27 February 2009

Everything Going Wrong in One Day

I woke up early this morning thinking that everything would work today and fall into place. That was probably my first mistake of many that lead to today's events. I took a shower, packed, and got ready to check out. I was planning on surfing in the morning before returning my rental car in and then getting the hell out of town to the airport. The parking garage where I parked my car over night was still closed. It was suppose to be open at 0800 on Saturdays. Me standing in front of entrance at 0845 for 15 minutes really didn't change much at all. As I was starting to get trully annoyed the doors finally opened and the ticket booth finally got staffed. I paid my ticket, loaded the car, and headed to New Brighton to squeeze in a surf session.

The waves were shitty. For those of you that don't know anything about surfing, the best kind of waves are those met with an offshore wind. They create the perfect geometry in the Kodak Moment Picturesque waves in the Surfer Magazine photos most people think about when they think surfing. Because of storms around the South Island of New Zealand, the swells were huge. Good and not good at the same time. Good in the fact that if you can catch the waves, you're in for a hell of a ride. Bad in the fact that I just bought this surfboard and I have to get use to the balance of the board and it's overall performance. Anyways, after getting thrashed around for a couple hours, I drove to Hotel So to stage my baggage in a safe and monitored place while I returned my car a few blocks away. I dropped off my car and explained how my tire got popped only to find out that they were charging me $90 to replace the tire. Dammit. $90 poorer, I walked back to the So. It didn't dawn on me until I started to call for shuttles that I might want to check to see if any of the shuttles had the ability to carry an 8 foot surfboard. To make a long story short, 30 to 45 minutes later I ended up hiring a taxi van to take just little old me and my surfboard to the airport.

Because of the whole surfboard debacle, I was thinking that I was running late for my flight. I made it into the airport only to get stuck behind an entire field hockey team checking in for the same flight I was on. If there ever was a punishment for thinking that everything would go as planned today, this was it. After 25 minutes of listening to 30 some 30 or 40 year old women banter back and forth, I made it to the counter to check in for my flight. I then made it to the security gate only to find out that my flight was delayed by 2 hours. Great! Plenty of time to get lunch and just relax. 2 hours go by and our plane is delayed for another 2 hours. Knowing that my flight to Rarotonga wasn't a connecting flight, this worried me...a lot. I almost missed my flight flying from Auckland to Christchurch because I had to take my baggage from one terminal to another, check in there, and take my skis over to the over sized check-in counter. There were about 30 of us that were flying to Rarotonga and I was the only asshole that couldn't get a connecting flight (a good reason for that to. I was flying from Christchurch to Rarotonga but I was flying back only to Auckland so I could catch my flight home...it was cheaper to buy the round trip ticket from Auckland to Raro and by the one way from Christchurch to Auckland). Our flight left at 1800 with our Rarotonga flight leaving Auckland at 1915. Despite how many times we asked no one could give us a straight answer as to what the hell was going to happen once we got into Auckland. When we sat down in Auckland (at 1915 mind you) we were told that our plane to Raro hadn't even landed yet. Sweet! Plenty of time to make it over to the International Terminal and check in (The Domestic and International terminals at Auckland International Airport are separated by a 10-15 minute walk). With the way things were going today, it didn't surprise me to see that my flight was already making it's final boarding call as I was walking into the terminal. The best part was the check-in counter was closed. And of course, following along the suit of today's events, the second I even found the counter they were done boarding the plane. Fuck. Luckily, the Pacific Blue customer service desk wasn't too far away. Unluckily, they had closed....for several hours. Being very use to shit going horribly wrong for me, I called Pacific Blue and explained to them everything that has happened. Luckily, they put me on a flight on Sunday. The only down fall would be that my flight lands in Raro on 0010 Monday morning and it takes off at 0155 Tuesday Morning. It sucks....but it's better than nothing. So now, here I sit in a hotel in Auckland (after a $70 NZD taxi fare) writing in my blog when I could be looking forward to setting down somewhere in the South Pacific. What did I learn from all of this you say?

1) If you have over sized luggage, make sure your shuttle or taxi can transport it. Do this early on!

2) Scope out the lines at the check in counters before you commit. If there's an entire field hockey team in front of you figure out if they've got their tickets and whether or not if they're in the line to check in their baggage only or if they're trying to check-in for their tickets as well. This will save you a lot of time (25 minutes in my case).

3) Print out your itinerary...or leave a PDF copy on your phone or PDA. If you print it out and that field hockey team is in the full check-in line, you'd be amazed how big your smile can be as you walk past 40 people straight up to the counter to check your baggage.

4) When booking flights, if you're going to do something funky like fly from one airport to your destination only to return to one of your layovers, call the airlines and let them know this so that your entire journey is one connecting flight. This will allow your baggage to go from flight to flight without having to run damn near a mile in between terminals.

I'm sure this is common sense for a lot of you out there but for a beginning traveler, there's no better way to learn things than the hard way...

26 February 2009

Last Nights in Christchurch

My last couple of nights in Christchurch was spent hanging out with a local I met who's soon moving to London. She works in Christchurch as a substitute teacher and is eager to get the hell out. She help me make one of the most impulsive purchases I've ever made when I bought a surfboard from a local surf and skate shop. To be honest, I wouldn't call it too impulsive because I love surfing, I love that board, and I plan on using it...a lot! Yeah, you all may laugh at me when I'm in Ocean City or Virginia Beach surfing in the fall, winter, and spring. Anyways, I hung out with another friend who goes to the university in Christchurch Saturday night and went to bed early. Another "last night" come and gone...

Friends and Travelling

Last night was spent hanging out with the last of the firefighters that were around Christchurch. We had dinner together and drank a few beers. We laughed, bitched about the things that had plagued us over the summer, and looked forward to getting home. After they all went to their hotels, I decided to have a drink at the bar next to my hotel. I met a couple Brits and Irishmen/women that were on a tour of the south island. I always tell people when I'm in the states that you can never get a good look at our country until you're in another one or you talk to people that don't live in the US. Talking with these travelers was refreshing. It's amazing how much of an impact our country has on the world. It was pretty cool listening to grown men talk about how they almost cried when Obama was elected. After talking politics and other small talk, they dragged me to another bar a few blocks away where we played pool and talked some more. After the bar closed around 3 AM we all went home. I'll probably never see them again but I do wish them well.

Today will be spent hanging out with a few friends (locals) and getting ready for the Cook Islands tomorrow and flying home on Tuesday. I've spent most of the mornign taking care of some school work and issues, as well as figuring out somethings about work and the fire season this summer. I've been catching up on emails and talking to family and friends. The one thing I'm really hoping for today is the time to just sit down and figure out what the hell I'm going to do in Rarotonga. I bought the ticket, I'm incredibly excited to go....yet I have no plans when I set foot outside of the airport. I guess that's half the adventure....

25 February 2009

What am I going to do you say?

Today I figure(d) out what the hell I'm going to do with the rest of my time out of the states. My trip to Sydney got sacked because of issues my friend is having with life at the moment. What I've done today is booked a flight from Auckland to the Cook Islands for a couple days. I leave Saturday night and come back Tuesday morning. Tuesday, I fly back home sometime in the evening (an understatement considering I'll probably end up spending 24 hours in transit only to lose 17 hours due to the time zone change). Right now, I'm heading south to Dunedin

Surfing in New Brighton then Climbing in Lttyelton

Today was spent being active. A bunch of us drove out to New Brighton to get some surfing in before the afternoon rush to catch the larger waves courtesy of the incoming tide. After $20 kiwi to hire a wetsuit and board we hit the surf for a few hours. The surfing was great! 3 foot swells and a decent day as far as the weather was concerned. For me being from the mid-Atlantic...this is pretty impressive. Considering that we all just got back from Antarctica, we weren't in the best swimming shape. By the time we were done, our eye, ears, stomach, and lungs were full of seawater. We could barely walk or carry our boards but we were all smiles. I dropped two of my friends, Jack and Justin, off so they could get ready for a trip in the South Island backcountry. This was good-bye for us after nearly 5 months of living and working together. I dropped my friend Kelly off at her hotel and preceded with my friend Adam to Lyttelton.

Lyttelton was a big surprise to us as neither of us had been there or heard about it before. Lyttelton is a harbor town where a lot of container ships come and get loaded up for their various global journeys and destinations.



From New Zealand 2009


While in Lyttelton, Adam and I realized our proximity to some pretty decent and easy cliffs so we decided to head to the hills above Lyttelton and try to get some climbing in before the sun set. Our drive took us on a windy two lane road littered with bikers hell bent for the bottom of the mountain. One bike came so close to us I ended up in a ditch as I swerved not to hit him. Unfortunately this left me with one flat tire and ideas as to what I'm going to tell the rental company how I lost a hub cap down a 400 foot cliff. As we fixed our tire, Adam and I took this time to take in the view and the serenity of the country side.



From New Zealand 2009



It was nice not to be stuck in the metropolis that is Christchurch...even if our time is spent changing a spare. 15 minutes later we were back on the road with a little bit more diligence towards the kamikaze bikers careening down from where ever they come from. We made it to a place called Castle Rock (yes, there's one in New Zealand as well) and started hiking to the base of it. We climbed a small chimney and rappelled down in order to beat the sunset. Throughout the entire climb we would stop and absorb the view of the Christchurch metro area below us.




From New Zealand 2009





From New Zealand 2009




From New Zealand 2009




From New Zealand 2009




We got back into Lyttelton later that night to enjoy pizza and a few beers. After completely destroying our bodies throughout the day, we slept well...and probably for the first time before 11 PM...

22 February 2009

Driving in New Zealand

Today I rented a car. I feel this urge to get out of the city. Eventually I want to drive into the mountains for some climbing so I figured renting a car was the only way to go. I managed to pick up a Subaru Legacy for 5 days for a little over $300 Kiwi which comes out to like $160 or so. Not a bad deal at all. Instead of driving to the mountains, I drove 20 minutes east to the beaches of New Brightong and hung out for a few hours. In the past 5 months, the only "beach" I got to stand on was that on the shores of the Ross Sea. It was nice to sea the sea without any ice in it as well as feel the sand underneath my toes.



From New Zealand 2009




From New Zealand 2009




From New Zealand 2009




From New Zealand 2009




It makes you almost want to move there!

Being my first introduction back into driving in society, renting a car in New Zealand probably wasn't the most brilliant idea I've ever had. For one, if it's designed for a car to fit through it in New Zealand, it's small. It's going to be small. It's never going to be big. Period. This I learned very fast as I pulled out of the service garage at the rental shop. I tried not to look at the agent that rented the car to me out of fear of whatever face he was making as I thugged my way out of the garage. Then came driving on the left side of the road. I've never done this...not even by accident back in the states. For about 30 minutes striaght, I said the word "left" over and over and over again praying to God I don't make the mistake of defaulting to sub-conscious American driving. At one point while driving from Christchurch to New Brighton, I saw something that triggered some inquisitive though as I was making a right hand turn and before I knew it, I was heading for the right hand lane with several on coming cars. Luckily I had plenty of room to steer back into my intended lane of travel and I escaped injury, damage, and angry gleems of disapprovals from the other drives. I got the hang of driving on the left side of the road right away. The one thing that took me days to get use to was walking to the right side of the car to get in the drivers seat. (As of writing on 26 Feb I still have the habit of walking to the left side). It feels good to drive again and not rely on public transportation. Maybe I can do a road trip while down here...

19 February 2009

Christchurch Night Life

Today was spent sleeping....a lot! Back in McMurdo, even on my days off when it was possible to sleep in, something always managed to wake me up: my pager with some non-important asinine message, a forked loader emptying a dumpster, a fuel truck fueling a boiler tank, my roommate getting dressed, etc. It was nice being in a pitch black room, in a comfortable bed sleeping for 10 hours straight. I woke up, took an absurdly long shower (no water restrictions in New Zealand, no sir!), then took a walk around the city. Considering today is Friday, I took a shuttle to the Clothing Distribution Center near the airport to send some things back home and pick up my climbing gear I sent from the ice via Scott Base (thanks Shaz!). I met up with a lot of other people from the ice and we attempted to make plans for the night.

Not having a cell phone and not knowing where people were staying, that proved pretty difficult if not outright futile to stick to plans we made. I ended up running into a few firefighters that were calling it a night. Being only 11 PM I continued to push on since I had slept in till about noon today. Friday nights in Christchurch, surprisingly, are dead. The bars weren't as packed as they could be. I left one bar after the last of the firefighters I had been hanging out left to walk to another one that became a favorite of mine from last season.

While walking the semi-empty streets (it's now about 3 AM) I witnessed this one guy step (more like a alchol-induced stumble) into the street only to nearly get hit by a taxi cab. Luckily he missed because I grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him on to the sidewalk. In a heavy thickly-slurred Kiwi accent he exclaimed, "Mate, you saved me life!" Being modest and half-drunk myself I tried to debunk these outrageous claims so I could continue on my way. He grabbed me by the shoulders and looked me in the eye and said, "No, you seriously saved me life! I'm in your debt!" Before I could explain how I just kept him from getting hit by a cab driving 20 mph, he explained to me how he was a leader in a notorious New Zealand gang known as the Nomads, how people had tried to kill him in the past, blah, blah, blah, but how no one had ever tried to save his life before. After a story like that, I guess it wouldn't be too egotistical or selfish to agree with how much what I had did meant to him. At this point, two words that get hammered into firefighters minds on a regular basis started to float around in my head: Situation Awareness or SA. The man had a lot of tattoos...I meana lot...of the urban/gang persuasion as well. He also was ripped. The type of guy that could slap a person into unconsciousness. At that point, I also realized that as drunk and as muscular as he was I highly he doubt he'd notice or even remember if he were to get hit by a car. These thoughts, however, flew out the door when my SA came back as he pulled out his camera phone, took a picture of me, and started writing a dictionary long text message to someone. "I'm sending your picture to all me mates. You'll have safe passage no matter where you travel". Great, I'm now affiliated with a nationally (and maybe internationally) known gang. I prayed that he was too drunk to successfully send my picture to anyone. Anyways, he, too, was heading to the Stock Exchange (the bar I was heading to where the drink prices fluctuate much like...a stock exchange) and he insisted to by me a drink. Thinking it would be easier to get away from him if I just let him by me a drink or two, I obliged and walked with him. Once in the bar with a drink in front of me, he saw two lady friends of his and went to talk to them...after which I never saw him again. I hope he turns his life around somehow. He seemed like a good guy...when he wasn't doing...whatever gangs do in New Zealand. I finished my drink, talked to a local girl about Rugby and Cricket, then left to enjoy the sunrise over Christchurch before heading to sleep. It's amazing what happens when you stay up past 3 AM....

Off the ice!

Our flight was amazing! I didn't take pictures because I, for some reason, packed my camera in my checked luggage. We flew north on a modified Airbus 319 courtesy of the Australian Antarctic division. The lucky few of us that managed to get on board first got to sit in Business/1st class for free! Considering that was my first time in such a seat of luxuy (no pun intended) I was pretty stoked. We set down in Christchurch early in the evening, picked up our luggage, turned in our Extreme Cold-Weather Gear, recieved our hotel reservations, and headed to our respective hotels. Like probably 60% of the redeploying USAP participants had done, I requested the Hotel So which is right in the middle of the City Center of Christchurch. I was one of the luckily few that actually got it and for good reason: The rooms are very high tech and efficient. They're also extremely small: 10 ft by 10 ft to be exact:




From New Zealand 2009




From New Zealand 2009




From New Zealand 2009




The rooms are cheap here and the internet is free....not to mention they have a bar in the lobby and a huge lounge. A lot of us from the fire department as well as a good friend of mine that works in Environmental, Health, and Safety for RPSC, hung out well into the early morning until we staggered back to our hotels. Regardless of how drunk or rowdy we were, we couldn't help but take everything thrown at us in: the humidity, the smells, the sights and sounds, the night sky...it felt realy good to be back.

18 February 2009

Last Night in McMurdo

Our last night was one of bonding. As cliche as that sounds, we spent the night drinking (surprisingly), playing a highly agressive and vulgar game of chess (actually several games), and just hanging out. The morning (for myself at least) was spent working whilst a C-17 was on the ground on-loading departing summer-overs like myself. I was given the afternoon to take care of my room inspection and other personal matters which would prepare me for the outside world to come. There was much tension in the fire department because of feelings between certain officers and firefighters. It felt good knowing that I wouldn't be around that for much longer. Tomorrow will bring our introduction back into civilization, vacations, and the preparations for our lives' next journeys to come. Tonight, I probably won't be able to sleep because of the excitement....

15 February 2009

The daughter is crawling!!!

I just got word from my daughter's mother (well an email that I got a couple days ago but didn't realize till now) that my daughter just crawled for the first time! Words can't express how proud I am of her! I'm trying to figure out how to transfer the video to my blog so hopefully that will come soon!

14 February 2009

Antarctic Sunset

The beauty of this place (I'm talking Antarctica...not necessarily McMurdo) never ceases to amaze me. And just when I think I've seen everything this side of the continent has to offer me, I get pleasantly surprised by the majesty of God's creation.




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




I took these around 0200 this morning. The official sunset (the first sunset of the season that is) for this season is on the 23rd. For now, we're blessed with a show of alpen glow mountains and awe-inspiring light shows from the midnight sun. Considering I have less than 5 days left here, it makes me miss the place already...

11 February 2009

7 days left...

A week from now, I'll be leaving McMurdo. The only difference this year being that I know I won't be coming back next season (at least for the next year or two). I'm sorta bummed about that. The Antarctic Fire Department hired on a new chief this year after our last one quit. He seems like a great guy and an amazing leader and I really want to be a part of the department next year to see where he takes it. Alas, school (for the first time in a few years) comes first. Anyways, the South Pole is due to close in a couple days for the winter which means Williams Field will be closing soon as well. Usually, at this time of year, every department is scrambling to get ready for the winter before their staff is whittled to nothing. The fire department is no different. We have an entire station's worth of stuff to bring in from Williams Field once it closes. We have several vehicles that need to be driven into town, winterized, and parked (somewhere) outside of station 1. We have our own personal matters to deal with as well. Having our baggage palletized for transport as cargo by the military (also known down here as "Bag Drag"). We have room inspections, town "debts" to take care of (library books, DVDs, gear rentals, etc). With a week to do it in, everyone is busy. Another thing that this time of year is notorious for is the partying that happens. Usually there are a couple dumb-asses out of the population that end up doing something so grotesquely stupid in the name of end-of-season partying that they end up getting reprimanded (or even fired) and the rest of us have to listen to our supervisors or station management belittle us on how we should be more "morally responsible". It's already happened and I'm sure that's not the last time.

The closer and closer we get to our redeployment dates, the more I think about my daughter, my family, and my friends. I'm ready for the spring and summer. I'm ready to see the people I've been missing for 5 months. I'm ready to move on for the time being...r

10 February 2009

Relaxing by the Ross Sea

Immediately after shift change this morning, I went to my room to pack the rest of the stuff I needed to ship northwards (to Christchurch). The last day for packaged mail from McMurdo to head north was Jan 31st. Luckily, with the help of my good Kiwi friend, Shaz, I was able to take advantage of Scott Base's 16 Feb deadline to "Guard Mail" a couple boxes north. Now that everything I needed shipped out of here has in fact been shipped, I can breath a lot easier.

After lunch, I decided to join a bunch of people from my shift on a walk out to Hut Point to look for seals that have been seen playing in the area. While hanging out on the point it self, we realized that the annual ice had melted enough to the point where there was an actual "beach" making up a shoreline on the Ross Sea! We decided to walk down to the shore and wait for our flippered friend to show his face. Soon after we made it down to the shore, we completely forgot about the seal and just took in the scenery.




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




A lot of thoughts and feelings started going through my head while standing there on the shore. For one, a feeling of calmness flowed over me. I forgot about all of the trivial things in my life and at work and just stared at the mountains across the sea. Nothing that screamed "Raytheon" or "USAP", just nature at it's finest. After a little bit, it really soaked into me that I was in Antarctica and I was actually standing at the edge of the Ross Sea! Weird, I know, considering this is 4 months into my second season at McMurdo and something like this had to tell me I'm actually in Antarctica. Another thing that really made me smile was the salty smell of the sea once I got closer to the shore. For months, I've been devoid of smells outside when I'm trying to take in the environment. It was really refreshing to smell that smell as the wind blew it towards us. On top of all that, we did, in fact, get to see the one seal we kept coming to visit. I wish I had photos of him but I was with people who did. He would hang out by one of the ice drifts for a little bit then dive back under the water for 20 minutes or so and play. We also saw sea spiders, starfish, sea urchins, and small jelly-fish (keep in mind in near freezing water) all in the water and tidal pools by the shore. It's hard for me to explain unless you all were there next to me seeing and experiencing what I was at the time. Just simply being there killed days if not weeks of stress out of my body. Today was probably one of my favorite days of the season, if not the year...

08 February 2009

End of Season Rant

It's Sunday 08 Feb and I have 11 days left in Antarctica. I'm ready to get back to civilization for a little while. A lot of the things we take for granted I'm ready to experience again: colors, smells, humidity, grass, plants, mammals with legs, stars, night! It's been too long without them. I've also been ready to get away from the clutches in which Raytheon as me (as well as everyone else) ensnared. For 5 months I've stared at mountains across the Ross Sea (as well as on Ross Island itself), I've read climbing, skiing, and snorkeling magazines, I've talked to friends that are enjoying their lives throughout the world doing the things that they (and I) love, and I've surfed the internet into the far reaches of third-world countries websites just to get a taste of adventure somewhere else. My friend, Heather is traveling around SE asia doing nothing but climbing, yoga on the beach, and living the good life. I, at one point, was seriously thinking about rendezvousing somewhere to climb for a week or so with her but now with my financial situation I won't be able to. My friend Sitka whom I'm visiting in Australia in a few weeks is dying for me to take her out climbing. My friend Dan is already climbing in Zion which has me aching to hit up some of the big walls there. While flying over the Transantarctic Mountains, I was looking at every ridge, peak, and glacier for anything that resembled a line that could be climbed or skied. My mind is crazy right now with things I'd like to do but there only so much time I can do it in this year and I'm still under two weeks away from getting out of this place.

The season is definitely winding down. It's getting colder and colder every day. The sun is dancing towards the horizon practicing for it's winter retreat. Today, I think the sun actually made it behind the Royal Society range. The first sunset of the year is only a couple weeks away. I'm ready for a break from traveling. I'm ready to start (and finish) school. At the same time, I can't wait to be able to come back down here again. Antarctica is definitely on the business end of a love/hate relationship. I was excited at the beginning of the season and (no surprise) I'm now ready to get the hell out of here. Oh well, 11 days to go...

07 February 2009

South Pole!

While on shift the other day, I got the word that I was being offered a trip to the South Pole for an hour or so (better known down here as a "Sleigh Ride") in the morning (Saturday 07 Feb). Despite the sudden warning and not much time to prepare I was pretty stoked! I had said for a while that I had no desire to do any type of discernible tour down there but going down for a day or so would be pretty neat. So in the later part of the evening, I drove our ambulance over to my room to pick up some extra cold weather gear in preparation for the next day.

In the morning, I left shift early for the MCC (Movement Control Center) to board our shuttle heading out to Williams Field. For the first time since I've been down here (both this year and last), I went to Williams Field as a passenger and not an employee working out there. We went straight from our shuttle van to board the plane (an LC-130). Within 30 minutes of grabbing our seats, we where in the air heading south. Now for the past two years, I could always see the mainland of Antarctica from a far (the Royal Society Range for instance) but I had never flown over it let a lone set foot on it. Our flight path took us straight over the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) which took my breath away. My seat in the bell of the 130 was right in front of one of the emergency exits that had a view port in the door it self so I didn't have to move much to get a good view:



From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




Eventually our small group got to go up on the flight deck one at a time to get an even better view of the TAM:



From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




Our flight from McMurdo was just shy of 3 hours. When we started our decent we were told to be prepared for the temperature outside (-40s) and not to overly exert ourselves considering the pole sits at an altitude of about 10,000 feet (note: because of the density of the atmosphere at the pole in comparison to equitorial atmospheres, the pole's "10,000" feet of elevation actually "feels" like 13 or 14,000 feet elevation). Anyways, when we touched down on the ground we were rushed pretty quickly considering we only had about 30 to 45 minutes to spare on the ground. One of my friends and a firefighter at the pole grabbed me from the rest of the group and [literallly] ran me from the flight line to the poles, and from the poles throughout the rest of the base.




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




The cerimonial South Pole is the big ball surrounded by all of the flags of the 16? original nations that signed the Antarctic Treaty. About 100 feet away was the actually Geographical South Pole. That's right, 90 degrees S Latitude. I wish I had more time than what was alloted for that trip because I really wanted to soak in the fact that I was literally standing at the bottom of the world. I sorta wish it were night so I could see the entire sky spin around me. I went straight from the pole(s) into the elevated station:




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009


From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




The dome that at one point housed the old station and it's buildings is still used to day for storage and the occasional party or two (so I hear). I really had wanted to take a peak inside that thing but I didn't have the time to do so:




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




The inside of the station was very impressive. I wish I had more photos but the batteries in my camera died. Myself and my friend rushed through the first and second floors of the station, the ice tunnels that carry water and sewage away from the station (into what I haven't the slightest damned idea), and to the post office so I could get my passport stamped. While nearing the end of my impromptu tour, I got the word that my chariot awaited to fly me back to McMurdo.



From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




Hoping that I'd get another chance to visit the pole in the future, I passed opportunities for photos to get back on the plane to get home in time for dinner. Our flight back with a much hoped for tail wind took only 2 hours. I landed on the ground and realize that I had just been to the South Pole but I hadn't really taken it in yet. Hopefully next time, I'll be able to spend more than 30 minutes there.

04 February 2009

Ship Off-Load Operations

Vessel off-load is a pain in the ass for everyone. Work centers are juggling their normal day to day operations as well as having to provide staffing for specific tasks that they excel at. A lot of the town is "fenced" off to keep pedestrian traffic out for safety reasons. Anywhere that you can fit a 20 or 40 foot cargo container has been commandeered for just that reason. The town is busy and, at times, chaotic. Luckily this only goes on for no more than 10 days or so.



From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




From Antarctica - Austral Summer 2008 - 2009




Let me explain Vessel Off/on-load operations down here a little bit more. Most everything down here (food, heavy equipment, vehicles, machines, etc) arrives down here by a boat. A container ship to be exact. So far for the past several years, it's been the American Tern that has provided this critical support to the United States Antarctic Program. Because this is such a serious matter (supply 80% to 90% of cargo and equipment down here), the base goes through a lot of temporary changes for close to two weeks. One, the area right behind building 155 and in front of most of the dorms on base, the same area that is used as the primary shuttle pick-up and drop-off site, gets blocked off to the public entirely so it can be used as a container staging area. Two, the United States Naval Cargo Handling and Port Group (NAVCHAPS) provides over 70 personnel to help off-load cargo from the ship. Three, the Kiwi Army provides close to 30 personnel to assist with cargo off-load by driving the tractor-trailers that transport the containers from the pier, to their staging point, and, eventually, to their final "resting place" till they get loaded back on in later seasons. The later two changes are pretty major in the fact that all those personnel arriving at McMurdo are a huge impact on the base. Tensions usually get high as there are run-ins between towns folk, Kiwi Army, and the US Navy. Anyways, three, the bars get shut down and all liquor sales on base cease. This includes beer and wine in the store. Now this doesn't preclude anyone from drinking, they just can't buy liquor while ship off load is going on. All in all, it's a pretty tense and chaotic week or so while the ship is in town. Last year, it took 10 days to off-load about 600 containers and on-load 400 or so. Hopefully it will take about the same time, if not less.