The cold earth sleeps below, above the cold sky shines

Current conditions:  Con 3, Temp -2F (-19F with wind chill), cloudy.  Population: 277 McMurdo Station is an ugly place.  Watch Werner Herzog's documentary, Encounters at the End of the World , and you'll see what I mean.   The buildings largely date from the 60's and 70's.  Because construction is challenging in this climate, the structures are built for utility, not for beauty.  Powerlines, smokestacks and pipes obstruct views of the mountains and the sea.  Conex boxes litter the grounds.  Most are used for storage but some are cut in half and used as smoking huts.  There are five or six three-story dormitories, at least two of which are boarded up for the winter.  The few wooden buildings (the Chapel and the Chalet--an administrative building) smell like decay when you go inside.  The Chapel The remaining buildings are large and industrial, with aluminum(?) siding, few windows and garage entries for heavy equip...

Current conditions:  Con 3, Temp -6F (-30F with wind chill), light snow.  Population: 256 I arrived in McMurdo late last night.  The plane ride was a blast.  We went through security and were taken by bus to the C17.  The Air Force crew then sorted out our seating.   The plane bears little resemblance to a commercial jet.  All the mechanics are accessible and ladders, ropes, and other heavy equipment are tucked into the frame.  Seating consisted of 10 rows of normal, five across airline seats, and then jump seats on either side of the plane (I was in one of those).   The crew accesses the flight deck by ladder in the front.  The cargo rests on pallets in the back. Fans blow constantly, engines roar, and  earplugs are essential.   After we were all situated, I was surprised that the airmen provided the "flight attendant" briefing, showing us the oxygen masks, seat belts, etc.  In one major differen...

Last night's dinner conversation: Luggage including lab supplies in the boxes: 130 pounds total Shawn (experienced nurse manager):  There is no way we're going tomorrow. Gary (senior facilities manager):  I agree.  It was con one on the ice today.  They can't have the field ready. Leeann (head of medical in Christchurch):  Yes.  You guys will be here at least until Friday and maybe Saturday. Me:  I'm kind of glad.  I have a fleece shirt I want to get tomorrow and some more freshies.  But since tomorrow is the first day I haven't really wanted to go, I'm sure we'll be going. Shawn (in jest): Yes. It's all about you, Julie. Yes, it is all about me!  We're going!  Without that fleece.  Maybe. My luggage is on the plane.  I'm suited up. I've gotten my boarding pass.  Now we have a two-hour wait for boarding and I'd say there is a 30% probability that we will still be canceled.  This time,...

Reduced visibility today Dean called.  He says it's disturbingly quiet at McMurdo.  The last time he was in Antarctica, it was the peak of summer.  Now, in "Winfly season" (the transition from winter to spring), the place feels empty.  It feels that way, of course, BECAUSE WE ARE ALL SITTING ON OUR HANDS IN NEW ZEALAND.  Dean also remarked on how cold it is compared to in December.  The base was at Con 2 today--poor visibility and windy in addition to bone-chilling temperatures.  On a different note, the whole google blogger thing is not intuitively obvious.  Fortunately :-/, I've just had lots of time on my hands to figure things out.  So in response to a few queries: If you click on "Read more" at the bottom of each day's post, lo and behold, you will actually find more to read from that day!  If you click on the pictures, they will enlarge so you can see them better. If you can't leave a comment, it likely relates to your...

I spent yesterday driving to Kaikoura.  The drive was beautiful--brilliant-green rolling hills backed by snow-capped mountains and finally rugged ocean views--and only required a little more than average concentration to stay on the left side of the road,   I returned the rental car to the agency with the cleanest windshield in history since I routinely turned on the window washer instead of the right turn signal. Kaikoura is on the coast 2.5 hours north of Christchurch.   A 7.8 earthquake nearly destroyed the town in 2016 and left it without land access for almost a year.  Repairs on the road are ongoing, slowing down the drive considerably and leaving few turnouts for picture taking.   The town itself is famous for its whale and bird watching and for its colonies of seals.  They were all apparently in hiding, except for the sleepy fellow above who blocked my way on the boardwalk. More pics are below.  Antarctica, you ask?...

Canceled again at the last minuted when dressed, packed and set to go (at 5:30 AM).  We are beyond frustrated, especially when we hear from friends at McMurdo that the weather looks okay.  But the weather at the base itself is different from the conditions at the ice runway 12 miles away.  It's the US Air Force that makes the final call.  Wimps (just kidding, Dean). That's my luggage above--two of Dean's many aviator kit bags.  In addition to clothing and the food I mentioned yesterday (which is bound to rot at this rate, as did my prior avocados and bananas), those bags contain: Tupperware containers for taking food away from "the galley" An electric kettle and a large French press About 8 pounds of pipette tips. A styrofoam box for lab reagents A few handbooks on emergency and wilderness medicine and point-of-care ultrasonography Eight skeins of New Zealand wool and one pair of knitting needles.  Also, an unfinished sock and its associated wo...

I was supposed to leave at 4:15 this morning for the airport.  Got up at 3:15, dressed, packed and then got a call at 3:45 that the flight was canceled due to weather.  Grrrr.   The good news, I finally heard from Dean.  He arrived safe and sound.  Here is his first email. Anyone who knows Dean knows that this was a great day for him!  Except for the progress note. I actually imagine the reason we didn't go was fatigue in the aircrew.  They left at 2:00 PM yesterday and arrived at McMurdo at 7:30 PM.  Then, they turned it around after unloading all the cargo (around 9?), flew for another 5.5 hours and arrived back here, I imagine, after 2 AM.  Did they really have the wherewithal to head out again for another 8 AM flight?   I don't know how many flight crews are available but there's only one plane. The process of leaving is complicated.  Here are the steps: We get picked up about four hours before the fligh...