Erebus

2010-11-14T01:41:00.000-08:00

This has been a great week. I got to go back to Mt. Erebus. Erebus is the most southern active volcano in the world. We were above 13,000 feet, but it wasn't as windy as the last trip.

The Lower Erebus Hut is only a few minutes walk from the fumeroles which are staem vents that create these crazy shapes. Photos by Travis Moose

Me, a fumerole and Erebus

The Lower Erebus Hut

Mt. Erebus - Lower Erebus Hut

2010-10-30T20:15:00.001-07:00

Moose and G. Love working on top of the Lower Erebus Hut

We took a helocopter ride up to the Lower Erebus Hut to open the camp. Now you might think that there would be a Higher Erebus Hut, but you would be disapponted as there is only one. We were just there for the day. The hut sits at 13,000 feet, the temperature was 32 degrees below zero when we there and it got a bit windy in the afternoon.

On the upside it is a pretty cool place. Mt. Erebus is the southern most active volcano in the world. You can see it from town, and the helo ride gives you some great views. Another bonus is that I get to go back this week. It might not be for everyone, but it's a dream job. Graham Love works on top of the the hut while Erebus smokes away in the background.

Travis Moose with wind sock

Concordiasi Take Down

2010-10-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

We were on the sea ice transition to take down one of the Concordiasi Group's Rac Tents. They launched their last balloon of the season

The view out over the sea ice (Ross Sea) from the transition with mill vans for storage in the foreground, the ice runway in the middle ground and the Trans Antarctic mountain range in the background.

McMurdo Station

2010-10-23T21:37:00.001-07:00

McMurdo Station with Ob Hill in the background as viewed from the Hut Point Loop Trail.
Photo by Rosalind Lee

I am about halfway through the season now at McMurdo Station. It has been a good time so far. I arrived here on August 16 at the end of winter on a night passenger flight. I was on the second plane in after no flights since March. Interesting to be here in the dark when it has been contant light the other times that I have been here. There was only five hours of light per day when I first arrived, but now the sun is up all day.

The Carp Shop has been really busy building things to support the scientists. We have been opening up the Dry Valley Camps and are going to be heading out to the various deep field camps for two to three weeks to open them. This year we have BYRD, PIG (Pine Island Glacier), WAIS (West Antarctica Ice Survey, I think), CTAM (Central Trans Antarctica Mountains), and we will also be supporting the South Pole and sending carpenters there. CTAM is a new camp out at the Beardmore Glacier. Most of the deep field camps are flat and white, but CTAM in at the foot of the mountains so it is a bit more scenic. I may get to go there later in the season. I will be returning to BYRD this year for the put-in in about a week. I just found out a couple of days ago that I will be going to open the lower Eribus hut which sits at 13,000 ft. on the side of Mt. Eribus. Mt. Eribus is the southern most active volcano in the world. Not too many people get to go there, so I'm pretty lucky to get this assignment.

Ice People #11

2010-10-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

Angela shows her enthusiasm at the Ice Runway

fuelie Ed and Delta Scharen

G. Love (Grahmn Love) in the Tucker

Jeremy Stevens at the Ice Runway

Jules, Heavy Equipment Operator, at LDB. Jules has been coming to Antarctica for over thirty seasons.

Laura Conchelos in the Shop and her hair twists

Shawn Cornish at the Ice Runway

Nichole at LDB

Freezer Cave

2010-10-23T21:19:00.000-07:00

Digging the freezer cave for the LDB Galley. Makes a great walk in freeezer.

Aaron, Tom, Jeremy and Nichole

Jeremy Nylander and Nichole Lasich at LDB on a very nice day

Fuelies

2010-10-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

Fueli Ed, from Columbus, Ohio, and Delta Scharen at the Ice Runway.

Little Emily fueling the Galley tank at LDB

Closer....

Closer.....

Too close!

The Icecap Jamesway @ the Ice Runway

2010-10-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

The Tucker Snocat

Jamesway boxes and endwalls

Carpenters waiting for Fleet Ops and the Challenger to clear snow so that we can start building the Jamesway.

The footers on which the Jamesway will sit.

The Jamesay frame before it is covered. These Jamesway tents are sixty years old and were previously used in Korea during the Korean War.

Armitage Loop Ski Trail

2010-10-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

Photos by Michael Deany

Scott Base (New Zealand) in the background

Necreous Clouds and the Armitage Loop

Antarctica Snapshots

2010-09-25T14:16:00.001-07:00

Altitude Training and the Gamov Bag

Rec Dep't bikes

Sunset from the Carp Shop

The right tool for the right job

Happy Camper Install

2010-09-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

View from a Tucker

Trace Wright, Jackson, Wyoming

Tom Leard, Boston, Mass.

Tucker with fishhut in background

I-hut outhouse with Castle Rock in background

Installing Happy Camper Outhouse

Moving modular with Challenger

Concordiasi Ballon Launch

2010-09-11T21:01:00.001-07:00

photo by Holly Troy photo by Holly Troy

photo by Holly Troy

Fuels Truck 150 Burnt

2010-09-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

Fuels Truck 150 Burning

2010-09-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

Carp Shop Morning Meeting

2010-09-11T20:33:00.001-07:00

Brad, Paul, John and Kevin

Tim burns, shop foreman; John "Woody" Haywood, supervisor; Geordan "Geo" McQuiston, supervisor

Carpenters

Tim Burns addressing the troops

Ice People: part 10

2010-09-11T20:24:00.001-07:00

Angela Farmer, carpenter; Fairplay, Colorado. Jenny Brower, carpenter assistent.; Clayton, Idaho

Rob Holtry, carpenter foreman; Key West, Florida

Sparky, carpenter helper; Laramie, Wyoming

Sean Cornish, carpenter; Haines, Alaska

Concordiasi

2010-09-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

Necreous Clouds and Sunsets

2010-09-03T19:35:00.000-07:00

Penquins

2010-02-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

On my last day of work before I fly to New Zealand, I heard that there were Adele penquins on the edge of the sea ice next to the waste water treatment plant. So I stole the company truck and took a little look. I've seen penquins from a distance, but never up close. They look like puppies walking around on their hind legs. Damn cute those penquins. Take me now, I am ready to go.

Castle Rock Hike

2010-02-11T08:40:00.001-08:00

I wanted to get one last hike up to Castle Rock in before I left Antarctica. A group of us hiked up last Sunday. It took Jenny, Rick, Evan, Nicole and I about four and a half hours.

On top. You can see the channel in the distance cut by the icebreaker Oden to get into McMurdo Sound.

Jenny, Rick and Nicole. Nicole is a Kiwi down here with the New Zealand army.

View of Mt. Erebus, an active volcano, from the top.

Rick, Jenny, Nicole & Evan

View from the top of the Ross Sea ice shelf with open water in the background.

Heading home with, I believe, Mt. Discovery in the distance.

View of town with open water.

Ice People part 9: Byrd

2010-02-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

Travis Moose, carpenter

Jenny Brower, carpenter helper

John, power plant construction laborer

Josh Rose, carpenter

Sharon

Dave Story, foreman

Byrd Field Camp

2010-02-09T21:14:00.000-08:00

Aerial photo of Byrd Field Camp at put in. Photo by Josh Rose. The long yellow structure is the galley. On the left is the winter berm.

The carpenter crew

The power poles are about all that is left after the tent structures are taken down.

Antarctica landscape with a defunct tower in the background.

View of tent city (where we sleep) on a particularly blowy day.

Some carps. Josh, Thaona, Jenny and Jeremy.

The Galley take down

Inside the Galley for morning meeting.

My tent.

A sundog

The chief, sort of a warming hut/hang out place for the carps.

Home at last

The winter berm. Where everything is staged for the next season.

Shop Projects

2010-01-27T23:55:00.001-08:00

Most of the priojects that we get to build aren't that interesting, but sometimes you can get some good ones. Here are two that I worked on. This is an insulated water pump box. They wanted it to be fun, so I obliged them.

Nicole made the mail room sign, and I supplied the penquin that will go on top of it.

Icebreaker Oden

2010-01-27T23:41:00.000-08:00

The Oden with Hut Point in the foreground

The Swedish icebreaker Oden has arrived. It comes in January every year to break the ice so that the tanker and the cargo vessel can get in and unload. I was too lazy to go out and take pictures, but my friend Jenny Brower took these very nice shots.

The tanker and the vessel only come once a year, so it is a big deal. We do get some cargo by airplane, but most of it is on the ships. A huge amount of cargo comes in, and then a huge amount of garbage, etc. goes out.

I am leaving tomorrow for the BYRD deep field camp. it is another flat, white place in the middle of nowhere. Myself and about six other carps will be closing down the camp. Byrd is an old camp that was last active there maybe eight years ago. The original camp which was built underground, or under snow, is still there maybe 75 feet below, although it is slowly being crushed by the weight of the ice and snow. They don't let you go down there because it is too dangerous. Anyway the entrance is buried under probably twenty feet of snow.

The Oden at the Ice Pier with McMurdo station in the background. The pier is literally achunk of ice covered with a layer of gravel.

Hut Point

2010-01-25T16:02:00.000-08:00

A view of McMurdo Station from Hut Point.McMurdo Station from with Ob Hill.

The hill at Hut Point

Trevor and friend

Hut Point cross overlooking the ice pier and McMurdo Station.

Overlooking the Ross Sea.

Lisa and Trevor, fuelies.

Looking for whales and penquins.

AGAP

2010-01-17T18:00:00.001-08:00

Leaving the South Pole on a Twin Otter. We were going to take down the AGAP camp. The purpose of AGAP was to map by using airplanes and radar the Gamburtsev Mountain Range under the Ice Sheet. The Gamburtsevs are suppose to be as big as the Alps. This was the third and last year for the project. AGAP is the highest, coldest and most remote of all the US deep field camps. Last year a couple of carps were stranded there for over two weeks. If a plane comes, get on it - no matter where it is going

Before takeoff

After Takeoff

Nichole and her unbridled enthusiasm.

Shadow of the Twin Otter with a double sundog. Actually a triple sundog, but you can't see the third ring in this picture.

Myself incognito at AGAP

AGAP sits at around 12,000 feet. The body gets less oxygen so we have to monitor our oxygen level in our blood and also our heartrate. Mine was pretty good. usually my oxygen level was between 92 and 94. My heartrate was usually in the 50's and 60's. Most peoples were in the 80's and 90's. I still had problems sleeping some nights, and one night I only slept about two hours and felt like I couldn't get enough air. Not the most comfortable feeling. This is Laura with the Pulse/Ox machine. She is a carpenter at the Pole.

Laura and Nichole sucking on oxygen in the medical tent.

dismantling one of the Polar Havens.

Dismantling the Galley RAC tent.

Kevin and Jeremy posing against an artistically pleasing Jamesway endwall.

Snowmobiles are use for transportation and hauling things.

Sometimes it takes five carpenters to close a stubborn Jamesway box and one to photograph it.

The Galley RAC tent.

Polar Haven take down.

Nichole and Laura

Laura shoveling out around a Jamesway. Jamesways were used for berthing the campstaff and the researchers.

The NSF now requires us to wear helmets when riding snowmobiles. One size does not fit all.

Nichole holding up the Jamesway arches while they are being dissasembled.

Galley RAC tent.

Tent City with my tent in the foreground. Very comfortable inside. Summer camping.

Staging on the winter berm. This is the last year for AGAP. Some of the stuff flew back to McMurdo on the plane with us, but most of it will be left on the berm for at least a year to be picked up and later traversed overland back to McMurdo. Maybe.

AGAP showing the cargo line with one tent left standing. As things wound down, it was the galley, coms, medical for twelve people. One group left at three pm on friday. The other group (three carps and five camp staff) was scheduled to be picked up at midnight, but actually didn't fly out until 4 am. They had a very long day starting at 7 am and ending at 4 am. As they say, it's a harsh continent. If they had been unable to get piced up then, they would have had to wait until monday.

Waiting for the Herc to take us back to McMurdo. "If a plane comes, get on it."

The Air National Guard out of Schenectady, NY preparing the ramp to take on cargo.

Loading cargo using the Tucker Snocat.

Flying over the Transantarctic Mountains on the way back to McMurdo. It's good to be home.

The Pole

2010-01-17T17:48:00.000-08:00

The ceremonial pole with the South Pole Station behind.

The pole with a tourist plane behind. It's one of KBA's (Ken Borak Air from Calgary, Canada) Basslers.

Summer Camp with the station behind.

South Pole frisbee golf course "hole" with scenic fuel tank.

South Pole frisbee golf course "hole" inside old arches near the cargo line.

South Pole Station

2010-01-07T18:02:00.000-08:00

Scheduled to fly to AGAP tomorrow, but worked this morning putting siding on the roof of the station. Today was sunny but windy. It was around nine below with 16 knot winds. With the windchill it works out to about 30 below. You have to bundle up especially on your face. I wore ski goggles that fit over some polar fleece that covers your nose and upper cheeks. Then you have a neck gator that covers your chin and lower cheeks but leaves your mouth open. You have to tape over the openings in the bottom of your goggles to keep them from getting filled with condensation. On top of that you have a heavy protective harness, a hard hat, kneepads and a tool belt. You're carrying a bit of weight. Its kindof like if you decided to wear half the clothes in your closet all at once. It is amazing how quickly you get use to it all. The hardest part is that you have to take it all off and put it back on for breaks and lunch.

Screwing down the panels on the roof.

The night shift carpenters taking apart the dome (the old station)

The ceremonial South Pole with the station in the background. The actual pole moves a little bit each year.

Next flight out.

The South Pole would normally have some of the cleanest air in the world, except for the fact that there is a lot of fuel burned here every day.

The Station

Second floor hallway of the station.

The stations galley.

Entrance to medical.

Exterior door to the cargo deck. They're just big freezer doors with plastic strips like you'd find at your local grocers.

Another freezer door.

Research: The 10 Meter South Pole Telescope. They're looking for dark matter. Don't ask me what dark matter is, they don't even know, but they do know it exists.

Another research project is IceCube. They are looking for nuetrinos by drilling one kilometer deep holes using hot water and then dropping round instruments called "DOM"s on cables into the holes. This array is one kilometer by one kilometer by one kilometer, hence the name "IceCube".

About sixty DOMs go into each hole.

One of the IceCube holes witha DOM going down.

South Pole

2010-01-05T17:06:00.000-08:00

South Pole Station

I am at the South Pole. We, myself and about six other carpenters, are on our way to AGAP deep field camp to take it down. AGAP is the highest US camp and so we have to acclimatize for at least three days here before heading to AGAP.

The South Pole sits at about 10, 000 feet. AGAP sits higher at between 11 and 12,000 feet, but because of fluctuations in barometric pressure here, it can feel like 16,000 feet. Shortness of breath, headaches, tiredness and other symptons can affect you. Some people's bodies handle it better than others. I've had no problems since arriving at the Pole, but we'll see what happens at AGAP. Did I mention that it is a lot colder at AGAP? You have to usually cover every inch of your face one way or another.

Yesterday, we toured the ice tunnels where all the water pipes, waste pipes, etc. run under the snow. It is a constant 68 degrees below zero down there. That is cold. Today, we are going to tour IceCube in which they search for nuetrinos. Very small stuff those nuetrinos. We also get to go to the radar telescope where they search for dark matter. One of my friends calls it imaginary science.

South Pole Station, closer......

closer......

closer still......

closest! These are the carpenters putting up the last bits of siding to the station that was started in 2001.

Summer Camp where transients like us stay. It is about a quarter mile from the station. We sleep here, but eat our meals in the station. There is not enough room for everyone to stay in the station.

Nichole and Casey coming out of the jamesway at summer camp. Casey is the foreman for our group at AGAP.

The Dome is being dismantled. This was the second station at the South Pole. It was built in the early seventies. The first station is buried under the ice.

The dome is made of triangles of aluminum.

At this point, it looks like something came along and took a big bite out of it.

ICESTOCK

2010-01-02T13:21:00.000-08:00

Icestock is an annual concert with a lot of music , dancing and of fun. Twelve bands in six hours.

DJ (ninja) and Karen (robot). Spouses fighting on opposite sides. More on that later.

Porn Spill. A great funk band. Great to dance to. They were the closing band.

The Cute Patrol

MJB. One of my favorites.

DJ the ninja wearing Karen's robot head.

The view from the stage

Band Lineup

Their name wasn't memorable, but their music was.

Bodie and Seth aka ninjas

Parade of the sweet robotic devices

Robot dance

Aftermath of the ninja attack on the robots

Helen, shuttles, and her hula hoop.

The Ukeladies

Ice People part 8 : Icestock

2010-01-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

Zac, fuelie

Seth and Lisa, fuelies

Sean, carpenter

DJ, fuelie

Nichole, carpenter apprentice

Molly, fulie; Josh, carpenter; Kelly, fulie; and Emily, fuels foreman

Marsha, VMF supply and Kyle, power plant operator

Geordan, carpenter supervisor and his wife Sam, air support

New Years, AGAP & the Pole

2009-12-31T23:05:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve Here last night. A group of us walked to Scott Base (the New Zealand base) last night and took a shuutle back. It's about two miles away, but a nice walk. The green buildings are Scott Base.

Tomorrow is Icestock. Icestock is a big outdoor concert with about fourteen bands that goes all afternoon. The Carp Shop has a fish hut where we dispense free coffee with Baileys. Our coffe is very popular. Last year was a bit chilly, but this year will be quite a bit warmer.

Flying out to AGAP on monday on a Twin Otter. It is one of the most remote camps we have. It is the highest except for some Russian camp. AGAP sits at 11,700 feet. But because of the air pressure anamolies that we have down here, it is the same as being at 16,000 feet. The best part is that because you need to acclimatize before going there, we have to hang out for three days at the South Pole Station which sits at 10,000 feet. Yeaaaaaaaaaa! So I get to go the South Pole. A lot of people don't get the chance to go so it's a great opportunity.

The research being done at AGAP involves mapping a mountain range sitting way below the ice sheet. They fly around in airplanes bouncing waves through the ice off the mountains below. supposedly these mountains are as big as the Alps. I will be gone for at least two weeks. More Antarctic camping. It will be sweet.

These are the new wind generators up on T-Site that are visible from the road to Scott Base. They are a US-New Zealand joint venture.

Women of the Carp Shop

2009-12-31T22:43:00.000-08:00

Last year I had taken an impromptu picture of the women of the carp shop when they just happened too sit all in a row one morning for tasking. This morning Sheri asked if I would take one this year. Missing a couple. Meghan left in December to start Nursing School in Idaho. Jenny Brower from Clayton, Idaho is out at WAIS Divide getting ready to go on a traverse with the CreSIS researchers. Not sure exactly what they are researching.

From left to right: Erica Bribiesca, GA (general assistent) from Austin Texas. She was lured down here by her boyfriend Eric who is the carpenter foreman at WAIS Divide. This is her first year. Lauren Rocco, GA from Michigan in her first year. Sheri Fabre, carpenter from Maine. Eighth or tenth year. I don't think she even knows. She's here with her carpenter boyfriend Galen. They are leaving on monday to go surfing in New Zealand. Nichole Lasich, a carpenter assistent in her third year, worked as an emergency room nurse before she came down here. Her third year. Thaona Sinclair, second year, carpenter apprentice from MaCall, Idaho. Monica Adam, carpenter helper from Moose Pass, Alaska. Third year. Monica came down last year with her husband, but he stayed home this year.

Painless Dentistry

2009-12-31T22:36:00.000-08:00

Only the best in modern Dentistry down here. Cath, our resident dentist from Austraila, is up on all the current trends in the business.

Lauren Blue Hands

2009-12-30T01:02:00.001-08:00

Lauren came up to me the other day in the Carp Shop and said, "Hey, what do use to clean up oil base paint?" Seems she thought that she was using latex paint, but when she went to clean the brushes, discovered otherwise. Poor Lauren.

MAAG

2009-12-30T00:11:00.000-08:00

Disco Dance Bar

MAAG, McMurdo Alternative Art Gallery, is an annual party that has been held in the Carp Shop for the last two years. We totally transform the shop into an art space for all different kinds of art. People are encouraged to let their creative side come out and do whatever they want, however they want. There is some wild and crazy stuff.

Tim Nicotera's plywood suit jacket

Little Meat Cabin on the Prarie

Abstract #2, actually the top of the paint room work table

Galen's Bacon Santa

The Disco Dance Bar extravaganza.

Galen and I built an entire room onto the exterior deck of the shop. We filled it with a bar, a mirror ball, black lights, colored lights, fans, a strobe light, day-glo colors. We served a concoction of champagne, vodka and tonic water. Tonic water contains quinine which glows under black light. It was a fun, fun, fun time. I left at 11:30., the Disco Dance Bar was hopping till four in the morning with disco and funk music blasting away.

Jim Rupple, Shop Foreman, in the Disco Dance Bar

Day-Glo bar

The exterior space in the light of day that was turned into the Disco Dance Bar. It was completely taken apart in two hours.

What's a Disco Dance Bar without a pair of zebra skin platform shoes?

Anna, Cricket and Jade's opening act of living puppets

Mel painting people Kelly, and other people, blue.

Jeremy and Woody on the giant seesaw made out of Jamesway parts

Sean's giant Newton's balls

The bowling alley building is almost completely torn down, but these bowling balls will live on in Sean's work

Long Christmas Week

2009-12-29T23:47:00.000-08:00

Upper Case Dorms: 209, 208, 207

210 and 211 (My Dorm with snow). It snowed some this past week which really made it feel like Christmas time. As Ive said before, it doesn't snow as much down here as you'd think, so when it does, it's pretty nice.

It has been a long week and a half. Last tuesday I came down with a cold which meant that I missed most of the Christmas festivities - and there were a lot. I missed the Waste Barn party, the VMF CHristmas party, Christmas dinner, etc. Not the best way to spend Christmas. There are about 1200 people here. We all eat in the same galley, and we come into contact with a lot of people through work, etc. Colds and flus tend to get picked up fairly easily no matter how hard you try to stay well.

But the one thing that I wanted to go to was MAAG on Dec.25. MAAG stands for McMurdo Alternative Art Gallery. I was well enough to attend. Wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Some other dorms

Ice People part 7

2009-12-19T13:17:00.000-08:00

This is Molly. The fulies had a Mexican themed birthday party for Nate (Molly's boyfriend). People love to dress up down here.

DJ.

Birthday boy Nate. His 34th

Emily

Kelly and Emily

Castle Rock Ski Loop

2009-12-19T12:55:00.000-08:00

Becky and Meghan. Meghan just left the Ice early because she got accepted into nursing school in Boise, Idaho starting January.

The Kiwis have a small ski area with a rope tow. Most southern ski area in the world. I did three runs. The Castle Rock Ski Loop goes right by it.

Robert, Flip, Don, Deany and Jules. A lot of people ski or hike the loop on Sundays. Beautiful scenery. A good place to go to get away from people - but you wouldn't know it from this picture. There is a bit of hiking before you can ski. The trail up to Castle Rock is pretty hard packed, so you might as well walk.

Me on the road from the trail end at Scott Base back to McMurdo

Castle Rock. You can climb it. The little red hut in the distance is called an "apple" or a "tomato". There are two of them on the Castle Rock Loop. They are emergency shelters with food, sleeping bags and a phone for if weather turns bad or if someone gets hurt. We are allowed to use them as a rest stop. It's nice to stop and have some water, a snack or a beer. Jules, the skier on the left in the foreground, skis the loop every Sunday and has been coming down here to McMurdo for thirty years. Shes a heavy equipment operator and was one of the first women to work at McMurdo. As you can imagine, she has some great stories.

Penquins

2009-12-19T12:40:00.001-08:00

Penquins, all dresses up and no place to go. I have not seen any penquins this year, and I only saw two far away last year. These pictures are by other people. The fuelies were working on the Pegusus Road fuel hose when six penquins strolled up. Pretty damn cute those penquins. You are not allowed to interact with them, but sometimes they come up on their own. They don't usually come into town, but if the ice edge comes all the way to McMurdo, we will see lots of penquins and whales, too. We've had a pretty warm season this year, and the ice edge has gotten close. We' see what happens.

The Dry Valleys

2009-12-12T12:23:00.000-08:00

Flew out by helocopter to Taylor Valley in the Dry Valleys for some Polar Haven maintenance on the lake ice. This consisted of leveling the tent platforms and replacing the deadman by drilling new holes in the ice for the ropes. Deadman are the tie-downs to keep the Polar Havens from blowing away. We had to get in and out of the helos about five different times. Great scenery pus it was a warm day without any wind. I was working most of the day in a t-shirt and a thermal. There were three carpenters. Galen, Sheri and myself pus Dawn. Dawn is the head of Housing and had never been on a helocopter before. Great place for your first time. Some weather was coming in and we thought that we might have to spend the night, which is not necissarily a bad thing. Beautiful place to get stuck. We were able to fly home afterall, and it was a great day.

Flying over the Ferrar Glacier with the Overflow Glacier in the distance. There are a ridiculous amount of glaciers down here.

Taylor Glacier and Blood Falls. The falls are colored by iron in the glacier. Appropriately named since glaciers are actually rivers of ice and snow. They just flow really, really slow.

Polar Haven

Becky and Rae, Lake Hoare camp managers. Good people.

Sheri at Lake Hoare with the Canada Glacier in the background. The structure on the right is the main building/kitchen/galley/etc. The smaller buildings are for research. I am not really sure what kind of research goes on here, but I do know that you are paying for it

Canada Glacier at Lake Hoare. The edge of the glacier is about 200' high

My Typical Day

2009-12-07T21:59:00.000-08:00

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

Ice People part 6

2009-12-07T21:52:00.000-08:00

Jim Ruppel, carp shop foreman, sitting in the Telehandler

Terry Smalls, with a Delta shuttle on the road to Pegusus Runway

Jack, a lineman from southern Ohio working at Pegusus

Skiing and other pictures

2009-12-07T00:02:00.001-08:00

Carpenter at work

Skimobile transport

Seeing the Byrd traverse off. Rick and Ben drove a Tucker Snowcat and a snowmobile 80 miles from WAIS Divide to Byrd camp in about twelve hours

Outhouses. Four, no waiting.

Erica resting - she's from Texas, and it was her first time skiing ever. She did really well.

Erica and Jenny skiing near the skiway (runway)

Ice Core Drilling

2009-12-06T23:55:00.001-08:00

Me in the drilling trench . The purpose of the trench is so that there is room for the drilling tower. The building itself is not tall enough. The trench is approximately 5 feet wide by 60+ feet deep. Because the snow pushes in over time, we had to use electric chainsaws to carve the snow back so that the drilling tower can swing freely.

Bess preparing the ice cores for shipping. The ice cores slip inside a webbing and then go inside a plastic bag. The whole thing is then put in a metal cylinder. Four of these go into one box where snow is used as a packing material. The ice cores are shipped all the way back to the US by plane and ship. They are kept at a constant temperature the whole way.

The scientists are not studying the ice so much as the trapped air bubbles in the ice. This allows them to study the composition of the atmosphere at a given time. They have drilled roughly a mile a down this pont, and will go about two miles total. When they are done, they will have a record going back to between 100,000 to 125,000 years ago.

Bruce, head ice core handler, for lack of a better title

From within the drilling trench

Ice cores in the storage "basement" where they are kept around 22 degrees below zero farenheit

Tent City

2009-12-06T23:53:00.000-08:00

My Tent - brand name "Artic Oven" made in Alaska

The town and cargo line with tent city to the left

Inside the Galley

2009-12-06T23:50:00.001-08:00

Morning stretching

Thanksgiving Dinner

Ice People part4 WAIS Divide

2009-12-05T16:27:00.000-08:00

Marty Dukes, painter, juggler and carny

Jason, heavy equipment operator (post snowmobile ride)

Jenny Brower. Jenny teaches fifth graders in her home state of Idaho. She came to work in Antarctica because it's an easier job.

Building WAIS Divide Field Camp

2009-12-05T16:14:00.000-08:00

Polar Chief - carpenter's warming tent

Just got back from WAIS Divide where I had a great time. It took two weeks of delays to get there, but we finally arrived. We were lucky in that day was sunny and beautiful so it made it aesy to put up our tents. The weather quickly changed by the next day to be colder and much windier. The temperatures ranged between 5 degrees farenheit to -4 degrees farenheit. There was a really good group of carpenters there and we put everything up fairly quickly. It took a little over a week to get the town set up. There was a galley mod and tent, a rec/wash room mod and tent, a coms (communication) tent, a science tent, a medical tent, the KBA tent (KBA stands for Ken Borak Air. They are out of Calgary, Canada and fly the small planes for us in Antarctica.), There were also two Jamesway tents used for sleeping. The Jamesways are circa 1951 military tents. This may be the only place in the world that still uses them. They are slowly being phased out.

Science RAC Tent

Galley RAC Tent - floors

KBA Polar Haven & Medical RAC Tent

Moving the galley modular from the winter berm to town

Jamesway pieces

Galley RAC tent handstand

Galley RAC tent with Hercules C-17 in the background

Galley RAC tent just before the yellow "blankets" were put on

Galley RAC tent group photo

Ice people part3

2009-11-17T11:21:00.001-08:00

Caleb is a carpenter from Fairbanks Alaska. A lot of people here come from Alaska.

Aaron is a carpenter from Florida who is here with his wife Michelle. Last year he was a painter. They'll work in Alaska this summer.

Sheri and Galen. Just a couple of crazy carpenter/surfers. He is from California, and she is from Maine. They have been coming down here forever.

Skua

2009-11-17T11:11:00.000-08:00

Skuas hang out looking for food. They dive bomb the unwary coming out of the galley with food trays. It is a great form of entertainment.

Because of the carp shop barbecues that we hold on the the deck, skuas think that it is agood place to hang out. Closest thing we have to a dog down here.

View of cargo storage in the Snow Dump. Snow may have been dumped there before, but not anymore. The name stayed. There is also a storage area called the ballfield, which I thought was just a euphenism, however baseball is actually played there. Last year the carp shop won the tournament. There were five medivacs from that game. Medivac means that an injury requires you to be sent on a five hour flight to New Zealand. Ice people work hard and play even harder.

Lisa's Photos

2009-11-16T11:20:00.000-08:00

Peeling paint and snow on Delta Sharon (a vehicle)

Fuel tank on the Ross Sea ice

Peeling paint with a view

Fuel tank with Delta Sharon reflection

Shovel handle with a view

These photos taken by Lisa Keller, a lead fuels operator, or fuelie as they are known down here.

It's A Harsh Continent, Ya Know

2009-11-14T12:15:00.000-08:00

Hut Point with Scott's Hut in the foreground and McMurdo Station behind. The four large dark buildings are the Upper Case dorms.

John, Karen, Mel and Lisa

Karen and Lisa at Hut Point with Ob (Observation) Hill visible in the background.

Saturday evening started with a small gathering in my dorm room with Karen and Lisa conducting a research experiment vital to the ongoing health and morale of McMurdo Station workers. It was a complete success.

There was a big snowstorm Saturday on station with lots of wind and blowing snow. But the great part was that it was really warm and fairly wet which was unusual. It was a bit like the Northeastern/Midwestern snowstorms of home. Lots of people were out playing in it with snowball fights, etc. Even though you would think that it snows all the time down here, it doesn't much in the summer. The ground usually consists of hard pack snow and ice, so this was a real treat.

After our research was done, some of us hiked to Hut Point. It is a short hike that goes to Scott's Hut out on the edge of the Ross Sea. Along the way Mel wanted to lay down in the deep, powdery snow, so we did. It's fine to lay down in the snow here, better if you do it on purpose and better yet if you eventually get up.

Scott's Hut is a historic monument administered by the New Zealand Historic Trust along with two other huts further away. It is preserved as it was in the early 1900's when the explorers Scott and Shackleton used it, although at different times. Scott was beaten by about a month to be the first man to make it to the South Pole by Amundsen. On Scott's return after this disappointment, he and a few others lay down in the snow and did not get up. Of course, a lot of things are named after him down here, because that is what we do. Scott Base, the New Zealand Research Station , is only two miles from McMurdo.

After the hike some of us took a sauna. Yes, we have a sauna. One sauna for 1200 people.

Ice People part 2

2009-11-13T21:26:00.000-08:00

John is a carpenter who worked with me tearing up the bowling alley. He's Austrailian but now lives in New Zealand and will be working at the South Pole dismantling the Dome which is the old research station there. His wife Isabelle, a metal worker, is also here.

Erika is a carpenter helper who will be joining her boyfriend Eric at Wais Divide. Eric is the carpenter foreman there.

Josh Rose, aka Sticky, is a carpenter here for his third season. HIs parents run a maple syrup operation in Vermont.

Blowing Snow

2009-11-13T20:56:00.000-08:00

It is crazy windy and snowy out today, but warm. I'm still waiting to go to WAIS Divide. We have been delayed by weather for a week and a half. We are now scheduled for monday. These are pictures from last year when I was at Siple Dome. Siple Dome is a refueling stop for airplanes about 500 miles from McMurdo. It is pretty small with a 2 or 3 person crew and a runway. It is 360 degrees of flat white. Wais Divide is also flat and white but is a much bigger camp. I was at Siple Dome for a week last year. There were about seven or eight carpenters there, and our main job was to dig out the Jamesway and move it. A Jamesway is a World War Two/Korean War era enclosure like the ones you see on the old MASH TV show. These things are over fifty years old but still perform great. They dissasemble and set up easily. They are slowly being phased out and replaced with a newer type shelter called a RAC tent. RAC tents have a similar look to Jamesways. Anything that sits out here will drift over with snow. Some tents are taken down each year. Some aren't. The ones that aren't have to be dug out approximatey every three years or so and moved to higher ground. It's a lot of work. It took us two days just to dig this one out with probably five or six people working all day. We lucked out in that the weather was unusually warm. A lot of the time I worked in just a thermal shirt and sweater. Pants optional. The best nights sleep I've ever had in a tent was here at Siple Dome. I was there for Christmas. I went out cross country skiing, came back for drinks and a lamb dinner. Then a nice long nap. Not too shabby.

Siple Dome field camp

My tent at Siple Dome

Waiting On WAIS Divide

2009-11-07T19:26:00.001-08:00

Today is Sunday. We are one day ahead and six hours behind Eastern Standard Time right now. If it is noon Sunday here, it is six pm Sat. in Cincinnati. I am emailing you from the future, put it looks pretty much just like the past. Everyone loves Sun. because it is most peoples only day off. There is a big brunch on Sundays from 10:30 till 1:00. People go skiing, hiking, or just relax and watch movies. A lot of people have been out late on Sat. night blowing off steam after a 54 hour/six day work week. There are two bars and a coffeehouse/wine bar which is a nice alternative to the bars. There is a huge amount of carpenters this year, although some have already left for the south pole. We topped out at 65, but there will probably be less than a handful here during the winter. One of the things that the carps do is put in, maintain and take out the deep field camps. I am probably leaving tuesday for the WAIS Divide field camp put in and will be gone at least two weeks. It is about 800 miles from McMurdo out on the West Antarctica ice sheet. I think WAIS stands for West Antarctica Ice Survey. It is where the researchers drill deep and take ice core samples as a record of changes in Antarctica. It is a 3 1/2 hour ride on a air force Hercules (or Herc) C-17 prop plane. I flew out of Christchurch, NZ on a bigger C-130 airforce jet. They are basically big, loud military cargo planes. We were suppose to leave a week ago to go to WAIS, but we keep getting delayed because of weather. There is a lot of hurry up and wait going on here. I may or may not be flying this Tuesday. I'll be there for 2-3 weeks or longer. Sometimes because of bad weather you can get stuck at field camps for a long, long time. It is advisable to bring along a good book, some good beer or both.

Ice People

2009-11-07T19:05:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of great people down here. There are just some of the people I work with. Lauren is a carp helper in the carpenter shop. She always has a big smile and a laugh to go with it. People wear a lot of fun hats here.

DJ is a fuelie. A fulie lays hose, fills tanks, etc. Fuelies are pretty important because everything in McMurdo including the powerplant, vehicles and planes run on fuel. In his other life DJ is a graphic designer in Atlanta.

Mel is the fuels coordinator here,. but back in LA she is a masseuse. This picture was taken after the Halloween party where she went dressed as "Mystique", one of the X-men characters. She was entirely blue. Ice people like to have fun.

The Last Bowler in Antarctica

2009-11-07T18:53:00.000-08:00

I've had an interesting couple of days at work. Because the building where it was housed was condemned last year, I've been taking apart the bowling alley to put it in storage for future re-use. The alley is two lanes and was built in 1961 by the Brunswick company and is one, if not the only, hand set bowling alley still in use in the world. It is the end of an era and a lot of people are pretty sad to see it go, but it hopefully will be reasembled in the future. I and another carpenter were the last persons to bowl on these lanes before it was dismantled. Demolition is always fun, but this was a rare treat. Kind of like taking a big, wooden puzzle apart. The top picture is of the mechanical pin setter that volunteers would load after each throw. Slightly dangerous job as you don't want to be standing there when a ball hits the pins, but hey, this is a harsh continent as they say down here.

Ice carving

2009-10-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

This is Sheri and Jeremy carving an octopus out of a chunk of ice that was pulled out of the Ross Sea ice when the sea ice road was being groomed at the beginning of the season. There is a lot of creativity in the carpenter shop. Besides working really hard, we also have a lot of fun.

View from the carp shop

2009-10-24T13:46:00.001-07:00

The Carpenter Shop is up on a hill with some of the best views of McMurdo, the Ross Sea Ice and the mountains and glaciers beyond. Sometimes you forget what a beautiful place this is, but you only have to walk outside to remind yourself why you're here. Some days you can see forever while other days all you can see is white.

Arriving on the Ice

2009-10-24T13:11:00.000-07:00

After a ten day trip to get here, it was good to be back and see old friends. It takes that long to get here because there are three days of training in Denver, a fourteen hour plane ride to Sydney, Austraila, and then a three hour trip to Christchurch, New Zealand. You stay in Christchurch for two nights and pick up your ECW (emergency cold weather gear). Sometimes because of weather or mechanical problems you get delayed and have to stay an extra day or two in Christchurch which is a nice little vacation. I've been lucky, last year I was delayed for five days, this year for two. Finally arrived in Antarctica, or on the Ice as they say here, in early October after a five hour military C-17 flight.

The plane actually lands on the permanent ice shelf of the Ross Sea at the Pegusus Runway. Pegusus was named after a plane that crashed down here some time ago. They tend to name things here after people or things that have died. The runway is actually a groomed layer of snow over the sea ice.