Been A While
Hey all,
it's been busy around here for me lately, so i haven't written in a while. i'm using the government email since it's so much faster right now. i've been trying to get pictures off my camera on the open computers, but they're just not working, so i'll use my roommate's laptop again sometime. work keeps me busy, and there's always stuff to do afterwards. last week, i made a special trip out to the ice runway to eat dinner with some friends. we got pretty close to the planes and it was awesome to see some views from out on the ice. we also found a clear part in the snow where the ice wasn't covered- it tastes pretty salty even when it's frozen.
the next couple days are going to be awesome. today, i'm signed up for a delta trip out to Cape Evans where there's another of Scott's huts, and this one is even better than the one right here. i hear it has a dead penguin still lying on the table inside, so maybe i'll finally be able to send some penguin pictures. it's a beautiful clear day outside, too, so viewing the mountains around here from the ice will be prime. the last time i went out there with a delta, we didn't make it because we kept getting stuck and bad weather was rolling in. then tomorrow, i'm signed up to do sea ice training all day long- we'll learn how to identify cracks in the ice, profile them, drill some holes, and probably see some wildlife.
the weather is warming up here, except for a cold snap a few days ago when the wind chill dipped back down to -50 or -60 with blowing snow and whiteout conditions. other than that, we've been blessed with balmy 0-10 degree days with sunshine around the clock. last night, i was coming home from knitting and hanging out and had to wear my sunglasses at 1 am. that was fun. and you can tell that warmer weather is coming because there are Skua birds around town now- it's like seeing the first robin of spring, except these Skuas are like the seagulls from hell. they'll sit in the road and won't move, they'll dive bomb you if you have anything resembling food in your hands, and there have been incidents where they actually rip sandwhiches out of people's hands. and because of the Antarctic Treaty in 1975- you risk a fine of up to $60,000 and possible jail time if you were to hit one of these demon birds in self-defense. we are not supposed to do ANYTHING to the wildlife that alters their natural actions. but i think just being here does that, and certainly stealing hard-earned fish from seals falls under that as well. self-defense isn't for science, though, i guess.
i also got a zipper pull with beads that turn colors in the UV light. i played with these in Northfield sometimes, but the colors never got so dark as they do here. there is little or zero ozone above us here, and you can get sunburned badly in less than an hour easily- especially with the snow.
i had a feeling i was going to run into someone from college here, and sure enough, i ran into Abby Hedden yesterday at lunch. She's on her way to Pole to work on the telescope they have there- fix it up, do some maintenance and stuff like that with her advisor. that was weird.
i'm sending two pictures today. i can't take credit for taking them (one is obviously not mine), but i will see this stuff soon- they're just so good not to pass along. i got them off the network drives where people post their pictures from wherever; halloween party (which was crazy! my favorite costume was wither the fortune booth from the movie BIG, the Oompa Loompas, or the guy dressed as Nicholas Cage from Raising Arizona when he's robbing the gas station of diapers with the stocking on his head), helicopter rides to glaciers, happy camper school, etc. the first one is a picture of McMurdo from out on the sea ice. you can hardly see the town nestled in there with Erebus looming over us at 13-14 thousand feet above see level (i think i had my numbers wrong in a previous email). Observation hill is about 755 ft above see level and is right to the right of the tiny town- the very pointy hill. Castle Rock you can see is that almost square looking chunk of rock on the right-hand side of the base of Erebus, above town. That's the big formation i hiked out to a couple weeks ago- 7 miles round trip and totally worth it. the other picture is a beautiful shot some guy got while out doing sea ice training. yeah, i hope i get to see something like this tomorrow.
there's also the Antarctic Sun weekly paper posted online as well. If you get a chance, there's lots of interesting stories and interviews and pictures there, too. It's the seasonly published paper from right here in McMurdo.
http://www.polar.org/antsun/
talk to you all later!
Phil
it's been busy around here for me lately, so i haven't written in a while. i'm using the government email since it's so much faster right now. i've been trying to get pictures off my camera on the open computers, but they're just not working, so i'll use my roommate's laptop again sometime. work keeps me busy, and there's always stuff to do afterwards. last week, i made a special trip out to the ice runway to eat dinner with some friends. we got pretty close to the planes and it was awesome to see some views from out on the ice. we also found a clear part in the snow where the ice wasn't covered- it tastes pretty salty even when it's frozen.
the next couple days are going to be awesome. today, i'm signed up for a delta trip out to Cape Evans where there's another of Scott's huts, and this one is even better than the one right here. i hear it has a dead penguin still lying on the table inside, so maybe i'll finally be able to send some penguin pictures. it's a beautiful clear day outside, too, so viewing the mountains around here from the ice will be prime. the last time i went out there with a delta, we didn't make it because we kept getting stuck and bad weather was rolling in. then tomorrow, i'm signed up to do sea ice training all day long- we'll learn how to identify cracks in the ice, profile them, drill some holes, and probably see some wildlife.
the weather is warming up here, except for a cold snap a few days ago when the wind chill dipped back down to -50 or -60 with blowing snow and whiteout conditions. other than that, we've been blessed with balmy 0-10 degree days with sunshine around the clock. last night, i was coming home from knitting and hanging out and had to wear my sunglasses at 1 am. that was fun. and you can tell that warmer weather is coming because there are Skua birds around town now- it's like seeing the first robin of spring, except these Skuas are like the seagulls from hell. they'll sit in the road and won't move, they'll dive bomb you if you have anything resembling food in your hands, and there have been incidents where they actually rip sandwhiches out of people's hands. and because of the Antarctic Treaty in 1975- you risk a fine of up to $60,000 and possible jail time if you were to hit one of these demon birds in self-defense. we are not supposed to do ANYTHING to the wildlife that alters their natural actions. but i think just being here does that, and certainly stealing hard-earned fish from seals falls under that as well. self-defense isn't for science, though, i guess.
i also got a zipper pull with beads that turn colors in the UV light. i played with these in Northfield sometimes, but the colors never got so dark as they do here. there is little or zero ozone above us here, and you can get sunburned badly in less than an hour easily- especially with the snow.
i had a feeling i was going to run into someone from college here, and sure enough, i ran into Abby Hedden yesterday at lunch. She's on her way to Pole to work on the telescope they have there- fix it up, do some maintenance and stuff like that with her advisor. that was weird.
i'm sending two pictures today. i can't take credit for taking them (one is obviously not mine), but i will see this stuff soon- they're just so good not to pass along. i got them off the network drives where people post their pictures from wherever; halloween party (which was crazy! my favorite costume was wither the fortune booth from the movie BIG, the Oompa Loompas, or the guy dressed as Nicholas Cage from Raising Arizona when he's robbing the gas station of diapers with the stocking on his head), helicopter rides to glaciers, happy camper school, etc. the first one is a picture of McMurdo from out on the sea ice. you can hardly see the town nestled in there with Erebus looming over us at 13-14 thousand feet above see level (i think i had my numbers wrong in a previous email). Observation hill is about 755 ft above see level and is right to the right of the tiny town- the very pointy hill. Castle Rock you can see is that almost square looking chunk of rock on the right-hand side of the base of Erebus, above town. That's the big formation i hiked out to a couple weeks ago- 7 miles round trip and totally worth it. the other picture is a beautiful shot some guy got while out doing sea ice training. yeah, i hope i get to see something like this tomorrow.
there's also the Antarctic Sun weekly paper posted online as well. If you get a chance, there's lots of interesting stories and interviews and pictures there, too. It's the seasonly published paper from right here in McMurdo.
http://www.polar.org/antsun/
talk to you all later!
Phil
posted by Phil on Ice at 10:36 AM
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