Thanksgiving

I'm sick of talking about the past. I realize that giving a little distance can let you reflect, but today I really want to rave about the beautiful weather, or the race we just ran, or how talented some of the women I saw perform last night were, or how great the fresh blueberries I had today were, or the crazy skua attack that Meg, I, and our dinner's survived. So good. So brilliant. Instead, I'm two weeks behind on the the blog so you are getting Thanksgiving goodness.

Thanksgiving. What is it? It is different for every one and every location. Down here, it means a holiday that the NSF can move to Saturday to accommodate work schedules and allow us to have our first two day weekend in three months. It means a brilliant meal made by an amazing galley staff who doesn't get the day off when we do. It means the annual turkey trot. It even means being thankful for how lucky we are to be here, to be surrounded by amazing friends, to have lots of loved ones back home, to have health, and to even have some happiness. I think most people are just thankful for the chance to truly unwind with two full days of goodness.


Running socks (photo by D. Story).
My Thanksgiving started after one of my worst night's of sleep down here. I had been unable to sleep, due to coughing, sniffling, and a headache, until almost 4am. I woke up at 9:15 (which was HUGE for me to sleep in that long) and saw a couple of my friends dressed for running. I was confused because they don't run much, but then I realized they were heading out to the Turkey Trot. I hustled my gear together to make it over to the 10am race in time.


The start of the Turkey Trot.
Since I wasn't feeling so hot, I planned to just run the race and not race it. It was a cold and windy day so I definitely wasn't motivated to run anywhere too fast. At the last minute, they changed the race course from the ice road out to the ice runway to the road to Scott Base. Someone had fallen and broken their wrist the week before so they didn't want to risk any more injuries. This change helped me quite a bit because it meant the first half of the race would be uphill which is my preferred run.


The hill up the Scott Base road.
We started late, but it was alright because we all just huddled inside to stay warm. Once we finally got moving, I just stayed leeward of someone running my speed and let them pull me up the hill. When they faded, I found someone else. I feel bad for the guys who tried to lead the first third of the race. They all faded away. I think the top finishers all stayed leeward of other runners as long as they could. The man who won it stayed leeward of me until we were out front. Anyway, while I didn't plan to race and was just running, I soon found myself near the front and my stubborn side took over. I didn't push it, but I definitely didn't ease off the way I had planned.


The downhill portion of the race with a great view.
The results of my decision not to ease off had me tied for first at the top of the hill. When we started back down, the other runner pulled away. I was able to catch back up for a short while, but he had a great stride and just pulled away again. He tuckered me out and there wasn't anyone too close behind me so I did finally ease off and did my best to enjoy the rest of the run through an agonizing cramp and an inundation of mucas. For my efforts, I got second place overall, first in my division, a Leatherman Micra knife, and an nauseating headache (maybe a migraine).

Turkey Trot results
Simon Trotter 19:27
William Brotman 19:59
Nathan Murphy 20:10


Marika finishing her first 5k!
I think the best part of my race was after the finish. I turned back up the hill to find Marika. She was running her first 5k and she isn't a runner. I found her and ran to the finish with her, nagging her all the way she would assure you. She pulled in just under 30 minutes which is running at a pace of 6 miles an hour. I'm posting this to have a permanent record and to reminder her that she did run faster than she ever trained even thought she felt like she was walking up the hill. When she was done, she went out for another 2 miles of running. She is a rockstar and is planning to run her first, and avowed only, half marathon in January.


The dinner tables.
Thanksgiving dinner is usually a special time with friends and food. I can't really put words to our dinner. I don't think I could put words to any family dinner I've attended over the years. There is just an inner warmth that emanates from spending time with those we love and with those who know us best. Two things I can convey is that the galley staff is amazing and they are amazing. There were around a 1,000 people on base and the galley only holds 350. That means they have to have three sittings, 3pm, 5pm, and 7pm, to get everyone fed and fed well. The rest of this post is just pictures of the concoctions they came up with. However, even these pictures doesn't do justice to the week of preparation that the staff put into making it happen.


Alaskan king crab legs!

Candy coated apples, bread, apple butter, and . . .


Yummy!


What Thanksgiving would be complete without pumpkin pie?


Truffles? Chocolatey goodness? Yes, sir.


Moose or mousse or YUM!!


Chocolate covered strawberries with real flowers.


Chocolate(?) skuas!


Veggies!


Something yummy.

Making it all happen.

Hmm, hmm, good?


Feeding 1000 a day and doing it well


The deliverers of goodness, these guys are the most loved on base for the tastes and most hated on base for the extra pounds.

Pressure Ridges

Pressure ridges with Castle Rock, Mt. Erebus, and the Kiwi's new helicopter in the background.


Pressure ridges.


Sea ice as of September 19, 2009.
Pressure ridges form where an ice sheet breaks and the main piece continues to push up over the broken piece. I believe some pressure also comes from the winter sea ice not allowing the shelf to slide unimpeded. Each winter, the Ross Sea and McMurdo Sound fill up with ice (see the picture above). If the sea ice is out, the ice shelf can keep moving. If the sea ice is there, extra pressure can build. Similar to when tectonic plates push together to release pressure in the form of mountains, we get mini-mountains, or what we call pressure ridges.


Our tour guide and one of my snowboarding partners in Colorado, Kish.


Kish's favorite formation. I think he called it Fire Ice.
I didn't plan to go to the pressure ridges this year. There are only so many tours available and I wanted to let others go who have not been out. However, my snowboarding and winterover friend, Kish, offered me a spot on his private tour. I was more than game for that. We went out on a beautiful, almost windless day. Michael and Meg joined us as well and, as always, were a source of joy and smiles. Kish was also a rock star of a guide. He treated it like a guide back home and was entertaining and educating the entire way. Such a treat.


The Hand is going to grab you.
One of the fun things to do while walking through the 2 hour tour is try to find shapes in the ridges. I think my favorite was the Hand reaching up out of the ground (picture above). The trick of the ridges is that they are very dynamic. Your favorite formation could actually be gone from one week to the next. Finding formations reminded me of the Breckenridge Snow Sculpture competition that I'm missing back home this year.


More pressure ridges.


Me with the strongest sun screen EVER on my face.

Birthday goodness

The view from my birthday dinner.
This Thanksgiving, I turned 32 years old. I think that was almost two weeks ago, but I still wanted to mention it because my friends down here were outstanding. Bad weather kept my roommate from heading out to a deep field camp which was a bummer for her, but a treat for me. She took my birthday dinner ball and ran with it by rounding up a lot of people and good food on short notice for my Hut 10 party.

We dined on fresh pesto pasta (Thank you, Linda!), amazing pesto based salad pizza, Italian sodas, yummy cheeses, and probably most importantly ICE CREAM CAKE! We don't have real ice cream down here and that is a bummer, but Michael ordered an ice cream maker bowl and then made ice cream from scratch to make a brownie and ice cream layered cake. Such a treat! Throw in all the fun cards and messages from home and it was just about the perfect night. Thanks!


Another view from my birthday dinner.

Renewable Energy

I'm trying to get some more science stuff up here to balance out my personal posts. Hopefully, these posts will answer a little more about why we are down here (other than the personal reason of getting paid to see the world).


Lake Frixel camp.
Recently, they installed renewable energy at Lake Frixel camp in the Dry Valleys. This was one of the lakes that I walked to when I was in the field, but I didn't get all the way to the field camp. I believe that most of our camps have some form of renewable energy now, but these are still slowly replacing diesel generators. For those on the more technical side, the wind generator makes 1 kilowatt and the array makes 2.4 kilowatts of power. This is the largest single array in the USAP inventory.

My Home for the Season addendum

Our window.
I was asked if I had a window after my last room post. I do. Meg and I were just standing in front of it. It sits over her bed. To answer the other question I've been asked, no, Meg and I are not dating. We met our first season and are great friends. Unfortunately, she is leaving in two weeks to head back home to her boy, her pooch (maybe not in that order), and to attend nursing school in Idaho.


The view.
When I took this picture, the window was a little steamed over. Here are some much better pictures taken from my window earlier in the season.

I'll also be putting a bounty out on the new Ben & Jerry's flavor. I suspect it will come out and be gone by the time I return and it looks like I need to eat some. Maple Ice Cream? Yes, please. Blonde Brownies? Yes, please. Maple Caramel Whirl? Yes, please. Maple Blondie? YES, PLEASE! For the reward, it is hard to say. It should guarantee a visit to your home by Sabah and I. After that, we'll negotiate.

Seal, it's what's for dinner!

The BBC has a new nature series coming out called Life where they look at the what some exceptional plants and animals have to do to survive. They recently shared a short clip of worms and sea stars eating a dead seal on YouTube to advertise.

Click here: Seal, it's what's for dinner!

This is a part of Antarctica that I'll never see because it happens below the sea ice. While I've been below the sea ice for about a second, all I saw was a few fish. These guys went diving last year near Little Razor Back Island about 10 miles north of here, which we pass on our way to Cape Evans. It can be difficult to believe just how much life is going on below the ice when we so rarely see anything above the ice.

My Home for the Season

My accommodations for the summer, Hotel California
On a bright desert island, icy wind in my hair
Cold smell of nothingness, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw fata morgana
My cheeks grew frosty and my sight grew dim
I stopped for my parka

My original ideal for this post was to edit the lyrics of Hotel California to fit what I needed to stay, but I'm tossing that idea out. I think I tossed it out when I had to settle on parka to rhyme with the fata morganas that we see in the distance. I'm just not creative enough and certainly not motivated enough to find the rhyming words.


My side of the room.

The communal side of the room.

Meg's side of the room and us in our Halloween costumes.

My living situation is great this summer. My first year on the ice, I was in a 4-pack without a window in a loud dorm. This time, I was able to pick my roommate, pick a bay side window, and make sure I was in a quieter dorm. Seniority can be good. Meg and I chose Hotel California because it is a little quieter, more community oriented, and closer to skiing. Meg taught me how to skate ski (fancy cross country skiing) our first season on the ice. She is from Idaho and she is brilliant. She is going home in two weeks for nursing school. After that, I might be playing roommate roulette.


Upstairs lounge.

Upstairs lounge balcony.
Hotel California is one of two dorms on base that don't have TVs and cable in the room. We only have cable in the lounge. We also have Internet in our lounge which most dorms don't. Most just have the TV cable, microwave, games, books, puzzles, movies, and other fun stuff that people have left behind. I think not having TV in the rooms makes more people hang out in the lounge, which gives a more community feeling to the dorm. I like it. Our dorm also has the only balcony that I know of. It is brilliant to sit on when it's warm out. I can't wait until we are above freezing and I can run a phone line out there to call back home and work on my tan. It is going to be such a treat!

That's home. Not much to it. Each day, I wake up there at 6am, sometimes make a smoothie with our blender, boil some water for tea, and eat granola for breakfast. Then, I head to work by 7am usually, run and eat lunch at 11, work until 5:30pm, eat dinner, hang out friends, and get back to the room to pass out by 10pm. Six days a week that is my day. On Sundays, I usually go for a longer run and enjoy a terrific brunch with friends, followed up by mellow goodness and catching up on chores like cleaning the room or paying bills back home. That's my routine which also doesn't have much to it. It is simple, I like it, and am sticking to it except on nights like last night where I end up chatting in the sauna hours past my bed time.


The Royal Society Range across the McMurdo Sound yesterday (12-2-2009).

Man Camp

The Ice Runway
Near the end of each Austral winter in Antarctica, just after the first few sunrises in late August, we have a short season called Winfly or winter fly-in. The population grows from 100-200 to 400-600. At mainbody in early October (when I came), the population jumps to around 1,000. For the rest of the summer, it will fluctuate between 975 and 1,075.


The population at McMurdo with male and female percentages to let you know your odds.

Those fluctuations can be heavily weather dependent because we are the launching point for everyone heading to the South Pole, US deep field camps, and, sometimes, foreign bases. This year, we had terrible weather in October so very few flights went out. South Pole flights were behind 1-2 weeks. Some West Antarctic Ice Shelf (WAIS) people were delayed over a month. When fifty Australians flew in on their way to Casey and were delayed, our population maxed out at 1,107. They had to delay people in Christchurch because we just didn't have enough bed space.


The bunk room, commonly known as Man Camp.
I'm probably wrong, but I feel like the people in my dorm are the first ones to know, outside of housing, when the station maxes out. Our quiet, 44ish person dorm suddenly has 70 people in it, most of them male. Our lounge is overflowing and the men's bathroom is a mad house. The reason is that we have the bunk room, commonly called 'Man Camp.' The bunk room has fourteen bunk beds so that it can sleep 28 overall. Since it is meant as transitory housing, they don't have any dressers and are forced to live out of their bags. No, thank you. Not unless I am camping. Things have mellowed out now and will hopefully stay that way until vessel offload in late January.

The Ice Edge

The Ice Edge. The ice edge is cracking. The ice edge is coming closer. The ice edge will be here by the end of the month. The ice runway is closing because the ice is so weak. The ice is going to make it all the way to town this year. Cape Evans trips are going to end early because the ice is blowing out so quickly this year. The ice edge might make it town. The ice edge is coming, the ice edge is coming. These are the whispers I am hearing through town on a regular basis.

The ice edge as of November 4, 2009.

The ice edge as of my birthday, November 26, 2009.

Click either picture for a better view. McMurdo is the red dot. The Dry Valleys are the brown areas to the left of the red dots.
What is the big deal about the ice edge coming closer? In March 2000, a very, very large piece of the Ross Ice Shelf broke off to form what would become known as the iceberg B-15. At 295km long and 37km wide, the iceberg encompassed an area twice the size of Delaware or three times the state of Rhode Island. Helicopters would land on it. It even affected weather patterns. This iceberg blocked McMurdo Sound and the Ross Sea for a few years so that the annual ice floe could not break up and blow out to sea. Each year that the ice didn't blow out, it got thicker, heavier, and harder to blow out the following year. While B-15 broke up and blew away a few years ago, it has had lasting effects.

When the ice floe didn't blow out, it meant that the penguins in the colonies nearby had a much longer 'march' from their nests to get food. The extra effort needed to get food for their chicks led to decreased survival rates. It also, and more importantly, meant that the ice edge never reached town. The penguins spend time near the ice edge so that means if the ice edge was close, the penguins would be close where we have a much better chance of seeing them. Lots of old timers talk about the way penguins used to come right to town and bring all their friends with them. I can only hope that will happen this year.


The current sea ice edge about 15 miles from town and why I want it to come closer, PENGUINS!
Some of you might remember that ships come to station every year and wonder how that happens with all the ice in the way? This location was originally selected by Scott because it is, or was, the southern most navigable ice free port in the world. It allowed his expeditions to move goods with minimal effort. The ships that have come down here have always been icebreakers or escorted by them. Larger ice floes just meant more ice breaking. Unfortunately, the ice edge they create is really a small channel and doesn't bring the penguins in the same numbers as if the actual ice edge comes in.

One of the other cool things about the chance to see a lot of open water is that this place seems to come alive. For most of the year, the surface around us doesn't change. Things don't grow. Colors don't change except snow white to volcanic black. When we get water, we get a new color and the constant movement of that water. Some people will just stare at it when they see it. I can't wait!

Edit: This weekend is the final weekend for trips out to Cape Evans because the sea ice is deteriorating. They should be closing the ice runway next week as well.

This video was taken last Saturday night when the storm was still passing through town. It doesn't do the experience justice, but it might do a better job that words and pictures.

footage by Deke

Whimsical Weather

The weather has been all over the place this past week. Last Thursday, it was between 14-20F with an average wind of 18mph. The high wind was 38mph. It isn't cold until you add in the wind chill. It changes everything. I have had a number of Polies (people who work at the South Pole) say that they prefer the temperatures at Pole being 40-60 degrees colder than the warmer, but windier days at McMurdo because you just can't win with the wind. While I'm skeptical about that claim, I also know I am not a huge fan of fighting the wind.


Friday afternoon around town (photo by Holly Troy).
Friday and Saturday, the weather got warmer. We even cleared freezing and made it to 35F. Unfortunately, the wind also jumped to an average of 33mph and a high of 79mph. Walking around town was not a pleasant experience. I think travel was restricted to around town only. You couldn't always see the next building. You needed goggles to block dust particles to protect your eyes. You REALLY needed to want to go somewhere to deal with the weather instead of just staying put in your work center.


Snowdrifts on Sunday (photo by Matt Davidson?).
The best part of the storm was that it snowed, which almost never happens here. When we get snow, it usually just blows in from somewhere else. Such a treat. It was a winter wonderland and this place definitely looks its best coated in snow and ice. In case you are wondering how this place doesn't get much snow, but is covered in ice, I'll try to explain. Antarctica is the driest place on Earth. We get an average of 50" of precipitation a year. South Pole only gets 3". The trick is that what we get, we keep, especially inland.


A Keen trap or a small river.
At the beginning of the week, the weather finally started to clear. The temperature dropped, the wind mellowed to a mere 9-28mph, and the sun came out. The sun coming out was a blessing and a curse. I love my sunshine, but all that sunshine on all that new snow created a giant wetland. You never knew when the ice or snow might give way to a puddle for you to fall into. They would plow the snow drifts that would turn a small pond into a small river racing downhill, usually towards your favorite shortcut. It was so bad, I had to ditch my Keens for three days in exchange for my Keen boots. Today, enough of the snow has finally melted or been moved elsewhere that my Keens are a pretty safe bet again.


Clearing weather over the chalet and Ob Hill
Today is a nice day. It is 15F ambient and 3F with the windchill. Town is pretty much cleaned up. They are moving the last of the major snow off the ice roads and runway which is great for vehicles, but kind of a bummer for skiing. It is great for them because the snow forms an insulating layer which warms the sea ice. Our 625,000lb fully loaded C-17 can only land on a certain quality of ice. Apparently, the first plane in this week had to fly around an extra hour to use up fuel and lighten its load so that it could land safely on the sea ice. As the sea ice continues to weaken, they'll monitor the 'give' of the ice when a plane lands. When it gets to a certain point, they'll move the runway 13 miles out of town to the ice shelf which has less problems, but adds to vehicle costs. Okay, that is the week in weather. Time to get back to my sunshine.


The biggest snow blower EVER clears the ice runway road.
Anecdote of the day: One of the grantees was out in the field yesterday and it was a pretty trying day. Today, he went home in the afternoon to take a nap. He snuck into this room so that he wouldn't wake his night shift working roommate. The roommate wasn't used to him sleeping at the same time as him and had to ask if it was 4am or 4pm because it is always light out now.

Edit: I have a wet sock. It isn't safe yet for the Keens in areas that get a ton of sun.

Leopard Seal Whiskey Boat

Lots of Antarctic stuff in the news this week:

I've never seen a leopard seal here. I don't know anyone except grantees who have seen them. We usually just get Weddell seals closer to town. Anyway, this video is incredible.


Earlier this year, they found crates below Shackleton's Hut at Cape Royds. Apparently, they contain 100 year old whiskey that more than a few people would love to get their hands on whether they are history buffs, whiskey connoisseurs, or just someone from McMurdo who can't buy hard liquor by the bottle on base and can't wait until the bar opens. All I really know is that they plan on digging (possibly drilling) to get to them.


Shackelton's Hut at Cape Royds.
Apparently, another tourist ship is stuck in the ice flow near the peninsula on the other side of the continent. They aren't in any danger and are apparently enjoying themselves. They just need to wait for the wind to unblock the back or possibly for a larger ice breaker to come charging to the rescue.


The Captain Khlebnikov

Ice Caves and Cape Evans trip

Michael and Meg are auditioning for Easy Rider or . . . . letting the wind hold them up.
Two weekends ago, I went on a recreational trip to Cape Evans. Cape Evans is located fifteen miles north of McMurdo Station, but still on Ross Island. On the way there, we also stopped at an ice cave.


Our sled full of survival gear and the ice cave in the distance.


Our ride to Cape Evans, a delta. I love the nothingness beyond the delta.
During my first year on the ice, I visited Cape Evans four times: twice on recreational trips, once to take out the flagged route, and once to put the flagged route back in after winter. At this point, I'm not as excited to see that piece of history. I was really excited for the chance to see emperor penguins and the ice cave. After being closed a few years, the cave reopened just after I left the ice my first time. Emperor penguins have eluded me every time I've been out, however, I had heard of sightings on the road out so I was hopeful.


The ice cave.


In the back of the cave, the light comes through the ice in the ceiling.


Me.
The ice caves are a great addition to the Cape Evans trip. I was told the the caves reopened because the sea ice levels have finally dropped back down. They were high for years because the giant iceberg, B-15, blocked the bay up almost a decade(?) ago and didn't let the ice out each year. The build up is finally clearing out.


Scott's Hut at Cape Evans and Barne Glacier.
Cape Evans is home to Scott's Hut where Scott launched his fatal expedition to the South Pole. Scott was beaten to the pole by Amundsen, but didn't know it until he reached the pole. They didn't make it back.


Scott's sleeping quarters.


My first penguin this time is the same as my first penguin last time.


A little Pittsburgh love . . .
Shackelton's Endurance expedition also used the hut. Shackelton intended to complete a transcontinental crossing via the Pole in 1914. He never made it. He was trapped in the sea ice before he ever touched land and his journey home has been well captured in Shackelton's iMax or The Endurance. The part of that story that isn't well known is that the men waiting for Shackelton on the other side of the continent were left waiting three years because their own ship had blown away in a storm. The anchor is still there today.


An iceberg on the way out to Cape Evans.