The cold earth sleeps below, above the cold sky shines

Map of my boondoggle flight to (red) and from (blue) Odell Glacier.  Numbers mark locations of the photos below and the side of the plane from which they were taken.  The dark blue-grey is the ice shelf; it never melts and provides the "overland" route by sledges and motor vehicles to the mainland.  The lighter-dotted blue-grey is the fast-ice, dense ice attached to land that may melt but right now is quite stable.  Sea ice currently extends from McMurdo to the turquoise line drawn on the map. Current conditions: Con3.  Temp 21ºF.  Mostly cloudy with snow flurries.  Population: 860 The NSF tightly controls the activities of all McMurdians.  As I've mentioned before, there is NO venturing off base unless the NSF approves it.  White Island beckons us from 12 miles across the Ross Ice Shelf but we can only longingly wave. Once in a while, though, the NSF throws us bones, familiarly known as boondoggles.  Today, I got to be one of t...

Twin otters landing at Penguin Ranch (not my shot) Current conditions: Temp 25ºF (13ºF with windchill).  Mostly cloudy.  Population: 787 A quick note about planes.  Most people and cargo are transported between Christchurch and McMurdo on a USAF C17, an enormous transport plane.  Even helicopters arrive in their cargo hold.  At this time of year, a C17 is supposed to arrive in McMurdo at least three times per week, each time dropping off its payload and then leaving the same day.   Helicopter being birthed from a C17.  It looks kind of like the  birth of a Weddell seal . One C17 has been allocated by the Air Force for this purpose.  It is old (at least 20 years) and showing its age.  First, the windshield broke (boomerang back to Christchurch and a one week delay).  Then, the toilet broke (boomerang back to Christchurch and a one-day delay).  Next, the crew found a cracked turbine blade in the engine (a fo...

Heading to the Halloween party at 10:30 PM.  Like most things at McMurdo, the costume is ripped and patched with duct tape. Current Conditions:  Temp 19ºF (7ºF with windchill).  Mostly cloudy.  Population = 787 As I mentioned before, we have a long work week:  6 days per week with the clinic open from 7:30 AM to 9:00 PM.  Sundays, our day off, provide just enough time for a Facetiming family, a short hike, doing laundry, eating meals and going to the science lecture.  We do have three official holidays:  Thanksgiving (celebrated on Saturday, Nov. 30), Xmas (two days off) and New Years (two days off).  But we work Sundays in those weeks to make up one day.  So, in total, we have three days of holiday over the six months here.   The Air Force Crew.  Elmo (Jim) does an amazing Elmo voice but couldn't be heard at the party. Caveman Josh hiked down to the gym with bare legs and flipflops.  He's made of tou...