Thanksgiving and The South Pole

A few of us went for a ski today. The original plan was to ski the roughly 9-11 miles (depending on who you talk to) from Cape Evans (dropped off by a vehicle) back to McMurdo. But the sea ice is softening as the weather starts to warm so the last few miles to Cape Evans had to be nixed. We had a great skate ski on an absolutely stellar day after feasting on a huge Thanksgiving meal prepared by the very hardworking kitchen staff. I can't lie. We feast here pretty much every day. The chefs are amazing. Some of them work at wineries or bed and breakfasts back home. So they don't mess around. It's quite lovely really. We gorged and some of our New Zealand friends came over to join us. For some of them it was their first Thanksgiving meal and they were intrigued and very much enjoyed the festivities. While skiing off some calories we eventually came upon some penguin tracks. And then the penguins found us. Last time I saw Emperor penguins. This time there were about 14 Adelie penguins. They are much smaller and act a lot like little kids. They dart around and fall forward and are hilarious to watch. The Emperors were much more stoic and in control of their emotions.

These curious little guys came right up to check us out. They were not quite sure who these big red giants were on their skis.

It felt a lot like watching little kids at a playground. There were some that were very disciplined and some who liked to push the limits. But pushing what set of rules I can't say. They have a lot of freedom to roam and some beautiful terrain to cover.

These are seals. Even though they look like rocks. They don't do a whole lot except sun and warm up when above the ice. Below the ice is apparently where they do all their work. Once they are fed they go back topside. I need to take a lesson on how to relax from these masters.

The pressure ridges over by Scott Base are fun to walk around. They are where the sea ice meets the Ross Ice Shelf (or where the "fast" ice meets the "slow" ice). Huge crevasse-like ridges form creating dramatic features where there will soon be open water. In fact the melt pool below shows where the sea ice is becoming more like the sea and less like the ice.

Apparently in a few months this will be open water and there is the possibility of seeing whales in these waters. If we get lucky. Some years people spot them and I'm hoping this is one of those years.

I was lucky last week to get to go to the South Pole station to treat some people up there. "Up there" rather than "down there" because it's an elevation gain of about 10,000 feet (depending on the barometric pressure). The flight to the Pole is quite dramatic. Over the Transantarctic Mountains, above the Beardmore glacier and over the polar plateau to 90 degrees South latitude. The polar plateau is quite stunning and is really an endless plateau. In fact, it feels alot like being on the ocean. An ice ocean.

The temperatures were cold on an entirely new level at the Pole. The station used to be housed as individual buildings in a Dome to protect it from the wind. This Dome is being taken down this year (parts of it are going to a museum). The new station replaced it in 2005 and it is very nice. The gym and workout facilities are particularly popular. It is wonderful to have a getaway like this gym when the temperature outside isn't so pleasant for exercise. At least at McMurdo there are some hikes and outdoor running/skiing available. Not so much at the Pole. At the Pole it's skiing or walking for a short period of time followed by a hot, albeit short (2 min), shower.

The folks at the Pole work very hard in cold conditions. I was happy to help them as much as I could with their musculoskeletal ailments. They were great hosts (especially the station manager). I got to see the old Dome, tour some of the famous research projects (AMANDA, Ice Cube project) and see the underground ice tunnels that carry the water and sewage pipes.

There is an area a few minute walk from the station called Summer Camp. It has not so much a summer feel to it as a deep Antarctic cold feel but it is where a lot of the workers live in Jamesways. Basically the Pole is above its capacity to house all the folks. Some people are on their way to AGAP (Antarctica Gamburtsev Province Project) in Eastern Antarctica and are just acclimatizing.

The geographic pole moves about 30 feet per year since it is on a moving ice sheet. This is where Amundsen (Norweigan) and his men first planted their flag. They made it safely home. Scott and his men (British) followed about 5 weeks later only to find the Norweigan flag already there. They ran out of food on their way home and succumbed to the cold.

The station was very warm and clean. The lack of humidity was very evident though. I drank 4 Nalgene bottles of water every day and still felt quite thirsty.

I had some good runs in the gym. There were some crazy hard core runners able to run some long distances on these treadmills. I guess you might get used to it. They were rocking out to a Talking Heads documentary. And by rocking out I mean ROCKING OUT!

Here is a shot of the old Dome. It's slowly getting covered by the drifting snow. It will be emptied out and taken down in the next months.

The ceremonial South Pole. All the Antarctic treaty nations are represented. Behind me is the station and in front of me is endless white.

The South Pole station is nice because whether you are in the actual station or out in the Jamesways you get your own room. Your own space is so nice in this community environment.

The polar plateau. Can you imagine skiing across that with dog sleds or man-hauling? I'm glad I was flying although my inner ear didn't favor it so much.

The LC-130 being unloaded. I got here at 4:30 am. It was a rough start to the day. But luckily they gave me that first day to sleep and acclimatize.

The TransAntartic mountains were gorgeous. No sooner had I gotten up to see them and the upcoming Beardmore Glacier than my fierce motion sickness kicked in. Let's just say the crew of the New York State National Guard had some cleaning up to do after taking me to the Pole. All in the first 15 minutes of the flight. It's always been a problem for me. Reading in the car, skiing moguls in cloudy conditions, anything with "boat" in its description. I should have stayed in my seat but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to take in the view. Next time I'll tell them I have to sit in the cockpit to see the horizon. By the way, I've always wondered, when someone is getting motion sick, why is there a tendancy to tell that person about the last time you got sick? I know it's an attempt at empathy. But I don't want to be told about the milkshake that didn't sit well, the Alaskan fishing trip that went awry or the daughter-in-law with such bad morning sickness she couldn't even eat a Saltine. Not while I'm still in the throes of a vestibular system that doesn't work. It won't end well for anyone.

Sometimes in life you have to put the camera down and just look with your naked eye.

It's Beaker Season

The smell of beakers is in the air. Beakers is the affectionate term for the scientists who are arriving for their various projects now. They are coming in on more and more frequent flights from various universities and institutions. They use McMurdo as a sort of base camp before deploying to their individual field camps. There is the LDB (Long Duration Balloon) project, ice core sampling, microbial testing and work on sea level rise. With everything in between. As the station fills up there are more people to meet, more people in the kitchen, more people at the gym. I'm enjoying the variety of folks coming through my clinic as some of them have issues they need addressed before being at a field site for 3 months. We got to watch Warren Miller (they premeiered it down here this year). It was fun to see Crystal Mountain highlighted. They also brought the Banff Film Festival down which was great. Both events are always on my list of things to do in Seattle so I feel like I didn't miss out. Well, I'll miss out on the actual dumpage that Crystal just got but I can deal for a season.

This week I did the tryout for the Search and Rescue (SAR) team. They have a large fake crevasse (SAR-chasm) that we practiced crevasse rescue out of. I really wanted to make the team but can't since I am not wintering next year (Feb 2010-Oct 2010). There is too much training involved to have summer folks on the team just to have them leave in February. I didn't know that when I filled out the application so point for me on that one. I kind of got a much-needed free day. It was fun to practice the skills and be outside. It was basically like all the alpine classes I've taken before but in Antarctica. All the skills practice but with a face mask and three layers of clothing.

The instructors were great. They consisted of our American crew and one New Zealand instructor (orange coat in the middle). I learned new ways of tying the same old knots so I at least took something new from the day. We covered all the basics and it was a huge morale boost to be outside.

Here I am during our working lunch break. It's sometimes hard to grasp the landscape with a camera. White on white with a digital doesn't show the contrast quite like the naked eye.

This pic is taken near Tent and Inaccessible Islands. Still on sea ice that will become open water soon. The names refer to explorers making it to the first island but being stopped short of the second one...even though they are very close together.

My mom and dad, Don and Phyllis, made a visit to Seattle last week. Here's a pic with my nephew, Dylan. Just thought I'd show them off since they haven't made my blog yet.

It has been warm enough to run outside some. But the ski goggles are still key. You can see some of the snow melted last week (when this pic was taken). Well, the last storm covered the ground again. The wind made it's entrance yesterday so it should be a fun run on the ice. I'm supposed to go to the South Pole this week to treat some folks up there. I hope this weather clears so it can happen. Big money, no whammies! In other words, please let me go to the Pole.

Happy Birthday to Amie (and me)

I was next to the Medical dispatch radio today and heard the following conversation between a C-17 pilot and the dispatcher:



Pilot: We have a penguin on the ice runway.



Dispatch: Okay, is he on the rough ice or the runway?



Pilot: Runway. We request permission to herd the penguin off the runway.



Permission was granted and the pilot relayed this information back. The penguin was never touched, just guided off the runway.



Dispatch: Did I hear correctly? The wildlife is off the runway?






Yes, I thought, only on this birthday will I hear such an exchange. A great way to celebrate 34 years of life on this planet. But it wasn't the same without my twin sister, Amie. She sent this picture to cheer me up. She's the runt on the left and our brother Matt on the right. She was premature and anemic. Me, just premature. Looks like someone is ready for a polar plunge.



My co-workers went way out of their way making me feel special today. With signs everywhere and homemade gifts which were amazing (paper mache flowers and necklaces). Sorry I couldn't be with you, Amie. Next year, New York City marathon for our birthday right?

The last week has been filled with some amazing trips away from the station. I got to go back to Scott's hut at Hut Point (from last entry) but this time I got to go inside. I snapped a lot of photos so I apologize in advance.

This is the seal and penguin meat locker. It's just by the front door making it the coldest place in the hut I guess. Although the whole place was frigid and I wouldn't want to live there. That is meat still hanging from the early 1900s. The weather here keeps things preserved really well although none of us wanted to try outdated penguin or seal jerky.

There were lots of foodstuffs laying around. This hut was used as a staging area for various parties for about 10 years after it had been lived in (still talking 1913 here).

The old Primus stove. I'm not sure we've changed much with the Whisperlite.

Clothes still hanging on the line. Since we are on the coldest desert on the planet I suppose the drying process happens pretty quickly.

For someone who has read all the books this was all very cool. Walking around where these guys had been I couldn't imagine the stamina they had. We have all the Merino, Carharts and parkas. They, not so much.

Next up was a trip to Cape Evans to see Scott's second hut. This one was built during his attempt to be the first to the South Pole and they at least abandoned the veranda this time. Really, keep the sun out of the windows when what we really need is the sun shining into the windows? On the way there we saw 11 Emperor penguins. They were about 1/4 mile away from us. We were going to be pleased to just take pictures from that distance. But then they just started marching toward us. Single file, then some got on their bellies for a while, then back to single file. All the sudden they were right up on us. We were amazed and in awe. We didn't move but they kept coming to us, checked out our vehicle (Delta) and then kept on moving. It was spectacular.

Usually, this time of year, we would only see Adelie penguins. Still cool but much smaller. To see emperors here at this time of year was unusual I've been told.

They were absolutely beautiful! They talked amongst themselves and then decided it was time to move along after giving us the once over.

This is the Delta we were in. It's loud but gets around on snow well. And carries a lot of people at once.

On the way back from C. Evans we stopped at some ice caves. These were formed by the Erebus Glacier Tongue meeting the sea ice. These caves are only about 8 years old. You might not be able to tell with my camera but the caves from the inside showed the amazing blue ice of the glacier and it was quiet and stunning in there.

I was just going to delete this photo but then I thought it looked pretty cool. What using a flash inside an ice cave reveals is a little different than with the flash off. Still the opening is quite small and it's amazing that they were discovered. All that fancy equipment helped of course since the base of the glacier is monitored.

Imagine that The Chronicles of Narnia was your favorite book series growing up. Then imagine you got to go to Narnia. That is how I felt when I got to Cape Evans to look at Scott's hut. To be truthful, my real Narnia would be to go to Cape Royds where Shackleton's hut is but this year the sea ice edge is much too close for safe travel (partly due to how the wind packed the ice). But Cape Evans, the penguins and the ice caves...those were still my Over the Rainbow or my Where the Sidewalk Ends. Just the pages of my books coming alive right around me gave me a sense of dreams really coming true.

Scott and his men broght ponies for their journey to the South Pole. This didn't work as well as Amundsen's dog driving to the Pole and Amundsen and his men (Norwegians) beat Scott and his men by about 5 weeks to be the first to the South Pole. Amundsen's hut at the Bay of Whales calved off into the sea a long time ago so no chance of seeing that hut.

I'm pretty sure I was the first one in the hut and the last one out. Everything was just as they left it. The men had to stay much longer here than expected. It's interesting (to me) to read about and shows how long one can endure cold, uncertainty and no relief ship. Although knowing myself I would have gone more than a little crazy.

The enlisted men's berthings were miniature. Either these guys were really short or they slept with their legs off the end of the bed from the mid-thigh down.

These are the skis that Scott's men didn't know how to use as well as Amundsen's men. The history of skiing in Norway being so much longer than for the Brits.

The London Times right next to a penguin. Things remained preserved like the men had just gone out for a walk.

This is the dark room for the photos to be developed. It was tempting to go in and pick things up but I, of course, showed restraint.

This week has been full of some nice memories. I am going to go wax my skis now. They won't wax themselves and I have some skiing to do tomorrow.