New in town

First things first. If ever my wicked motion sickness was going to be a factor I guessed it would be on a flight on a military plane to Antarctica. So I made sure I was hydrated, well-rested and full of my favorite motion sickness meds from PCC.

I can finally say hello from Antarctica! I made it safe and sound. We flew on a US Air Force C-17 from McChord AFB (near Tacoma). It was fun chatting with the pilots about that. They were happy to get 3 weeks worth of flying time to and from Antarctica to give them a break from going overseas into much warmer climates. Here is a pic from me in the flight deck. I look constipated because I am sitting near some important looking things. It was the wildest view I've ever seen. Flying south to Antarctica and all you see is white. The cockpit was huge as was the rest of the plane.Notice the cargo behind all the people. We sat facing each other (ala Graviton) with earplugs and sack lunches. It was quite the ride. Noisy but surprisingly comfortable. About 2 hrs into the nearly 6 hr flight it started getting really cool and I never took my beefy parka off after that.

The folks in red are working for the US Antarctic Program. The folks in orange in the front are working for the New Zealand Antarctic Program. They are very nice folks and they will be working out of the Kiwi base (Scott Base) about 3 miles (round trip) from McMurdo.

The first 5 minutes of my time here made the whole trip worth it. We landed at Pegasus air strip, basically a landing strip on sea ice. Later in the summer there is an ice runway that is used. A frigid blast of -33 degree air hit my face as I stepped off the plane. The sea ice looked like a valley with stunning mountains sourrounding us in the distance (the Royal Society Range). My mouth was wide open. McMurdo sits on Ross Island. The sea ice covers McMurdo Sound which then becomes the Ross Sea to the North. In the summer the sea ice will melt (some) and vessels will enter (via Winter Quarters Bay) to deliver supplies to the station. Part of it will stay frozen enough to skate ski, snowmobile and even run on.

They rushed us pretty quickly to the shuttle so I'll have to take some better pictures in upcoming weeks. But it was a cold shock to the system for sure. I sat there a little stunned that I was finally here...a childhood dream coming true. Looking around it was almost more beautiful than my eyes were prepared for. But I tried to play it cool.

Here is Mt. Discovery, named after Robert F. Scott's ship. Mt. Terror and Mt. Erebus were behind me and just as glorius. Frozen islands (Black Island and White Island) were off to my left but due to the frozen sea ice they looked like part of the land.

I already saw my first patients in the physical therapy clinic. Lots of folks wintered-over and are very glad to be seeing the sun again. The PT clinic has all the amenities (well, not the 1 o'clock brew -- shout out to RPT). But it is suprisingly well-equipped if not a little circa 1980. It is really interesting to talk to folks. Everyone has a different reason for being here and there are a lot of stories to hear. There were some Category 1 storms this winter (the worst) and with wind chill the temps were more than -100 degrees. At that same time the generators needed some work so people were having to minimize use of electricity to an extreme, all the while in total darkness. I'll take the summer thankyouverymuch!

In a few days I will go to Scott Base (the Kiwi Base) to introduce myself. It is "America night" on Thursdays there. It's a time to socialize with our Kiwi friends. I'm going to walk there just to see how it goes. It might be chilly but I'll be bundled up. I am more and more impressed with the polar explorers every day!