Antarctica

The weather has been getting warmer, which leads to "fog". And fog leads to hoarfrost, even inside unheated buildings. Its been running about -10 to -15 and the wind has been little to none. I can actually feel the radiant heat from the sun. It's summer time! And I wish I could capture this weird -15 "warm" feeling and send it home to share! I'm not being sarcastic; it's really something else!

Well, I've pretty much lived the last two weeks in the LO arch. Ever since I got back from AGAP I've been helping out the electricians (sparkies) pull wire for the new fire alarm system in there. I've also been helping out with some electrical conduit lays. It's been good work and has taken me from the top of the LO to under its floors.

 Went out and helped the antennae riggers disassemble old communication towers for two days. That was a nice change of pace that led us away from all of the clutter of the station and out onto the flat white.

 Last weekend we had an open mic night and BBQ. Definitely the latest I've stayed up the whole time I've been down here. There were about 8 or more different acts that ranged from bluegrass to indy-rock to poetry. I didn't hit the stage until a quarter past midnight and played 4 or 5 songs. They were all well received. Man, that was a fun night!

 So the Dome (the old station) is on its way out. They popped the top off a few nights ago and have been progressively dismantling the triangular aluminum panels around the base. You'll be able to see the top of the dome in the Smithsonian Museum sometime in the future.They have also completely deconstructed SkyLab, an old research facility.

We had to dig a trench to get power over to the dome so they can plug in the crane and lift between shifts. That ice between the LO and the Dome is very hard, so we busted out the chainsaw and dug a trench that way. It was a lot of fun, but it was only an electric chainsaw.

What else... We had the C-17 from Christchurch do a few air drops to get some supplies in. They did two drops then buzzed the station a few times. It was pretty sweet.  The South Pole Traverse also came in. The came overland pulling sleds of fuel and other necessary supplies all the way from McMurdo. It is actually more efficient to get supplies to Pole with the traverse than with the LC-130s.

Here's a video of the AIR DROP.

One more video for you...HERE

 Well I think thats all I got for this week. I hope everyone has a good week leading up to Christmas!