The cold earth sleeps below, above the cold sky shines

Picture by Levick (Scott Expedition penguin expert) of Adelie penguins Conditions:  Con3  Temperature 23°F (windchill 12°F).  Population ~ 830 When we first arrived at McMurdo in early September, humans were the only animal life above the ice.  In the first month, we all flocked to Crary to fondle the invertebrates in the touch tank--a poor substitute for furry things.  October rolled around and the Weddell seals beached on the ice in front of Hut Point and Scott Base.  We all swooned over them, particularly the adorable pups.  In November, the skuas arrived.  Meh!  Just big seagulls with a predilection for prophylactics. Picture taken last week outside the main building by friend of Shawn's But now, bliss.  Penguins!  They've arrived!   Penguins have been beloved since the dawn of Antarctic exploration.  All the early explorers comment on how amusing the penguins are and how much they enjoy ...

Heading South on a LC130  Conditions (McMurdo):  Con3:  Temperature 32°F. (Swimsuit weather).  Population = 836 Conditions (South Pole):  Con3:  Temperature -17°F (ECW weather).  Population ~ 150 So I guess it pays to complain.  Right after my last grumpy post, I was sent on a medevac to the South Pole.  Typically, when someone gets ill down there, they are medevac'd first to McMurdo and are then to Christchurch if necessary.  An Air Force Air Evacuation crew member always accompanies them on the flight.  Depending on the acuity of the illness, the Air Force may send more than one attendant. Yesterday, there was a medevac of a stable patient, someone with worrisome laboratory tests but largely asymptomatic.  Out of the goodness of his heart, the Flight Surgeon here at McMurdo (John), sent me along with the flight nurse, Major Crystal Gomez, to do the medevac.  There really was no need for me to go but we all ...

What I cut out of my views over McMurdo Sound Conditions:  Con3.  Temperature 28° (t-shirt weather).  Overcast with flurries.  Population 900 In French (feminine), laide--pronounced like the element, lead, in English--means ugly.  I have found the word to be almost onomatopoe-oid, perfectly representing it's meaning.    Lead/laide, to me, is gray, dirty, ponderous,and dull.  I've posted many pictures of the austere beauty of Ross Island and the continent across the sea ice.  The Transantarctic mountains in the distance exhibit a harsh, frigid, ethereal whiteness.  Every time I go outside and look out over McMurdo Sound with its constantly shifting light and surface ice, I feel awed by the grandeur.  Some days, the ice seems an endless, wavy, gray-blue ocean.  Other days, the Sound is a blowing storm of pink ice-fog. Yet other days, the ivory ice fades to grey and then bursts open with a ring of gold surrounding th...