Sea Ice and Happy Camper
Over the last few days I've had the opportunity to spend a lot of time in the Antarctic wilderness. I've had a great time and taken a bunch of pics. If you're interested, take a look at a
On Saturday I went out onto the frozen ocean for Sea Ice training. Because of different interactions between sea-water and freshwater glaciers as well as other tectonic/volcanic pressures, the ice that freezes over the sea during the winters has certain geological features such as cracks. Some of the cracks can be quite large, and, since they quickly cover with blowing snow, can also be very difficult to detect. The result when you drive or even sometimes when you drive over them is a quick and unexpected plunge to the sea. Personally, I find Barton Springs to be shockingly cold at, what is it, 68 degrees Fahrenheit? The water under the ice is a chilly 28.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
We made our way about five miles out onto the ice on Saturday before the weather was so bad we had to turn around because we couldn't see 5 meters in front of us.
We set back out on Monday and had a ton of fun. First we tried our hand at drilling the cracks to determine the dept of the ice in order to decide whether crossing was safe or not. We progressed quickly from hand-drilling to using a 2-cycle motor. We'd drill a meter down, then add meter-long sections to the drill until it was long enough to hit the water.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
At one point we had a 3-meter long drill, and the 5 guys I was with and I were thrilled to death by the very concept of drilling holes in the ocean using such ridiculous power tools. We took turns photographing ourselves holding it and, at least in our minds, were screaming "AHHHHHHHHH!" while holding it--think Rambo while he shoots down the enemies with the high-caliber machine gun.
Later, one of the 2 women on the trip remarked to the other, "What was the deal with the drill back there?"
"I'm so glad you asked!" exclaimed the other. "I have no idea why everyone was so excited."
"Did you see that drill?" one of the guys retorted. "What's not to understand? 3 meters of steel powered by a 2-cycle motor! It was awesome!" It was a beautiful contrast of the sexes.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
We continued on to find icebergs frozen in the sea ice and gorgeous views of Mt. Erebus, the southernmost active volcano on Earth and a giant, 12,000+ foot monstrosity standing above the frozen sea. On our way to the Erebus Glacier Tongue, where a glacier from the volcano meets the sea, we came across a PENGUIN! This is very exciting as apparently it's extremely rare to see a penguin so early in the season and, it would seem, many people visit McMurdo without ever seeing one at all.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
This little guy seemed like he was lost. He hung out by the road for awhile, and then all at once he took off and alternated waddling on his feet with sliding on his belly. It was a fantastic thing to see a penguin in the wild!
We continued on to the Erebus glacier tongue where we found a cave in the ice. Technically a glacier cave but colloquially known as an ice cave, it was a reasonably large sized cavern with ice forming crystals and stalactites (icecicles) inside. The entrance was a small, downward-sloping tunnel that we slid into. Overall a wonderful and perfectly exhausting day.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
The next day I headed out to go camping. As IT staff for the research groups in town, I occasionally will have to go out to various field sites on the continent where the science happens. But before I can head out to one of these, I have to complete a training course called "Happy Camper." It's a cold-weather camping experience with an emphasis on techniques for surviving in the Antarctic wilderness in the case of an air disaster.
Twenty of us (all of one of which was female) loaded up into this giant vehicle with comically large tires for the ride out to a nearby glacier. We're dropped off on a snow-covered glacier with the items that we would be carrying in a helicopter to deploy to a field camp. At our disposal were Scott Tents (the tent that Robert Scott died in on his way back from the South Pole), "mountain tents" that are lighter and more typical of mountain climbers, camp stoves, dehydrated food, shovels, saws, sleds, and other associated camping items.
The Scott tents are cool. They're very tall and they are weighed down by shoveling snow around the outside lip of the tent.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
We set those up, and then were instructed to throw all of our bags in a pile. We then shoveled snow onto the pile until it was covered. After letting it rest for awhile, we dug a hole in the side and removed the bags. Voila! We have a quinzee!
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
After that, we built a quarry to saw snow-bricks out of. We put many man-hours into sawing these bricks to create wind barriers. In Antarctica, winds can pick up from out of nowhere and get quite strong very quickly. Wind-barrier walls are an essential part of a comfortable camp.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
For dinner I had freeze-dried beef and bean chili which, to my great satisfaction, was actually quite tasty and even a bit spicy. We melted snow in a pot to create the water, boiled it, and added it to the pouch containing the dehydrated food. It was accompanied by hot chocolate.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
The most popular shelter, it turned out, was a trench dug in the ground and covered with snow-bricks. It was small and cozy and seemed to me like the easiest thing to build if you are alone and find yourself in a survival situation. The trenches resemble coffins so much that one of my fellow-campers actually made his look like a burial site!
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
The quinzee seemed like a cool idea to me, but it was also very popular. So I decided to go and manicure one built by a previous camping group. I dug out the entrance a bit and a friend of mine decided to join me. I took off my coat and boots and crawled into the sleeping bag. The wind had changed directions so it was blowing into the entrance of our shelter, and it brought some snow with it. However, I was mostly warm and fairly comfortable throughout the night.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
The next day I slept late, dreading the idea of getting out of my warm cocoon. When I finally did don my freezing coat and frozen-stiff boots, I emerged from my quinzee to find that the others had already packed up camp. Hooray!
Next, we were introduced to the radio system. We briefly discussed usage of the VHF radios but spent much more time discussing the HF radio. This giant thing looks like it's straight outta the Korean war.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
We learned how to deploy the antenna by stringing it along poles, how to set the wavelength of the antenna to match the selected frequency, and then how to aim that antenna at our desired recipient. We then pointed the antenna at the South Pole(1354 km away) and had a brief chat with the radio operators there!
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
Next, we staged a disaster drill. We arranged ourselves as if we were in a plane, with our instructor as the pilot. "Wow, look at all the beautiful ice!" exclaimed the "pilot." "Isn't Antarctica great?" "Oh shit, where'd that mountain come from?!?" The plane crashed and was burning. We had to evacuate and the only things we managed to get off the aircraft were one survival bag and one HF radio. My arm was broken and I started to experience hypothermia. I shivered while the rest of the guys frantically setup a tent, built a snow wall, started boiling water, and setup the HF radio to call for help. Once the tent was erected, my friends told me that I had to get inside, to which I responded, slurring, "Huh? Where are we?" I was experiencing severe hypothermia and losing my cognitive abilities.
I actually made them pick me up and carry me to the tent, where they zipped me tightly into a sleeping bag and then went continued with their disaster preparations.
Lastly, we simulated white-out conditions by wearing buckets on our heads and wandering around outside. It was disorienting, scary, and, supposedly, a good representation of what it's like to be outside during what's colloquially called "condition 1."
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
Well that was a mouthful. Tomorrow we celebrate Halloween. It's supposedly the biggest party of the year--people really go all-out here. I'm sure I'll have plenty more pics to post at that point.
On Saturday I went out onto the frozen ocean for Sea Ice training. Because of different interactions between sea-water and freshwater glaciers as well as other tectonic/volcanic pressures, the ice that freezes over the sea during the winters has certain geological features such as cracks. Some of the cracks can be quite large, and, since they quickly cover with blowing snow, can also be very difficult to detect. The result when you drive or even sometimes when you drive over them is a quick and unexpected plunge to the sea. Personally, I find Barton Springs to be shockingly cold at, what is it, 68 degrees Fahrenheit? The water under the ice is a chilly 28.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
We made our way about five miles out onto the ice on Saturday before the weather was so bad we had to turn around because we couldn't see 5 meters in front of us.
We set back out on Monday and had a ton of fun. First we tried our hand at drilling the cracks to determine the dept of the ice in order to decide whether crossing was safe or not. We progressed quickly from hand-drilling to using a 2-cycle motor. We'd drill a meter down, then add meter-long sections to the drill until it was long enough to hit the water.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
At one point we had a 3-meter long drill, and the 5 guys I was with and I were thrilled to death by the very concept of drilling holes in the ocean using such ridiculous power tools. We took turns photographing ourselves holding it and, at least in our minds, were screaming "AHHHHHHHHH!" while holding it--think Rambo while he shoots down the enemies with the high-caliber machine gun.
Later, one of the 2 women on the trip remarked to the other, "What was the deal with the drill back there?"
"I'm so glad you asked!" exclaimed the other. "I have no idea why everyone was so excited."
"Did you see that drill?" one of the guys retorted. "What's not to understand? 3 meters of steel powered by a 2-cycle motor! It was awesome!" It was a beautiful contrast of the sexes.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
We continued on to find icebergs frozen in the sea ice and gorgeous views of Mt. Erebus, the southernmost active volcano on Earth and a giant, 12,000+ foot monstrosity standing above the frozen sea. On our way to the Erebus Glacier Tongue, where a glacier from the volcano meets the sea, we came across a PENGUIN! This is very exciting as apparently it's extremely rare to see a penguin so early in the season and, it would seem, many people visit McMurdo without ever seeing one at all.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
This little guy seemed like he was lost. He hung out by the road for awhile, and then all at once he took off and alternated waddling on his feet with sliding on his belly. It was a fantastic thing to see a penguin in the wild!
Click to viewWe continued on to the Erebus glacier tongue where we found a cave in the ice. Technically a glacier cave but colloquially known as an ice cave, it was a reasonably large sized cavern with ice forming crystals and stalactites (icecicles) inside. The entrance was a small, downward-sloping tunnel that we slid into. Overall a wonderful and perfectly exhausting day.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
The next day I headed out to go camping. As IT staff for the research groups in town, I occasionally will have to go out to various field sites on the continent where the science happens. But before I can head out to one of these, I have to complete a training course called "Happy Camper." It's a cold-weather camping experience with an emphasis on techniques for surviving in the Antarctic wilderness in the case of an air disaster.
Twenty of us (all of one of which was female) loaded up into this giant vehicle with comically large tires for the ride out to a nearby glacier. We're dropped off on a snow-covered glacier with the items that we would be carrying in a helicopter to deploy to a field camp. At our disposal were Scott Tents (the tent that Robert Scott died in on his way back from the South Pole), "mountain tents" that are lighter and more typical of mountain climbers, camp stoves, dehydrated food, shovels, saws, sleds, and other associated camping items.
The Scott tents are cool. They're very tall and they are weighed down by shoveling snow around the outside lip of the tent.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
We set those up, and then were instructed to throw all of our bags in a pile. We then shoveled snow onto the pile until it was covered. After letting it rest for awhile, we dug a hole in the side and removed the bags. Voila! We have a quinzee!
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
After that, we built a quarry to saw snow-bricks out of. We put many man-hours into sawing these bricks to create wind barriers. In Antarctica, winds can pick up from out of nowhere and get quite strong very quickly. Wind-barrier walls are an essential part of a comfortable camp.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
For dinner I had freeze-dried beef and bean chili which, to my great satisfaction, was actually quite tasty and even a bit spicy. We melted snow in a pot to create the water, boiled it, and added it to the pouch containing the dehydrated food. It was accompanied by hot chocolate.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
The most popular shelter, it turned out, was a trench dug in the ground and covered with snow-bricks. It was small and cozy and seemed to me like the easiest thing to build if you are alone and find yourself in a survival situation. The trenches resemble coffins so much that one of my fellow-campers actually made his look like a burial site!
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
The quinzee seemed like a cool idea to me, but it was also very popular. So I decided to go and manicure one built by a previous camping group. I dug out the entrance a bit and a friend of mine decided to join me. I took off my coat and boots and crawled into the sleeping bag. The wind had changed directions so it was blowing into the entrance of our shelter, and it brought some snow with it. However, I was mostly warm and fairly comfortable throughout the night.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
The next day I slept late, dreading the idea of getting out of my warm cocoon. When I finally did don my freezing coat and frozen-stiff boots, I emerged from my quinzee to find that the others had already packed up camp. Hooray!
Next, we were introduced to the radio system. We briefly discussed usage of the VHF radios but spent much more time discussing the HF radio. This giant thing looks like it's straight outta the Korean war.
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
We learned how to deploy the antenna by stringing it along poles, how to set the wavelength of the antenna to match the selected frequency, and then how to aim that antenna at our desired recipient. We then pointed the antenna at the South Pole(1354 km away) and had a brief chat with the radio operators there!
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
Next, we staged a disaster drill. We arranged ourselves as if we were in a plane, with our instructor as the pilot. "Wow, look at all the beautiful ice!" exclaimed the "pilot." "Isn't Antarctica great?" "Oh shit, where'd that mountain come from?!?" The plane crashed and was burning. We had to evacuate and the only things we managed to get off the aircraft were one survival bag and one HF radio. My arm was broken and I started to experience hypothermia. I shivered while the rest of the guys frantically setup a tent, built a snow wall, started boiling water, and setup the HF radio to call for help. Once the tent was erected, my friends told me that I had to get inside, to which I responded, slurring, "Huh? Where are we?" I was experiencing severe hypothermia and losing my cognitive abilities.
I actually made them pick me up and carry me to the tent, where they zipped me tightly into a sleeping bag and then went continued with their disaster preparations.
Lastly, we simulated white-out conditions by wearing buckets on our heads and wandering around outside. It was disorienting, scary, and, supposedly, a good representation of what it's like to be outside during what's colloquially called "condition 1."
From Sea Ice and Happy Camper
Well that was a mouthful. Tomorrow we celebrate Halloween. It's supposedly the biggest party of the year--people really go all-out here. I'm sure I'll have plenty more pics to post at that point.