Tucker Ride!

A Tucker!
Boondoggles are the old Navy term that we use for recreational trips during work time. Sometimes you need to work while you do them. Sometimes you just need to accompany other people who are working. I lucked into a boondoggle on Thursday. I'd be riding along while the MEC mechanics put hours on the new Tuckers that they'll be using for a traverse this coming summer. To put hours on them, they just go driving. My trip with them would be out to the A-Frame and then we'd return home via the Castle Rock loop.


Tucker see, Tucker do.
The south side of the peninsula on the way out to the A-Frame was uneventful. The light from the horizon couldn't get through Erebus and it was foggy. We took a new way out to the A-Frame that I hadn't been on before, but since it was so dark I couldn't truly appreciate it. We stopped for a while to take pictures and look around, but there really wasn't too much to see in those conditions. It was still great to be out of town though. Don't make any mistake about that.


Nacreous or mother-of-pearl clouds seen from Castle Rock.
As we headed up the Castle Rock trail, I started to get excited. You could see that there were bright colors in the sky. We parked at the base of Castle Rock and hiked up to where we could see the horizon. Bright reds and oranges filled the lower part of the sky. Nacreous clouds were in the higher dark part of the sky. This was the best horizon I've see since the sun started coming back up.


Daylight? Not quite. Some day light. Some Tucker headlights. Some photography tricks.
It was so bright that I could capture the horizon light illuminating the ground with my camera. The left of the picture above is lit by the light from the horizon and the right of the picture is lit by the Tucker headlights. It wasn't that bright, but I overexposed the image a little so you could clearly see what was going on. I love how excited I am getting as the sun comes back just a little more each day.


Castle Rock.
As we turned back to return to the Tuckers, I saw that Castle Rock was lit up. I haven't seen Castle Rock close up since early March. It was weird because I hadn't been there in so long and didn't expect it to be that bright from the headlights. On the south side of the peninsula, the headlights didn't seem to light up too much, but that might have been the weather. After taking that picture, we tromped back down the hill and hopped in the Tuckers. I made the mistake of handling my metal camera equipment with my bare hands once we were inside. I almost got a cold burn. Not smart. The ride home was uneventful. The Tucker side windows continued to freeze up so we couldn't see anything, but the snow and Tucker in front of us.


Sean looking north.

My fingers are getting cold

Auroras over Crater Hill.
A friend wanted to have a silhouetted photo taken of him and his friend with the Milky Way and Clouds of Magellan in the background. I was having more and more success with getting the photos I wanted from the night sky, so I figured I'd give it a go.


Auroras from one side to the other.
After watching a great travelogue on climbing Kilimanjaro, I got the page that tonight was the night to go. The skies were clear and the full moon was gone. I checked the weather and it was -35F with a -60F wind chill. I dressed up in my warmest gear and opened hand warmers before I even left the room. We went the back way up the Ridge loop to a dark spot near the RaySat golf ball. Once there, I was pleasantly surprised to see auroras illuminating the sky from one horizon to the other. Amazing! I got those guys to stand still for thirty seconds while I got a quick picture and almost as soon as I was done with that, the auroras started to fade.


More great auroras.
Luckily, the auroras came back and continued to put on a great show for my friends while I messed around with my camera and tripod to get everything set up. Messing around with my camera means taking off my gloves, sometimes sitting on the ground to get the right angle, and handling the metal lens, metal camera, and metal tripod with just a very thin liner on. My hands just get colder and colder the longer I am out there. I think I was only shooting photos for an hour, but I don't know another time when my hands have been so cold.


Silhouettes watching the Milky Way.
When I returned to my room, my hands warmed up quickly in hot water. It took my feet an hour in bed to feel warm again. The tips of my fingers were still super sensitive in the morning. I'm guessing that I got a little frost nip from handling my metal camera so much. I just don't know another way to do it right now. I do know I'm having a fabulous week, but I'm kind of sick of being cold right now. Current temperature as I write this: -33F.


That is me figuring out a new trick which hopefully you'll get to see soon.

A-Frame

The moonlit A-Frame
During the winter, the Kiwis let us use their A-Frame for overnight recreational trips. During the summer, they use it to house their instructors during Happy Camper school. Rumor has it that it used to be one of our buildings, but we threw it away and the Kiwis recycled it. Traditionally, it is only available to us once a month, but you can also make special requests. Our friend, Katie, doesn't have the same day off as everyone else so a few of us requested the day off so we could head out to the A-Frame during the week with her.


B-Nelson says . . .
We caught a piston bully ride out to the A-Frame just after dinner on Monday night. We went by Scott Base, past the Kiwi ski hill and Castle Rock turn off, and continued on in the direction of Windless Bite. Then, they dropped us off and headed back to town. We immediately got settled in. We lit the lantern, got some hot water boiling, and unpacked a little bit of our stuff. We had planned to play cards, but all we ended up doing for the entire night was chatting and drinking our favorite treats (Oregon Chai, Monteith's Black, or scotch carried in a recycled wine bag). It was so nice to just be out of town for a change.


Katie, Talie, B-Nelson and me inside the A-Frame (photo by B-Nelson).
A-Frame trips are limited to six people. You can easily sleep three on the right in the above picture and three more can sleep in the loft (the ladder is tied to the ceiling - visible at the top of the picture). The upstairs definitely has more heat, but the downstairs is plenty comfortable if the stove has been running long enough. Luckily for us, the A-Frame trip a couple days before ours had been canceled for weather so the stove had been heating the place for three days. The Kiwis keep the A-Frame stocked with fuel, a few containers of water which may or may not be frozen, sleeping bags, pillows, a lantern, and a bunch of other basic necessities. It is basically car camping at its finest.


A-frame and its outhouse.
When Sir Edmund Hillary, the first to summit Everest, came back down to the ice for his final trip a few years ago, he refused to stay on base. Instead, he chose to stay at the A-Frame (where a small plaque commemorates his stay just to the right of the stove). I'm guessing that his choice has something to do with how big our foot print has gotten here and how different it is from when he first was exploring this beautiful place.


Skiing north to Erebus, sunlight, warmth and home.
After a pretty good night of sleep, we got back to huddling around the fire. I don't think we did much but drink chai, sip tea, and stay warm. It was definitely colder in the morning, but we also didn't have anywhere to be. Our ride would come back to get us at 2pm and until then we were in no hurry. I think we talked by the fire until noon when we finally got motivated enough to out for a ski. When we first went outside, Erebus was completely unobscured. However, weather was moving in and within 30 minutes, you could barely see it. As the visibility continued to worsen, we turned back to the A-Frame just in case things got bad. When we got back, we packed up our gear, cleaned up, and waited for our Haglund ride back to Scott Base.


Our Haglund ride back to Scott Base.
This blog is a little too wrapped up in the facts and really doesn't do the experience justice. It was one of my best nights here in Antarctica for its sheer simplicity. It was a new experience. I chatted with good friends. I didn't need to worry about rushing here or there. It was a special night and I'll remember it fondly. Without these nights, I worry I'd end up with the 1,000 yard stare that Katie looks like she has in the picture below.


Katie's 1000 yard stare . . . . or she is about to become a zombie.

Tears of Erebus

Tears of Erebus
Excerpt by William T.
"I created the original Tears of Erebus sculpture in late December 2007 for McMurdo's Alternative Art Gallery show in an effort to make some kind of statement about our "Caretaking" of this most wonderful and pristine place. The base and the cone are aluminum and the "Smoke" is turnings from the fabrication of the cone. The "Tears" are molten droplets of volcanic rock made from the lava rocks around Erebus. Anyone who has been to Terra Nova, Captain Scott's main hut during the early exploration of Antarctica, will see the similarity between the "Erebus Bombs" scattered around the hut (some as big as Volkswagens) and the droplets in my sculpture. The statement that went with the sculpture and spoke of why Erebus was sad said simply that It is not the size of our footprint here, but rather how dirty our feet are. I thank Shawntel for inspiring me to go ahead with this project."


Erebus tears cool below the rock and torch that cause the droplets to form.

The first step towards creating the 'tears' is to superheat the lava rocks using a welding torch. The droplets just drop off the main rock onto the table. Some of them are circular, some less so. Also, some are unstable so after you give them a shake those ones will burst. You only get a few well formed droplets per batch.

The lava rock is heated with a torch.
I was first introduced to these droplets at the MAAG, but I wasn't able to see them created until just recently. William was planning on making some jewelry and waited to make the droplets until I was around (Thanks, William!). There are so many talented people down here. I love it and am constantly humbled. The creator of Tears of Erebus, William, is definitely one of those people. I'm pretty sure he can fix just about any mechanical device made and if for some reason, he can't fix the part, he can probably make a new one. I've had the privilege of seeing a number of his pieces unfold and each is so simple, yet so elegantly created. I wouldn't even know where to being.


William at work.

Inch by Inch, Degree by Degree, Gonna Make This Horizon Glow

June 30th, 2:00pm looking north from Arrival Heights.
Two points for anyone who can name the song that the title of this blog is borrowing from. I'm giving the edge to my brother Tait who introduced me to the song over a decade ago, though I think he has only ever left one or two comments so you might be able to beat him.


July 14th, 1:30pm looking north at Mt. Erebus and Castle Rock from Second Crater.
The sun is predicted to rise at 12:10pm on August 19th. That is just one month away. I'm excited and that excitement is reinforced when I look at this series of pictures. You can tell that it is getting brighter on the horizon with each passing day. I believe we are 15 minutes closer to sunrise every day.


July 17th, 12:30pm looking north from Hut Point.
I can't even describe the feelings that I go through when I see the light on the horizon. We currently have a full moon in town so I wasn't sure if the light was from the moon or the sun. However yesterday, I noticed a red glow on some ice and I knew for sure that it was the indirect sunlight from the horizon. I got giddy. Sometimes, I get sad when I think that the beautiful night time skies are coming to a close. Other times, I just feel relieved that I have almost survived the long night. It's neat to be appreciating something (the sun) that I've taken for granted for so long in my life (even though I used to live in Pittsburgh which has so many cloudy days). I guess I was always happy for a sunny day, but it is a different appreciation when you haven't seen the sun in three months.


July 17th, 12:30pm looking north from Roll Cage Mary.
We lost power this morning because an engine dropped off at the power plant. It was only off for a minute or two, but I am constantly amazed at how beautiful this place is when you turn off the blinding street lights so we can appreciate the nature around us. I think we should turn off all the street lights in an effort to conserve energy.


July 17th, 12:30pm Look SSE from Roll Cage Mary.

Cold food storage

Boxes and boxes of frozen food.
These boxes of food are inside our huge cold storage warehouse. We have a number of buildings that are left unheated naturally, but I believe this one also has refrigeration in the summer in case things get too warm. You can't expect to serve up expired meats and cheeses if they have been flirting with thawing out.

Since we only get one major food shipment annually, there is enough cold food in this building for the entire year. That is a big to go order. Over the year, it will feed approximately 200 people for six months in the winter and then 1000 people for six months in the summer. I think there are at least three other warehouses for food on base. The heated one for liquids is in the same building that I am. A beverage warehouse is next door below the electrical supply and there should also be an unheated one for things that can thaw and freeze safely.

Random updates:
The Medivac is officially off.

The wind hit 133mph at Arrival Heights this week. Town only went to condition 2 again. We seem to get stuck at condition 2 every storm which is frustrating a number of people down here. We have an unofficial pool to guess the date of the first condition 1 in town over the winter. A number have been close, but no winners yet.

The weather is fine in town, but a few people are still stuck out at Black Island. They went out to work on a few things on the new satellite system that increased our Internet bandwidth this summer. I believe it isn't working in the extreme cold (< -30F). It may be losing sensitivity to the frequency we currently use. I think they are going to first try a different frequency and if that doesn't work, just heat the building. I'm not too sure about anything, but them being out there.

I'm scheduled to leave October 15th. I might return to my full time in Colorado when my extended leave of absence (thanks, Craig!) is up on November 10th. That would take me back to a number of people I love and give me the opportunity to rediscover my ice cream and cookie monster ways! My other option is to travel the world for an extended period. No decision yet.


Rows of boxes and boxes of food.

A Different Kind of Lazy Sunday.

Kicking back in the greenhouse.
As my time here has worn on, I have become more worn out. Sometimes, I think the best way to recharge my batteries is to go hike. Other times, I do nothing. My Sundays have usually been dedicated to nothing. This Sunday, I got sick of doing nothing in my room (two movies and lots of reading), so I decided to change it up.


Tomatoes on the vine.


The Fun house or the Greenhouse?
I braved miserable condition two weather to head up to the greenhouse. I actually couldn't find the greenhouse at first. When I finally found it, it was an oasis of light and warmth. It was wonderful. Over the summer, I headed up to the greenhouse a few times, but I just haven't made it up over the winter much. It is probably the best place to have a phone conversation on station because no one is usually up there after work hours and it the greenery gives it a great energy.


Tomatoes and flowers.


GREENERY!
Most of these pictures didn't come out right. The lighting causes them to turn out yellow. I need to figure out my white balance and how to adjust it in photoshop. I also need to find a computer with photoshop. I should have brought my copy down. So much to learn. Such is life. This is what you get for now. (EDIT: B-Nelson edited some of these photos for me so they are better than in the original post).


ET searches for Yoda on Dagobah.
The greenhouse is a good place. Too bad these photos just don't do it justice. Back home, I don't even know if this would be an attractive greenhouse to me. I am normally drawn to flower gardens over vegetable gardens. Antarctica is simply so devoid of color and life that the greenhouse stands in such stark contrast to it. That contrast draws me in.


Happy Me.

Night photography deserves a quiet night.

Peter and James take pictures at Raysat.
Most of my photography trips this year have been hikes. This past weekend, I tried something new. We loaded into a van and just drove up the hill. The aurora forecast was high, but a storm was also rolling in. We'd be lucky to get anything before the clouds came.


McMurdo, the Pegasus shortcut road, and the Pegasus runway with lights.
Because no auroras were in sight, we focused our cameras on other sights. I had tried to capture town and the Pegasus runway lights in April, but neither one worked because I didn't know how to use my camera well enough. Now that I have finally figured it out, I got a picture I was happy with. Normally, the Pegasus lights aren't on, but we might have a Medivac later this week and so they have been preparing the runway just in case. The Medivac isn't likely to go, but they need a lot of time to set it up.


The Hut Point Peninsula looking back towards Mt. Erebus.
I'm not entirely sure why, but it felt a lot colder than the temperature was reading. It might have been the wind, but I think it had more to do with driving up. Normally, when I hike I generate a lot of body heat. While driving, I generate none. Luckily, we could just hop back in the van to warm up for a bit. I might take a few more van rides, but I'll probably stick to hiking if weather and time permit.


Raysat and James (to the left of the ball).
Don't be fooled by the next picture. It was taken at night with a fifteen second exposure. The moon definitely lights this place up but not that much. The sun is coming back though so it will be lit up like that soon. I can't wait. Some days, I'm really ready to get back home to Colorado. Other days, I just can't wait to see what treat I'll find next.


Mt. Erebus.

Half Done Run

Last Sunday, we had our Half Done Run. It has had many names over the years including the Midwinter run and the Frozen 4K. It is actually only about 2k (1.3 miles), but Frozen 4K has more flare. The year it earned than name, it is rumored they ran in Condition 2 weather and had 30 cases of frost nip or bite. I'm sure medical was appreciative for the extra unsolicited business.

This year we had 35 participants. The weather started out around -17F with a -38F wind chill. We all huddled inside in the big gym to stay warm. About two minutes before start time, we finally went outside. The race got underway and I tucked in behind someone tall to let them block the wind and just followed them as far as I could. I got lucky because Bodie led for 70% of the race. At some point, he got tired and I had to fend for myself in the wind. Not fun. Andy and I kept on trucking and he pulled into the lead.

*warning - long winded personal musings ahead*
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This is where things got interesting for me. Near the end, Andy was only about fifteen feet ahead at the road that leads down to the transition. We had about 100 feet to the turn and then 75 yards to the finish. I felt pretty sure I could catch him by the turn and at least have a chance at beating him in the final sprint. As I was realizing this, I also thought that this was the first time I had run hard outside since spraining my ankle and that I might end up reinjuring it by pushing too hard. I always push. I'm too competitive to not go for it all. That is the only reason I succeeded in ultimate. I certainly didn't have the skill or athleticism of most of my teammates. I just wanted it more, pushed harder, and chose to deal with the consequences later. I didn't go for it. I eased off just enough to make sure that I wouldn't let my competitive side get a hold of me and force me into a sprint. Andy was running well and I finished five seconds behind him at 9:24.

I'm happy with my decision, but it was weird for me to not choose to go for it. I don't think my competitive drive is gone. I just might be getting a little wiser and realizing this body has to last me a few more years before I turn it back into dust. Would I have won? I have no idea and it really doesn't matter. Not giving it my all is the part that is making the rounds in my brain.
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By the time I finished the race and got back to my room, it was down to -30F and a -66F wind chill. Due to the weather, we ended up with at least five cases of frost nip or bite. However, in each of those cases I don't think they had full skin coverage. No matter how it happened, I'm glad I wasn't one of them. I had run outside in the week leading up to the race to make sure I had the right gear. I ended up settling on thin wool socks, shoes with the toe vent blocked by a toe warmer, under armour tights, wind pants, under armour top, capilene top, fleece jacket, balaclava, goggles, and mittens with hand warmers.

Bar Triathlon

Bringing your A game after a few drinks may be difficult.
The week of the 4th of July was really cold. I was looking to spend my day curled up in bed with a couple hot cups of Oregon Chai, a book, and maybe a couple movies. However, as I was exiting brunch around 1pm, Dave P. stopped me to ask how I was at darts and pool. I said medium and he said I was in. He needed a partner for the bar games triathlon.



Alex and Bob play shuffleboard while Dan and Tim square off against Jim and Jeremy in darts.
The bar games triathlon was a twelve team double elimination bracket tournament. You and your partner would pair off against another team in a best of three series of 8-ball pool, shuffleboard, and 301 darts. Dave and I had a first round bye. I'm not sure when we finally got started, but we edged out Bec and Mike in darts to start the round. Then, we got waxed in pool, but made the game take forever with some great defense. Finally, we pulled out the win in shuffleboard. At this point, it was almost 5pm. We had only played one round and had two or three to go. It wasn't looking like a short afternoon.



Hosts with the most.
Luckily, the tournament coincided with Shandra and Lisa's Happy Hour. Around 5pm, they set up and brought back some energy to the event. I don't know about others, but I was definitely running low because I didn't expect there to be so much down time.



Alex and Eric take on Louie and Ogre in darts.


Shuffle board and pool in the back.
For our second round, we went up against Jim and Jeremy. I think they beat us in two rounds at darts and pool. For the next round, Dave and I were just as motivated to win as we were to lose. We had simply been there too long, but I didn't like the idea of quitting. Unfortunately, our opponents, Gerry and Andy, felt the same way. We took them in darts. They rallied in shuffleboard. Then, we missed an 8 ball shot in pool that left them set up for the win. They moved on. We finished in fifth. We went home and that was just fine with me. I think they kept playing until 9pm while I watched the Goonies. On the Goonies DVD, Cyndi Lauper has an amazing music video that has WWF stars of old. Brilliant!



Me, Karen, and Ogre.
Yesterday, the low was -40.1F over by Scott Base. Eek! With wind chill it was, -80. Eek, eek!

July 4th Carnival!

What defines the 4th more than a plate of great food?
Everyone has a different image of what a 4th of July celebration should be. Where I lived in Colorado, it became the two months of fireworks between Cinco de Mayo and July 4th capped off with a backyard BBQ. Most of my recent 4ths have been spent in Pittsburgh at the Mars ultimate frisbee tournament. Unfortunately, I had to miss it this year. Instead, I attended a celebration which felt like a good 4th carnival back home.


Community seating.


Tub of soda and beer.
To start off with, most people filed through a room with burgers, potato salads, cupcakes, friend chicken and other great food in giant trays. We filled up our paper plates, grabbed our plastic ware, and headed for the giant paper covered tables. After dropping off your food, you went over to the giant tub to grab a drink. Some soda. Lots of beer.

After eating, everyone got down to the business at hand. Games. We had all types of carnival games and activities. Through the night, you'd gather and spend tickets that you could use for the raffle at the end of the night.


J-Bird, Angie, Dave, and Casey see who is the best behind the wheel in NASCAR racing.


Keith gets ready take a swim in the dunking tank.


Rolling the big dice isn't easy. (Yes, that is a beaker in his hand.)


At the Photo Booth, Casey wishes he was somewhere warmer.


Austin bobs and weaves in the Server's Challenge.


Our store managers, Jolene and Amy, tested our shopping savvy at Guess the Price.


Tom and Will whip up some old style funnel cake.


Sean adds another level in the highlight of the evening, Human Jenga.


Meghan topples the Human Jenga.


Joe gets to the top of the Human Jenga.


The Firehouse, VMF, IT, Pat, James and a few others had a Chili Cook Off.


Todd and Angie delivered tattoos to order.


Sensitive Dan displays his new ink.
After all the games slowly wrapped up, everyone got ready for the annual auction. People donated all types of items to be sold off. Traditionally, the money is donated to charity, but the federal government says you can't collect money for charity at a federal work place anymore. Since we are funded by the National Science Foundation, we are federal. This year, all the money went back to the community in the form of a raffle. Some of the items up for grabs were tucker rides, massages, and knit products. I think the hottest item was either the only thing that survived the smurf shack fire, a warped wrench, or the knit G-string seen below.


Chris models the knit g-string for auction.
I can't find any pictures, but after the auction wrapped up the live music started up. We started out with a great bass rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by J-Bird. Then, McBand was up. They were composed of B-Nelson, Jim, Jen, Tom, Kish, Dave, and J-Bird. They played a lot of great covers of old favorites like Johnny Be Good. Perennial band, Level 5, closed out the evening. Great stuff all around. I was in and out for most of the evening because my mood wasn't fitting the festivities, but for when I was there I had a great time.