The Plucky PA

This weekend I got to take a walk out in front of Scott Base to see the Seals and the Pressure Ridges. It wasn’t a perfectly clear day but the sunlight shining through was beautiful and there were plenty of seals and their pups.

A pressure ridge is basically, from what I understand, what happens where there are two forces pushing against each other. All I know is that they make for some pretty impressive chunks of ice!

Start of our walk from in front of Scott Base

Views in all directions.

Views in all directions.

Views in all directions.

Views in all directions.

Addendum: the video with the song described in this blog entry is inserted at the end of the entry.  I couldn’t add it due to poor bandwidth way back when, and only now am adding it.  But please read the description first.  After reading the entry a year later, I realize just how much of my mind I was losing down there.  Thanks for reading, enjoy!….

Another day I wait to get out to this place they call WAIS DIVIDE. A place I’ve been preparing for and thinking about and building an excitement for now for months. I have enjoyed my time here in McMurdo, believe me, I’ve gotten to know it and become comfortable here. I’ve figured out where all the exits from my dorm that’s centrally located dump out into the little town, something that baffled me my first few days. Walking Highway 1 down the main building I see familiar faces, friends I’ve made through the weeks I’ve been here, had drinks with, had meals with, who lovingly tease “you’re still here??”. While they are all great and I look forward to reuniting with many when I return, it’s the idea of the close friendships at camp that drew me to taking this position. The co-workers who I plan to spend days and nights with, breakfast, lunch and dinner with, who I might think I can’t spend one more moment with but know I’ll miss to pieces when I leave. For those of you who know me, I collect friends and cherish each one. And these friends will have shared something with me, the experience I have been looking so forward to, the unknown, the challenges of a “harsh continent” in camping for three months on a remote ice sheet.

Someone recently shared with me a recording that was made last year my a grad student out at WAIS who was experiencing the same challenges as I am now with the planes and the weather getting in the way of his destination. Although he is trying to return. I’d share the video but the bandwidth of McMurdo stands in the way. So, as I plan to do with my words over the next couple months, I will describe it to you.

The singer of this song is a youngish guy, late 20’s maybe, hair a little overgrown, beard equally overgrown. He sits in a bright yellow rac tent like the one I’ll be setting up my little remote medicine clinic in. You can make out a flag outside the tent from the sun casting a shadow, the flag is whipping in the wind. Behind him, docked on a shelf, are short wave radios recharging next to weather gear and clip boards hung up on hooks with data and a large black and white print out of the 7th continent we are all growing to love and be familiar with. There’s another guy behind him who’s hair and beard have clearly been out there a week or two longer than this guy’s. The camper is sitting on a pelican case with his guitar in hand, strumming a few comfortable harmonious chords…

“Woke up this morning
can’t see the horizon
it’s overcast, undercast, cast on the sidelines
and the wind from the north tells me I won’t be leaving here soon.”

He goes on to sing about all the reasons he’s heard about why the planes aren’t flying.

“WAIS DIVIDE
if you please
with your bright sunny days and your bright sunny nights,
oh well nothing can take me away from you if it tried,
WAIS DIVIDE.”

————PAGE BREAK———–
Just interrupted by someone surprised to see me who sat down to ask if I knew when I was “heading out to WAIS.” A occurrence, as I mentioned, that happens more times in a day than I can count now. But it’s said with so much love behind it, with an initial excitement like “Hey! I didn’t think I’d see you again” but also with compassion like “You’ll get there soon friend, chin up buckaroo”.

OK – back to the song…

———–PAGE BREAK, AGAIN——–
Wait, sorry interrupted by one of our lead scientists we will be supporting out at WAIS, from Uinv of Washington, “Michelle! You’re still on station! Any idea when you’ll be heading out?” And with my big smile I reply “hopefully soon and you’ll be right behind me on my tail.”

Back to the song…

“WAIS DIVIDE
If you please
My sorry’s Medusa
I’m waiting on Hercules” (i.e. Hercules LC 130 plane)

“In the middle of nowhere
Surrounded by nothing…”

He goes on with a smile and his witty words about what he misses from home, about what he loves about camp…but its clear, as much as he love what awaits him at home, he has grown to love this place he’s stuck in.

“And maybe tomorrow I’ll finally leave this place…
Oh and who am I kidding I’ll see you tomorrow
and the next and the next for all times.”

The rest of the crew of WAIS sitting and laughing around him through the song join in for the last chorus…

“WAIS DIVIDE, WAIS DIVIDE
With your bright sunny days and your bright sunny nights
Oh and nothing can take me away from you if it tried…
WAIS DIVIDE…”

————-Page Break, yet again ———-
Another familiar face points at me and laughs as he walks by. No words, just a nod, commonly acknowledging that yes… I’m still here, AKA the girl who cried “WAIS”.

Not barely a few days after Kerry left, our medical team had reserved Hut 10 (the house where Kerry stayed) for a party to celebrate our medical air force crew that are leaving and a couple birthdays.  (Since I’m still stuck in McMurdo I was able to make the party.)  We were playing this totally hilarious game that I must buy as soon as I get back.  The list of the game is similar to Cards Against Humanity where you pic a phrase from the cards you are dealt and have to say it in the accent of another card the “judge” pics.  The person who says it the best in the eyes of the acting judge wins the round.  How ironic, I love when ironic crap like this happens!!

(This was said in an Italian accent)

The trail let out by the helicopter pads and wound down to the sea ice before coming back up the main road into town.  I was super warm, sweating onto my base layer under my fleece, puffy coat and my Big Red.  Might have been a little over kill, but it can get windy and cold, especially on the dark side of Obs Hill.  I had learned my lesson the first week and also had my two pairs of gloves and socks on.  I pulled off Big Red, hung it on the coat racks by the Galley and saw that the line had just finished up going inside and a few stragglers were still going in so I followed, peeling off layers as I walked, I could feel that my face was red from walking, wind or sunburn (or some combination of the three).  Surprisingly, there were still empty seats, I found one, but then got up to get a bag of popcorn… why not.  IT was a half an hour at least before he showed up, I wished I had ran back to my room to change out of my additional long underwear and my wet and now cold base layer.  (I called it my “scott base layer” cause I bought it at Scott Base where they have awesome icebreaker clothing).   I killed the time chatting with the people around me who at this point I think I practically know everyone on campus.  I had a woman who worked in the kitchen from Bulgaria on one side in some very vibrant yoga pants and an older guy from Australia who I think works in carpentry with his motorcycle jacket that has embroidered “The Frozen Few” (the local motorcycle club here, and no there aren’t any motorcycles here, just snow mobiles).

 

Kerry’s talk was, I think, heartfelt.  He talked about his long career and the evolution of Earth Day, the EPA and the clean drinking water act to name a few.  He mentioned the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (whoo hoo – I’ll be living on that for a few months if I ever get out of here).  He recognized our efforts here and encouraged us to inspire others.  He didn’t talk about the recent election except to say he wouldn’t be talking about it.  The speech did not seem scripted but he was for sure preaching to the choir about climate change.  In the end I was glad I made it in person.

Here’s a link to a video about John Kerry’s visit

I got an email the other day from a friend who was switched to night shift.  I rarely ever see him anymore and he let me know he’d be in “day bar” and I should stop by.  This is basically bar time for the people who work at night, but during the day.  Either way, anytime you leave the bars here, day or night, the sun is out.

So I stopped in just to say hi (it was 10:45 am).  He wasn’t there but boy oh boy did I get a warm welcome.  What an interesting bunch of people.  I got a big “heeeeyyyy!” and I think They might have also said “Happy Birthday”.  There was a big sign, that I think they made in case John Kerry was getting his tour of McMurdo and the day bar was on the itinerary.

The people inside reminded me or that scene in Star Wars with all the strange characters.  At this bar there was a guy dressed as a sailor with a hat and everything, and more than one person with sequins.  I was offered a party cap but declined.

My friend wasn’t there so I left.  I’m not sure if I should be in a bar on a work day, even if I am mostly waiting around for a flight.  As I left I saw someone heading in and within a minute I heard the same loud welcome as he entered the bar…what a friendly bunch!

I think this is a link to the Star Wars bar scene. It’s pretty tough to try to open any you tube videos down here.

I know you’ve all been waiting patiently for a Penguino pic, well here they are.  I see them all over the place here, these are just a couple of them…

And the piece de-resistaaance…

I’ll hopefully be leaving for camp soon so I want to get a bunch of posts in about the camp before I set off.  In the coming months while at camp there will likely be less (if any) pictures since the internet I have is really text only 50 K no pictures.  I’ll have my Seattle Gnome helping me out and will may be using friends at McMurdo who can email pictures back home if I send them a flash drive through cargo on a flight from WAIS to McMurdo so stand by for that.  Leaving depends on many things but mostly planes that are available and working as well as weather that cooperates.  I’ll be essentially packed and ready to go after tomorrow and anything can happen – I can leave Tuesday or I can leave after Thanksgiving.  I’m for sure looking forward to getting out there!

Some details…

WAIS Divide Camp is located on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in Marie Byrd Land at an elevation of 5917 feet and is approximately 1020 nautical miles from McMurdo Station.  WAIS Camp was originally built in 2005-2006 to support a deep ice core-drilling project, which was in operation for seven years. The terrain surrounding WAIS Divide Camp is characterized as flat and white. There are no known crevasse fields in the area.  Here is an aerial view once camp is all set up and running.

Starting in the top right the 20-25 little dots represent “tent city” where everyone sleeps (with one outhouse in the middle).  From there towards you is “town” with some structured tents (from back to front) for KBA pilot’s living quarters, medical, Rec Tent where we hang out attached to the “wash module” where there are sinks, showers and even a clothes washer, galley where we eat, the communications tent (weather and general camp communications w outside world and planes), and then some other tents including the scientists staging tents and the Mechanics “Barn”.  To the left of that strip are some small structures including our outhouses.  (Post coming soon about the outhouses!!)  Beyond that to the left are storage and cargo stuff.  The two squares you see in the foreground are giant fuel bladders that will constantly need to be shoveled out.  Way up top to the left is where the deep ice core drill was, or is, I’m not sure since they got all the way down if the drill is still there, but there is a building there that is now “underground” or really under snow because it was built on the surface 10 years ago and since then, well…it’s snowed a little.  (I’ll try to to a post on that too and dig up some pics).

Our crew consists of about 15 crew members including mechanics, operators (of machines), cargo and fuel people, cargo coordinator, carpenters, two weather people, a chef and a sous chef, field camp managers and assistant field camp managers.   In addition to our regular crew we’ll have KBA pilots, scientist and the traverse crew leaving for Pirit Hill.

That’s the quick jist of it.  I’ll be diving a little deeper into the different buildings, tents and camp life out at WAIS Divide this season.

If you walk off Ross Island where McMurdo is, onto the sea ice, there is an “Obs Tube” (Observation Tube).  I’m not sure exactly how its put in there, the fire department and some divers I suppose, but its a metal tube that goes down about 15/20 feet through the ice (which is probably 5-6 feet deep) and has a little stool and a 360 degree view under the ice.

To get in you have to take your coat off (big red is too bulky to get down into the tube), you slide the top of and start climbing a metal ladder to a wooden ladder and then you are in a space a little bigger than the tube with about 6 windows all around you.  I think the divers attach it to the tube from underneath.  Your buddy slides the top back on so there’s no light from above, just light that shines through the sea ice.  Not for the claustrophobic for sure!

The day I went I only saw some interesting plankton like things that were very small, one jelly fish and a good view of the ice from underneath.  I could hear the seals they sound like lasers, and some people have seen the seals swimming.  I’m going to try to go again before I head out to field camp since I think the sea ice will be melting and breaking up by the time I get back.  Yup… still in McMurdo with flights delayed due to weather.  But the first crew put in yesterday and I’m on the third flight, so hopefully soon!

Here’s two videos: The first one you can hear the seals, the second is just of the lonely jellyfish, but you can also hear a seal sound.  Enjoy!

Holidays here are celebrated on the Saturday evening before or after the holiday because Monday through Saturday are work days. Last night was our Halloween and there was a big party in the “big gym”.   I went as a snow bunny since the big white boots they issue us  are called “Bunny Boots”.  (though I was given a much more badass pair of Baffens since I’m going to a field camp).  The bunny boots have this valve on them so they fill with the air from a warm room and that is what insulates your feet.  I got a pair of bunny ears from gear issue (where you can take instruments, games, costumes, etc out to borrow).  For a tail I made on in the craft room.  Everyone was super excited about the tail and it was getting squeeze and batted all night, who can resist a bunny tail!  By the end of the night I lost it and couldn’t find it anywhere.  I figured someone got a good souvenir!

The costumes were so awesome though I may have pre-funked a little too hard cause I don’t remember all the costumes. For sure there was a couple penguins, a dinosaur, the tooth fairy, a girl scout (the last two both guys), my roommate and her scientist group went as the crew from batman.

And some good news…  The tail was recovered!  Someone on the clean up crew found it and returned it to me today.  I love this place!