Rescheduled

First, let me note two awesome women, my mother and Bri. There is nothing like being stranded down here and getting packages with not only all the things you ask for (mail, vitamins, toothbrushes, snacks, hooks, etc) but extra bonuses that only someone who knows you well could send, like pistachio pudding, Reese's PB cups, a kickin' beanie, a school picture, almond roca! Made my day... and made my tear ducts activate.

Not a lot new happening. The implications of wintering are setting in. My first jolt was when I realized that three good friends are tramping around PERU right now, and sweet travel plans have to be on my back burner for another year. Then, we had a winter-over meeting in the gym. There are about 35 of us here already with another 25 on the way. This was our first meeting, and it was bizarre to see so many unfamiliar faces which I will know all too well in a few short months. They wanted to update us on where the doctor was (still being recruited), how long station would be open til (past Feb 20th) and other rumor control issues. I didn't get nervous until the manager was talking about how they were going to hire a controls specialist "but we're going to rely on Laura with help from Denver". I usually don't feel too much pressure, but at times like these I do. I've been getting pretty good feedback from people and I seem to be keeping up with things. In a similar vein, they put a guilt trip on me to reduce my R&R and keep learning more stuff for the winter, but I put my foot down and now I'm leaving on Friday for McMurdo for a week. Can't wait. I'm ready to take a break, sleep all day and go run and hike when it is 40 degrees out and most of all, to see Andrea and my other friends.

My Turn

Since Sir Edmund Hilary and the Prime Minister of NZ came rolling through Antarctica, it seems like just about everyone has had a chance to meet them. Ed was supposed to come to the Pole, but I don't think anyone wanted to combine his condition (age-wise) and the South Pole's condition (high and dry and cold), even though he's endured quite a lot. Anyway, I met the Prime Minister on her way out the door. Chris and I chased her down and got her to sign our New Zealand Lonely Planet Guide.

There are quite a few 'famous' people who come through here and it's been neat to get a chance to do some research on who these people really are and what they've contributed to the program. In my opinion PM Helen Clark's best contribution was the 3 crates of fresh NZ cherries that she brought for us all.

Other than that, just haulin' on the work. Lots of hours, lots of learning and time is flying. I haven't become an insomniac yet, but my sleep schedule is something else. I'm thinking the endless sun is contributing to this, but it's not that different than McMurdo and I never had a problem there.

Last night we had our SPIFF: South Pole International Film Festival where people produce short films about life here and everyone crams in the galley to observe. Most of them turn out to be comical, but there was also a serious music video and a slideshow on the airdrop that were both well done and somewhat emotional. My favorite and that of many others, began with a polar bear rolling out of a Ken Borrek twin otter plane (from Canada) and then starts to wreak havoc upon the station, pulling residence into boxes, ambushing them from a snow banks, outwitting the designated hitman and finally doing away with the last guy on station. Hilarious. They have a film festival for the winter-overs as well, so we'll see what we can come up with. I hope to have more time then as the showing was quite inspirational.

Still Here

Somehow my bag made it to McMurdo, but I didn't. I will probably take my vacation two weeks from now after the design team leaves. The National Science Foundation sends in a 'design team' once or twice a season to make sure projects are going along as they intended. Basically, they tell us to jump and we say 'How high?'. I've already worked 30 hours this week... something is not right with that. They have startup meetings at 8:00am for us and then review meetings in the evening at 7:00pm and in between is tying all the loose ends on the projects. My main tasks have been to run and maintain the centrifuge which is removing oil with a mysterious origin from our heating system, create keys and drawings to explain where the data from our sensors is coming from, and to work on mechanical controls issues with a programmer and engineer so that I can run solo this winter. Its keeping me way too busy, but there is some interesting stuff going on and it at least distracts me from dreaming of my upcoming vacation, which I have a hard time being patient for.

Social Scene

I think I've settled in here the Pole now. There is definitely a different attitude and style down here, and I'm not yet sure if it is mine, but I have a long way to go to verify that.

Besides working and sleeping when I get an extra hour or two, I've tried to squeeze in some other activities. Surprisingly I've only watched one movie in its entirity and I felt antsy the whole time thinking of other things I could be doing.

I went running outside for the first (and maybe only) time on a nice day last week. I went with Ben, a 'general assistant' from McMurdo. We ran out about 3 miles down the runway, walked over to the ski hut at the end of the ski loop (which we accidently weren't ever on) and then jogged/walked back to station b/c the trail back was not well packed and it was tough to run on. It was just above -20F but I didn't get too cold except for the top of my right thigh which I was starting to get concerned about by the time we reached the ski hut which is probably about 70F inside because it is solar heated.
In total it took us 2.5 hours, when we were thinking more along the lines of 1.5. Oh well. It was great to get out and away from station and get a better feeling for where we actually are.


They have verious other activities that are mutally planned:trivia nights, game nights, sports, movies, and BINGO night in the galley which usually gets a bit rambunctious:


Tomorrow, if I'm lucky and the weather tones down, I will be flying back to McMurdo (yet again... I know, I know) for a week of rest and relaxation before I go back to the Pole for the winter. So I've packed my things, along with my outgoing mail, some Crispix, Kix and Tide detergent (luxuries they don't have in McMurdo.. but they have penguins, so they better not complain). I don't have many plans until the end of the week, but I think that is the intent of this vacation. I have some more medical testing to complete before I'm allowed to winter, a marathon to run, friends to greet, town party to attend, books to read, cappuccinos to drink and projects to finish. I don't think I'll get too bored.

South Pole KOA

The first week of January is the warmest here at the South Pole (January 2 we had our high so far in the season of -1.8F/-19C), and so groups trying to do trips across all or some of the continent start coming in by the handful. Some ski or hike here, some get dropped off 1 or 2 degrees north of here and then come in, some just fly helicopters in, etc. They all camp out by the Pole, but will come in for tea or coffee and a tour, and depending on the circumstances: three square meals a day, a shower, clothes from our skua (used items) stash, and drinks at the bar.
Some interesting guests we've had were four British guys from the Navy and Marines, who skiied from Patriot Hills for 46 days. (The stench these people bring in with them is absolutely horrendous). They ended up staying the week and everyone loved them. They ate with us all the time, we gave them tours of every corner of the station, food, laundry, and anything else we could provide them. This is one of their sleds that they hauled here:

They were followed up by another british woman named Hannah, who broke the skiing record from patriot hills and did it in 41 days, all by herself. Unlike the previous vistors she was all peppy and energized when she came in and didn't have frostbite all over her face. She was a very tall woman and said she had lost 40 pounds in the process.

The Russians sent in two military helicopters that contained a high ranking official and a bunch of other people. They completely dominated the sky when they came in and overshadowed the other tourist company who also had brought two smaller choppers before them.

Portable Pole

Every year on New Years Day, the pole used to mark the geographic south pole is moved. This is because the ice is continually moving about 30ft per year, so to maintain it's accuracy it needs to be shifted. This year is the 50th year of science at the pole and this year the offical pole matches up with the ceremonially south pole (the red striped post with the metallic ball on top). Here is the ceremony:

There is contest each winter between the staff for the design of the new south pole marker and it is dedicated the following New Year's.

The pole marker is kept in place for a year and then put in a display case in the hallway of station.

New Years Eve

New Years Eve here was quite well done. This is the first year the gym has been opened, so they decorated it up. To be quite honest after the gym was all done up with light and then walking down our locker-lined hallway to the event, it felt a lot like a highschool dance.:

It's not often that live music is performed here, so it was fun to see different groups get together and play some folk and old rock with plenty of dancing:

This picture is of me with a British Team of four who skiied across the continent to the Pole in 46 days. They were waiting for good winds so that they could kite ski back and ended up spending over a week and one of them even was the lead singer in one of the bands that night:

Here is a picture just to prove that there are other women down here as well: