Still in town

It's about 20 degrees Fahrenheit with 15 mph winds dropping it to a wind chill of about 7 under overcast skies. I'm still in McTown. It was absolutely beautiful the first two weeks after I arrived. Lots of sun with almost cloudless blue skies and temperatures into the upper 30's. Unfortunately, it didn't last.

The following week was more like today. Actually, it was worse, with higher winds and frequent snows. The worst part of it was the postponed flights. A shortage of fresh fruits, vegetables and eggs. There were other inconveniences. No mail, the store ran out of red wine, but nothing life threatening.

The worst thing was the effect on schedules. Science projects and work schedules are very tight and intricate. There are only so many planes and helicopters and crews can only fly so many hours. The schedule for the project I'm working with, PIG - more on the name later - was set back from Nov. 28 to Dec. 7. Except . . . more weather delays. I think they are going to try again tomorrow, Dec. 12. Until the first flight goes out, the remaining ones won't be assigned a date. I'm on flight five, right after a cargo-only flight, right before the helicopters get shipped.

Still, time is going quickly for me. There's a lot happening. As always, holidays are celebrated on Saturdays so a couple weeks ago we had a two-day weekend for Thanksgiving.

About 100 people participated in the Turkey Trot, a 5k race, on Saturday morning. That was followed in the afternoon by three seatings for Thanksgiving dinner to accommodate the 1,000 or so people on station.

Several times before I left, I was asked about the male/female ratio around here. A week or so ago, I saw some figures. There were about 270 women on station. This is a very sexually integrated operation with women in any and all positions. They work in medical, in the carp shop, driving heavy equipment, administration, fuels, cargo and supply, at all levels.

We're waiting to get to the camps, but we aren't sitting around. There's a lot to be done.

This time of year, the sea ice is getting too thin to support aircraft. From about Oct. until Dec. the runway is on the sea ice, close to town. In years past it was right in front of town, a few minutes away. This year it's farther back toward the more permanent ice shelf. Apparently the sea ice isn't as thick as in the past.

Many of the airfield structures are trailers on skis which are towed to the Pegasus airfield on the ice shelf about 19 miles from town by tractors. A few are soft-sided structures. Jamesways like this were used in the past, but better, modern shelters called ractents are being used as the Jamesways are phased out.

These two were actually set up at Pegasus before the sea ice runway was torn down. To give you an idea, the one in the foreground is about 40 feet long and about 8 feet high. It has wooden framing and wooden floor panels. The larger blue one behind it is about 80 feet long and about 12 feet high with metal tube framing.

This is the interior of the larger tent. The wiring is all heavy duty, multi-conductor electrical cord. I've spent the majority of my time assembling and installing these wiring harnesses. This is what's used at the field camps, both the ractents and the wiring systems.

And speaking of the field camp . . . .

The project we are supporting is called the Pine Island Glacier. Everything that possibly can have an acronym down here does. Hence, I'm with PIG. I attended a lecture by the PI (Principal Investigator;translation, scientist in charge). He said the study is actually of the Pine Island Ice Shelf, but they didn't like that acronym. Their studies involve drilling through the ice shelf, about 500 meters (1,500 feet?) and collecting data about the sea underneath. Seems the ice shelf is the fastest moving in Antarctica, about one and a half feet per hour. There is a lot interest in this; if you are interested, too, check out the site I listed at the side.

The next time I post, probably after Christmas or even New Years, I hope to have a bunch of photos and stories from PIG. See ya then.

Back to the Ice, 2011 edition.

(Dated Nov. 6, but it's taken me a week to complete . . .that's the volcano, Mt. Erebus, in the background above. )

They say the first time you come to Antarctica, it's for the adventure. The second time, it's for the money. The third time, it's because your friends are here. The fourth time, it's where you belong. This is my fifth trip.

I got to Johnstown Nov. 9, 2010 and left to head back down here on Oct 31, 2011, just a little less than a year later. That's the longest I've been in the States at one time since I began wandering around back in Oct. 2004.

What did I do during that year?

Well, there were a couple weeks hunting deer unsuccessfully. There were a couple weeks celebrating the holidays. There were numerous months job hunting, eventually somewhat successfully. There were rounds of golf, almost no fishing and very little travel. After bouncing around three or four addresses, I rented an apartment. It was in the same complex that my folks moved to in 1952 or '53, my first home in Johnstown. There was no deja vu.

In June I went to work through a temp agency for a local electrical contractor. Southwest Pennsylvania is still economically depressed. The state doesn't license electricians although it licenses barbers. Anyone can do electrical work, but the pay isn't much. For the first month, I worked mostly nights in commercial buildings changing out fluorescent ballasts and lamps. Then I moved to a crew in a powdered metals mill. The mill has gone through numerous owners and operations in it's 100+ year history. The powdered metal, mostly iron, is as fine as talcum powder. Five minutes after I started, I was filthy and stayed that way, no matter how often I washed. Needless to say, I don't want to work in a mill.

The end of August, I landed a job with the state as a semi-skilled worker at Yellow Creek State Park. It was only a 33 cent pay cut.

The park job is seasonal, but I like it. I mean, who wouldn't like working at a park? Pick litter, clean restrooms, cut grass, clean cabins, pick litter, cut grass, do minor maintenance jobs, pick litter, cut grass, return wandering pups, retrieve drifting sailboats . . .

It's a small park with a staff of ten, a good, friendly crew.

About the time I started at the park, some folks from the Antarctic program contacted me to ask if I'd be interested in working the summer, Nov. through mid-Feb. Again, long story short, my last day at the park was Oct. 21, I flew to Denver Oct. 27, to New Zealand Oct. 31 and here to McTown Nov. 4. My contract officially ends Feb. 15, but it can vary by a couple weeks. Supposedly, I can l start back at the park Mar. 26. How's that for timing?

If the job had been to work around McTown (McMurdo Station in case you don't recall) I may not have taken it. As it is, I am working with another great bunch, Science Construction. We're based here at McTown but will travel out to the field camps where scientists conduct research. That's kind of accurate; actually, we will be travelling out to set-up the camps. In most instances, we will camp out in Antarctica while we do our work. Good thing it's summer!

I expect to have a lot different photos. Good thing, because I think I posted photos of just about everything there is to photograph around town the last time I was here. As I mentioned in my email, I won't have much access to the Internet while I am out, but hopefully I'll be able to post when I get back to town.

The first day I arrived, I got my gear to my room and then headed to dinner. As I walked out of the dorm and across the parking lot to Bldg. 155, it was all extremely familiar to me. Too familiar.

It's unsettling that living in Antarctica is becoming second nature . . . .

Keep an eye on your email.

See ya later - Phil