Lost Distance Balloon

A Long Distance Balloon in front of the sun.

One of the major science experiments we have had down here the past few years are NASA's Long Distance Balloon (LDB) experiments. We launched three balloons this year and I believe the final one, CREAM, was retrieved yesterday after 32 days in flight. It was collecting data on ultra high energy cosmic rays over the elemental range from protons (If you can explain that in laymen terms, please do). It weighed 4,141 lbs. In general, the balloons can be as large as 1.5 football fields. I believe the longest balloon flight ever was 42 days.

At launch, the payload is the white box and solar panels attached to the crane on the left. The orange and white tanks should be helium to fill up the balloon.

When I was on my flag pulling trip, we got to see the first balloon launch from a distance. We could see it rising for hours because it travels up to around 125,000 ft. It was pretty amazing. This particular balloon orbited the continent twice so we also got to see is pass over town again about twenty days later. Amazing.

An LDB launch in the distance the day of my boondoggle.

A map of the path that the balloon took these past 32 days.

A lot of the science they are doing is beyond me, so I am just going to provide you with a link to their webpage. MikeLo, any chance you work with any of the people on that project? Ellie was on a different NASA project that worked with robots so I don't think they are related. Whoever these guys are, they work hard. When they finally get ready to launch, they need specific conditions to launch. If they think they are going to have them, they stay out at the launch pad and hope. I think some of them were up over 24 hours waiting for the right conditions and they didn't always come so they had to scrap it for another day. There was a huge sigh of relief from this group when their balloons were finally airborne.

Cream in front of Mt. Erebus.

The Icebreaker Oden

We get planes in through the entire summer season. We start to take them for granted and I even disassociate them with the civilization they are going back to. I think that might be because I'm not going back anytime soon, I'm not sure. Others might do it too though. We stop getting excited when we see planes. However, when the first ship comes in of the season, everyone seems to be out watching. The ship is not only coming from the outside world, but it is also breaking up the sea ice which leads to us eventually seeing open water. For the few days up the ice breakers docking, everyone was speculating how long it would take to break through the ice all the way to base.

The Oden icebreaker in the distance

The icebreaker a few days later

The day of docking.

The orange pole in the lower right corner is part of the pier system where the ship will come into dock. The actual ice pier is below the picture.

I was fortunate to be able to volunteer to be a line handler. Line handlers help all the vessels that come into port to tie up. We were supposed to get the ice breaker, a fuel ship, a cargo ship, a research ship, and four expedition cruise ships. It's a lot of fun to do something outside of your normal job. If we are lucky, we line handle during our regular hours so we get out of work. It also gives us a chance to get up close and personal with the ship. For our first line handling experience, it also gave me a chance to see my second and third penguins of the season.

Two adelie penguins came in to see what all the ado was about.

Those same two adelie penguins beside the ice pier trying to a closer look of the action.

The Oden in front of Mt. Discovery.

The Oden finally getting close to the ice pier and these two unsuspecting penguins.

One Adelie penguin finally takes notice of the large ship.

While the one is still taking notice of the ship coming, the other one decides to start fleeing.

Run away, run away!

With good reason, the penguins fled the scene. The Oden uses water jets and sheer might to break up the ice and move it out of the way.

The aftermath of the Oden coming into port.

Just after the Oden made port, they used loaders/bulldozers to move all the ice back into the ocean, which would leave the ice pier free for vehicles and cargo. A lot of the line handlers left without even touching a line because there were so many of us. They only had a few lines and the ice pretty much kept the ship in its place. Either way, it was still fun to get out and play.

Since its first docking, the Oden has come in and out a few times and widened the channel. However, even after the first trip it opened things so much you could see the channel via satellite.

Satellite imagery of the ice breakes path.

Me.

The bad comes with the good

I think the two of the most preferred weather types down here are cold, blizzardy and warm, sunny. We like the cold and blizzardy days because Antarctica is supposed to be a harsh, cold continent. When it snows, it also covers up all the dirt and dust of the base and makes this place look less like a mining camp. I don't think why we like warm and sunny needs much of an explanation.

When we get these two weather patterns back to back, we have an extra danger to watch out for across base - washouts, mudslides, etc. The snow is great, but when the sun heats things up for 24 hours a day we can get some pretty serious snow melt around base. Normally, this just results in small streams beside the roads. When this first started happening, you could see people stopping and staring at the water because it was the first free moving water they had seen in months outside of a shower drain or checking out the mythical Coriolis effect in a toilet.

Serious snow melt.

Around December 14th, a pool that had been forming at one of the higher elevations on base broke open allowing a ton of water to pour out in addition to what was already coming down the roads. This almost caused us to lose our lower road down to the Ice Pier. The Ice Pier is the brown rectangle in the bottom left corner of the picture and is probably the world's biggest (man-made) ice cube. It is big enough for fuel tankers to tie up to.

The lower ice road down its best to wash out.

On a more personal note, the mental and physical anguish of the marathon are coming to a close. I'm finally walking close to normal. My IT band still hurts to run on, but a long sauna session and some yoga set the rest of my muscles straight. I'll be going for a short bike ride and long stretch to get the last couple kinks out later today. I'll probably only be riding on the road, but I'm so excited to be riding a bike again. I have one rented out for the entire week!

Marathon!

My ice marathon is complete. I feel like my marathon can best be summed up by a Violent Femmes lyric, "Second verse, same as the first!!" If you aren't into running (and even if you are), this will probably bore you.

On May 20, 2007, I ran my first marathon on Colfax Avenue in Denver, CO. I had completed an abbreviated training schedule with the help of Pam Campbell (especially in the early stages). I had run a 22 mile training run about a month before the marathon and then sprained my ankle two days later. I did not run again until the day before my marathon when I ran 2.5 miles around Sloan Lake.

The day of the marathon, I felt ready though. At 1/4 done, I was on track for my goal of a 4 hour marathon. At 1/2, I was still on track for 4 hours, but something was going on in my legs that I think was caused by compensating for my sprained ankle. At 3/4 done, I had slowed to a four and a half hour marathon finish. During that stretch something else started hurting a lot in my legs. I would learn later it was my IT band. I had to slow to a walk which quickly evolved to a limp because I kept trying to run on it. At Sloan Lake, the 3/4 mark, I was a very short distance to my house and six miles from the finish. Perhaps because it was my first marathon, perhaps because I'm stubborn, I chose to limp out that last six miles. I kept trying to run, but it never worked. It made matters worse.

Major points to John Bain who gave me a ride at 4am and then, thinking that I would be finish in 4 hours, waited until I drug myself across the finish line at 5:28:03 (Net Time 5:27:45 whatever that means). I was happy I even finished considering how little training I had done the month before the race, but a small part of me was still bummed because it had looked like I was going to meet my goal.

Fast forward to January 20, 2008 as I'm about to attempt my second marathon. I was training like a machine. My primary goal was to be able to run the entire race, unlike last time. My secondary goal was to run it in 4 hours, but that seemed unlikely across snow and ice. However, one month before the marathon I turned out 25 miles in 4:10. I felt great all through the training run and realized that a 4 hour marathon may be within my grasp. I got excited and entered my taper phase.

I ran two short runs the week after the 25 miler and then did a 17 miler the three weekends before the event. The week after that, I did one short run and then 8 miler with an hour of ultimate in the snow on the weekend. After that, I had two full weeks before the marathon. I had planned on running the next to final week and weekend but didn't because I had two roommates quarantined with the flu and didn't want to risk lowering my immune system and getting sick for the marathon. I was worried that I had tapered too much, but I still felt good and the conditions were perfect.

Getting ready for the big start.

I went out alright and shared 2nd place for the first hour with Dave Z. The guy in 1st must have been a mile ahead of us. Stud. At the start of the second quarter, Dave and I were passed by a group of three runners. We decided to catch them by the halfway point and surged back to them by mile 12. However, that was the last I would see of any of them. My IT Band started to hurt then (different side than my other marathon). I kept running hard until the half way point which I reached in 1:47. If I had been able to keep up, it probably would have been 1:40.

Running beside Dave Z (I'm in red.)

I was excited, but also realized that the same thing was happening. I could run myself into a limp again or take it easy and walk jog the rest of the race. I chose to try and take it easy. Another racer, Richard, had the same problem with his opposite leg. We considered attempting to do a three legged race, but instead just ran together until mile 22 where he was able to keep moving along while I broke into a walk-limp because I had tried to run one too many times. I even attempted to power walk which I've often wondered the point of. I think the point is this - by really pumping your arms, you remind yourself to keep going faster. When I didn't pump my arms a lot, I let my legs slow down as well. I believe I finished in 4:51:21 to lots of cheering from fellow racers and event staff. I couldn't believe I had finished in under 5 hours, but I guess power walking is faster than limping. The winner crossed in 3:26:30.

Major kudos to the event staff, recreation department, and spectators. They put on a great with tons of support for the 75 or so people who ran or skied the full and half marathon events.

Finishers and voluneer t-shirt.

Count down!

I'm not usually a big fan of counting down the days until something happens. However, John Endrizzi's recent comment about short timers calendars in Vietnam made me think of some things someone sent me when I first got here: The Donut of Misery and the Penguin Timer. (Make sure to click on the pictures to enlarge them to see the details.) I guess it depends how happy you are to be here.

With 219 days left, I am not counting anything. Everything is too far away. At best, I'm counting the days until everyone leaves and winter starts so I can have a whole new experience. Unfortunately, the sooner that happens the sooner my friends leave.

The Penguin Timer.

The Donut of Misery.

Kind of new mailing address

I have a new mailing address:
William Brotman, RPSC
Winter-Over McMurdo Station
PSC 469 Box 700
APO AP 96599-1035

The reason for the new address is that if you mark it WINTER OVER, then it gets priority. The last date that ANY mail will arrive is February 21st so if you want me to receive anything from you, box or envelope, then you need to probably send it from the US by February 1st. I've seen somethings get here in 10 days, but that is when everything runs smoothly. Often, they don't. Other things have taken six weeks to make it down. If for some reason, I don't get it in February, I'll get it in August.

In short, I won't be getting anything but electronic mail from late February though the end of August. Wow, we will actually be isolated except for the other 140 people I'll be living with. I think I only have 220 more days down here.

More running!!!

Julie, Kate, and Meg get ready for the Scott Hut's race.
Two weekends ago, the base hosted our annual Scott Hut's race. It was a 5 mile race that was half up hill and half down. We'd run .7 miles down to the hut, then 1.8 miles up to the top of the hill on the way to Scott Base, then back down to the hut and finally back to the chapel. A while back someone asked me if I preferred to run to that height slowly over the 1.8 miles or quickly and steeply like the other side of the hill. After having run both, I'll take a long slow ascent to the top that we used for the race instead of a steep one that gets it over with quickly.


Our usual start and finish line at the Snow Chapel.


I'm in red and blue beside one of my fellow running partners, Dave.
I've only run a few races over 800m in my life. When I have, everyone gets sorted out after the first five minutes and I just maintain position. I pretty much don't pass or get passed too much, especially the passing other people part. This race was one of the first times that wasn't the case. I started out in 6th or 7th place and was able to pick everyone off except the eventual winner, Dave Z. It was a long haul to reel in the 2nd and 3rd place guys, but I did it. New feeling and very cool. I think they just ran out of steam. One guy said that he didn't realize that the hill went on for so far. I think he was new to base. Next time, he'll know better and I might not catch him.


Finishing second
Finishing second
1) Dave Z. 32.04
2) Brody 33:49
Women's winner Annie Farris 37:42

So if the race course was measured right, then I averaged under 7 minute miles. That is something I never would have thought I would have done. Yeah for me. However, not too many yeahs. I've been letting up on training quite a bit for the final month before the marathon which is my goal. I'm not sure how I'll do and I might go in under trained. We'll see. I'm really worried about getting sick because two of my roommates are currently quarantined with the flu so I'm doing even less than before so I don't stress my body or immune system. The cargo guys were telling me that is there is still 8 inches of loose snow on the road we are going to be running 16 miles on. That isn't going to be any fun at all after an hour or two.

Ultimate in the Antarctic

A few people don't understand how I've been able to play ultimate down here. It's been tough between low numbers, a bad time, and lack of space to play. However, we've made it work. We usually play 4v4 in the gymnasium and as many as possible outside, which so far has also been 4v4. The biggest problem is that the only time we could really get space is during brunch. Brunch is probably everyone's favorite meal of the week. They get to sleep in. They don't have to work. They can plan it with their friends. Overall, it ends up beating out ultimate a lot.

Indoor ultimate pictures:

I have no idea what is going, maybe a warm-up.

Off the wall is legal so if that knee keeps that disc from hitting the ground, it is a goal.

Members of the Antarctica Ultimate League . . .

Ok, we don't really have a league, but we do have a ton of experience. Elie from NASA played on the University of Maryland B team. Pepe played on Brown's B team. Terri founded the Ohio State women's team, Rob played intramurals and winter rec leagues, Steve is another Nasa guy who thinks we use snooty British rules, and I'm not sure who the last guy is, but he plays barefoot and that counts for something.

Outdoor ultimate.

Pepe can't quite jump high enough in the snow.

You can do all types of things that would normally hurt in the snow!

Pepe lays out for the goal.

Hard D!

Everyone. Pepe, Gretchen who plays pick up in Alaska, Elie, Rob, Terri, Anthony, me, and Steve.

Look at that stack . . . keep looking . . .

Big layout D!! Give this man a bracelet!

I figured the best way to give you an idea of what ultimate was down here was to show videos. It gives you a better idea how we can't move well in the snow and the overall game.

Passing of Sir Edmund Hillary

Yesterday (January 11, 2008), Sir Edmund Hillary passed away. He was an explorer from New Zealand and most famously, with Tenzing Norgay (a Nepalese Sherpa) he was one of the first two men to summit Everest. He is special to Antarctica because he founded New Zealand's Scott Base and was the first to reach the South Pole (1958) via a traverse in over 40 years since Amundsen (1911) and Scott (1912) had done it. Later, he also reached the North Pole. He had such an effect on Antarctic exploration that there will be a memorial service for him this Sunday.

More information can be found at http://nz.news.yahoo.com/080110/2/3jzs.html

Sir Edmund Hillary in Antarctica just one year before his death. He slept on the ice shelf once during his visit.

News about us

News, that really shouldn't be news. No one cares back home when these things happen, but when we do these things in Antarctica, it is really exciting!!!!

Fight: http://www.stuff.co.nz/4337419a11.html

Fight, an inappropriate Santa, and car chase: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080109/od_nm/christmas_dc
As I understand it, the car chase was about 10 mph.

The Kiwi dodgeball team:
http://stuff.co.nz/4346194a6427.html
This last article is really ridiculous. Anyone reading from an American perspective will know why. First up, Dodgeball isn't a B movie, but dodgeball certainly isn't a national sport for us either. Either way, it was fun and got a lot of people fired up. In the final tournament, the Kiwis were knocked out in the semi-finals.

The annual rugby match is this coming weekend. There is a rumor that not only have the Kiwis not lost, but they have never been scored on. A couple people on the McMurdo rugby squad are promising that will change. Most of the players on the American squad are learning the game for the first time. I'm not sure about the Kiwi team, but I'd suspect they at least know the rules because it is on television there.

It's Black, It's White!!

Black & White party at the BFC

I'm a little behind on random blog happenings, so today is a catch up day. Just a single picture from the BFC's Black & White party. I think this was the Friday before New Year's Eve. The theme was simple, come dressed up in black and white and dance under UV lights. I put on my mandarin collared suit with my under armour shirt underneath. They were the only black and white clothes that that I have here. Off came the keens and on went the dancing shoes. It was the first night that I have really danced here. Such a good night. Points to Meg for making sure I went when I was feeling tired.

I've been feeling run down these past couple weeks. I think it is a little bit of a lack of sleep, but more a lack of schedule. I haven't been working out regularly to rest for the marathon, because I got off my schedule, and partly because I'm lazy. The marathon is in ten days and after that I should get back to working out a little bit more regularly. Of course, a little bit now would help for the marathon too. Such is life. So far about twenty five people are signed up.

Baby Skua

Rumor had it that there was a baby skua on the rocks near Roll Cage Mary on Hut Point. The hike down was short as always, but incredibly windy. After a quick look around, we found an adult skua. We looked for a few minutes and figured that the skua was sitting on the baby skua keeping it warm. Just as we were about to leave, someone saw the baby off to the side. Unfortunately, it looked like it does above and wasn't moving. It wasn't anywhere near the adult skua so we thought it was dead.

Dead skua? Killed by cats? If the cats made friends, they probably would have given it sunglasses and a patch. If you don't understand this comment, go here.

After about ten more minutes of sitting, waiting, and wondering if the first baby skua was alive and the second rumored baby was underneath the adult skua, we started to head out. As we did, someone saw the baby skua moving and there was much rejoicing.

The baby skua is the small white ball in the top right quarter of the photo.

Baby skua giving us the stare down!

Jaded

A lot of people down here have a lot of strong opinions about what is and is not working down here. Others just have a strict view of fairness. This past week, that flared up when a couple distinguished visitors (DVs) came to visit. I'm not sure who the entire party was, but it included Bob Inglis from the 4th district of South Carolina and Brian Baird from Washington's 3rd District.


A bust of Admieral Byrd on the back of the Chalet.
DVs get to stay in Hut 10 which is a small version of your house back home. They have a private, kitchen, bathroom, etc. The regular dorms have none of these amenities. Other people also make their own beds and take out their garbage. If you were coming to visit would you want to see how the people who make it all work actually live or have it a little cushier? If we didn't have DVs, we might not have Hut 10 at all for all I know. It is great that we do have it though because when they aren't using it, the base fortunately makes it accessible to us for small gatherings. This coming week we are holding a dinner for Annie Farris' 40th birthday there. She is one of the best people down here. So much good energy and so much to share with others.

When DVs come down, they usually to flown to the best places to truly see Antarctica. These include the Dry Valleys, the South Pole, the Cape Royds penguin colony, among many other great spots. Most people down here see one or none of those places their entire season. There are people who have been here for a few years who haven't been to any of those places. You only get to go if you have work to do or if you get lucky enough to do a morale trip. I can see where people get grumpy, but at the same time if we don't show the DVs our best, then they may not push so hard to keep funding for this place. It's politics, same as always.


The Dry Valleys that never freeze in Antarctica. Just 40 miles away physically, but much farther when it comes to getting a chance to go there.
The reason it flared up this week was that DVs don't always attend Happy Camper school or the Outdoor Safety Lecture, which we need to be able to go outside and recreate. However, one DV was allowed to go out hiking without anyway. Not only does that put him at risk, it puts our Search & Rescue team at risk who would need to go after him. Another reason for flare up was that a DVs son who happens to be here got to go to South Pole outside of the normal channels - essentially resulting in the favoritism that they put in a system to avoid. I know some people are even reluctant to talk about the fabulous trips they get to take because other people get jealous.


Happy Camper school where anyone who could be stranded on the continent learns to fend for themselves using just their survival bags.

Personally, I can see why people get irritated, but it is what it is. We knew what we signed for before we came here. Everything else is just a bonus. In the following picture, I'm not sure if the bag is that of a DV or just happens to be brand new. The jaded folks I talked to suggested that the DVs would all have brand new Big Reds and bags. The bags and jackets I saw matched this description, but it also could have been by chance.


The issued bag of a DV (left) vs my bag (right)