Sunday, January 28, 2007
Like a School Field Trip
Earlier this week we found out that two morale cruises were going to take place this weekend, something that hasn't happened in something like 5 years or more. A sign-up was posted on Highway One (the main hallway in the main building), and almost 700 names were on the list by Saturday morning 7:30am. By Saturday afternoon three lists were posted. Two lists of 200 people each, one group for the 8am cruise this morning and one for the 2pm cruise in the afternoon. And the last list was the list of 100 alternates in case people didn't show up. Fortunately, I've been working as a line handler when the ships come in and go out so 10 spots on each cruise were reserved for us. (I'll post a separate entry about line handling this week, hopefully.)We sailed on the United States Coast Guard Polar Sea (WAGB-11) Icebreaker. Click on this sentence to go to the USCGC Polar Sea home page.
**All the pictures have been saved as they're original size. Click on the photo, and then click "All Sizes" to choose the larger size if you would like to see more detail.
I was able to skip the line as a line handler, and we were the first ones on board.
Then we were ushered into this big room where we had a quick briefing about safety onboard and where we could walk on the ship. It was exciting to see who was able to get on from the alternate list. Just as they finished taking on 200 passengers, the captain decided to take an extra 50 meaning that anyone who showed up to get on the afternoon cruise was able to go!
After the briefing, we were free to wander the ship, and everyone headed out to watch the lines being cast off by the line handlers.
Just as we were pulling out of Winter Quarters Bay (where all the ships dock, one or two at a time), I got this photo taken.
Erin, one of the janitors on my team and a good friend of mine, made the list for the cruise. Once we were on our way, we decided to go look for the ship's store and coffee nook before we started seeing any wildlife. We passed this lifesaver on the way.
I was so excited about being on the cruise, I was chatting with everyone we passed and jumping up and down. I told Erin I was so happy, I should have a note pinned on my chest like I was really on a school field trip. We found the store and coffee nook, and I was so happy to see Cherry Coke onboard, that I forgot to take any pictures. I also bought a pair of mesh basketball shorts to replace a pair that were lost in my luggage.
Nobody else was really excited either! Just kidding! Erin and I were discussing how we just traded places with the Coast Guard because they were so excited when they came into town the first time about two weeks ago. Now we were the ones running around like little kids, and they all understood how we felt.
Some Weddell seals lying on the sea ice as we passed by. Some of them started flopping away from us.
This is a view from below of the highest level we could walk up to. I ventured to this area towards the end of the cruise.
The crew onboard was really great about announcing when wildlife was spotted. There were lots of seals laying on the sea ice, but we spotted a few in the water too. I was really excited to see minke whales, and you can see the whales poking out of the ice chunks in the next two photos.
Our big sighting of the day included two emperor penguins which if you were on the port side of the boat (like I was), you saw them swimming under the surface of the water. It happened so quickly, but it was incredible! In this next photo, you can see the two emperors in the top right corner. I snapped the photo just as a skua flew by.
My favorite part of the day was seeing a minke whale swim out away from the ship. You will see it in this photo I took if you look in the bottom left of the pic. The water was so surprisingly clear.
We passed The Spirit of Enderby, a Russian expedition/tourist ship. The crew waved and took photos of us as we did the same to them.
The captain demonstrated the ice-breaking capabilities of the ship for us. The ship slides up onto the ice and crushes through. The ice they had to cut through to get into McMurdo was between 12 and 16 feet deep, I believe. This is a picture after the first time we went up on the ice.
We made a bigger impression our second time, but didn't break off as much ice.
These next photos are of the different chunks of ice. We were amazed to see how blue they were under the water. Every single one of them was different and unique in its own way. I don't remember talking very much during the cruise as I just sat and watched ice flow by.
The sun started to show in little patches, and made the area around Castle Rock glow.
I snapped this self portrait in the reflection of Bethany's sunglasses. Behind me you can see the big part of the ship.
The next two photos look very similar, but the first one shows more of the boat. The second shows more of the channel behind us and the clouds.
Looking down at the front of the boat from the highest level on the way back to McMurdo.
A seal floating by on an ice chunk.
The icebreaker only had to break ice along the sea ice edge. All of this in front of us was still fairly broken up or connected with very thin ice. I thought this big crack was really fascinating.
Monday, January 22, 2007
KARAOKE CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!!
Last Thursday night was a big night here on station. The McMurdo Karaoke Championships took place. Most karaoke nights are lucky to see 30 people, except the night the Coasties were in town (the Coast Guard)... the bar was packed that night! The night of the big event saw quite a few new faces in the crowd. That being said, almost everyone who sang in the competition had participated in karaokes of the past. I would know... I've been to all of them since the beginning of October. Some people had talent, others had gusto, and the rest of them had amazing costumes!! It was a really fun evening, and I even convinced my 61-year-old co-worker Dorothy to come watch since her husband was out of town. Make sure to read the caption to the last photo in this entry!!"Dancing Queen" - ABBA sung by Erin and Jane
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" - Wham! sung by Lizzy
"Desperado" sung by Tony
"Disease" - Matchbox Twenty and "All Fired Up" - Pat Benetar sung by Stephanie
"Redneck Woman" - Gretchen Wilson sung by Susan
"Dancing In the Dark" - The Boss (aka Bruce Springsteen) sung by Dale
"What's Up" - 4 Non Blondes sung by Sandwich
"Living On a Prayer" - Bon Jovi sung by Galena (left) with back-up dancing by Michelle
"Something to Talk About" - Bonnie Raitt and "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed" - Barbara Mandrell sung by yours truly
And Ralph and I sung "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and Kiki Dee to win the duet category!! We had only sung it once before maybe a month and a half ago, but we listened to the recording earlier in the evening. During the performance, we sang to each other, forgetting about the crowd. It was magical. And I don't want to brag, but we did receive the only 10 of the evening!! I was pretty happy winning half of the $50 cash prize, but then Ralph gave me his half too. He was happy just getting the note that said "Winner" on it.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
The Things People Do to Entertain Themselves
People find really interesting ways to entertain themselves down here, which I think is the case when no matter where you are if you're living in a semi-isolated environment. You just have to. I have a few examples.A popular pasttime of some of my friends here is to switch clothes and take pictures. In this photo, you may or may not notice that Sandwich and Mykle have become each other. I wish I had a photo of the two of them together in their own outfits.
These next two photos are from two of the painters on station. Seems as though they had some time on their hands lately. They even posted these on the I-drive (the common drive that everyone can access and use to share photos).
My last example is that of Adam and Dale, two DA's (dining attendants) who had birthdays around the same time recently. They decided to make robot costumes for a party they were throwing themselves.
The first couple photos are from the party. I was talking with the robot, and then I asked him to slow dance.
A few days later, Adam and his friend Dave thought they'd bring one of the robots out to play around town.
The robot has the battery connection from the Delta stuck to him.
Looking into the tin can bin outside the Galley.
Heavy Metal!!!!
The robot getting a lesson in hitchhiking from our resident professional hitchhiker.
The robot visiting workcenters and surprising people!
At break in VMF (Vehicle Maintenance Facility aka Heavy Shop)
Robot Thinks Safety
Shooting hoops in the big gym.
Waiting his turn for a trim.
Catching some sun on the deck of Hut 10. I wonder if the metal helped attract the rays.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Happy Camper aka Snow School aka Snowcraft I
I have survived Happy Camper. Everyone has a different experience, some are good and others are learning experiences. Mine was a mix of the both, I guess.Happy Camper is basically a snow survival course for scientists and workers going out into the field traveling by helicopter. There are a two two-day sessions each week with 12 spots in each course. When there aren't enough grantees or workers that need the course to fill it, people in jobs like mine are invited to participate. The housing department does a drawing for who gets to go, and we call it a boondoggle because it's a special treat and two days off of work. I was the fourth to last person in our department to get a boondoggle.
I was to report to the FSTP (we call it F-stop) classroom at 8:30am on Tuesday morning. We had some classroom instruction. A survival bag was dumped out for us to see. Survival bags are brought on every trip away from station. They include a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, camp stove, dehydrated food, and a novel (to take your mind off being stranded if you ever actually have to use them). By 10:30, we were on our way out to Snow Mound City, as the locals call it. Every Happy Camper group is taken to the same place. There is an instructor hut, classroom, and drying hut and then a 10-15 minute walk from there is the camp area we set up and sleep at. We spent some time in the classroom learning how to use the WhisperLite camp stoves, before bagging and loading up all of our overnight gear and heading out to camp. It was extremely windy while we got our different lessons in snow survival camping, and it was a lot of work. We put up a Scott tent, built a wind wall by sawing snow, put up some mountain tents, and built a quinzie. We took breaks in between each thing to drink some water and consume some simple carbs (like chocolate energy bars, etc). After we finished with our lessons for the day, Kevin left a radio with two people in our group and went back to the instructor hut. The weather had cleared up a bit by then. We made dinner by boiling some water and dumping 2 cups of it into our dehydrated food bags. Our group sat around chatting for another few hours and then everyone went off to bed. I slept in a quinzie with Susan, who lives with Susan (she's been in photos before), across the hall from me in our dorm. We chose to sleep in someone's quinzie built during an earlier Happy Camper session.
The next morning, we were greeted by the wind again as we broke camp. We hauled everything back into the little shed by pulling sleds of gear. Our group walked back to the instructor camp and took everything (sleeping bag, sleeping pads, and fleece blanket) out of the bags to dry it in the warming hut. Kevin did a brief session on how to run VHF and HF radios. Our group had to test out the HF radio by setting it up outside and calling the South Pole. We were successful the first time. Our last unit was on white-out conditions. The USAP has developed a very technical program to teach people how to find a lost soul in white-out conditions. It's called "Putting a Bucket On Your Head". So that's what we did. The situation was that Kevin had wandered out to use the outhouse and hadn't returned. We each had to wear a bucket on our heads and were all holding on to a long piece of rope. Our first attempt was very unsuccessful, but after a little guidance from Kevin we managed to pull together as a team and still not find him. The second time went much smoother, and we were able to work as a group instead of against each other like we did the first time. Once back to the FSTP classroom, we had to watch a video on the Dry Valleys and then learn to buckle ourselves into and unbuckle out of helicopter seats before we had successfully finished the class. I was exhausted and happy to see my bed by the time we finished, but I am so thankful for the amazing amount of information I was given. I can't wait to do some more snow camping!!
The classroom at the Happy Camper site.
LeeAnn and Dave setting up their stove and giving it a test run.
The instructor hut, where our instructor, Kevin slept.
All of our tools: saws, ice axes, shovels, corers, etc.
Setting up the Scott tent.
Sawing snow blocks out to make a wind wall.
Building the wind wall.
Building the quinzie (the big pile of snow in the middle) and setting up the rest of camp.
After camp was set up, we went to grab our bags which we'd left sitting in a pile. They'd been covered in drifting snow.
Cooking dinner. Dave had the great idea to set up all of the stoves in this area another group had made. People took turns boiling the water to dump in our dehydrated food packs and to make cider, hot chocolate, and tea with.
Me peeking out of the quinzie my friend and I claimed.
Our bags in the quinzie. There was an area that needed patching... that's where all the light is coming through.
Another group's old windwall and quinzie.
The Silver City Ice Fall near the campsite. This is where the SAR (Search and Rescue) team does their crevasse rescue training.
Two of the scientists in our group made this snowman after dinner.
Taking down camp... there were a few times we only had 100 feet visibility or so that morning.
The warming hut where we hung our sleeping gear.
Ethan cranking the Hertie Gertie to refuel the warming hut. I started to crank on it, but my arms started to feel like Jell-O after a few minutes so Ethan finished filling the fuel tank.
Our graduation photo!!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
A McMurdor Mystery
**PHOTO UPDATE**About a month or so ago, I was asked to be a character in a murder mystery. I agreed, not really knowing what I was exactly signing up for. Karen, the woman who wrote the mystery and planned everything, along with my friend Richard, set up some practice times for us to get together. Characters were written for each of us. I was cast as the dead guy's girlfriend, a documentary film-maker here in McMurdo on the artist and writer's grant, named Wanda Erzogit (a play on a famous director's name, if you didn't already guess).
By the night of the mystery, the murder had already happened and 6 teams of 6 were emailed details about the murder the week leading up to the McMurdor Mystery (notice the play on words). The teams each had a theme: Scooby Doo team, Viking horde, CHiPs, Dragnet, Charlie's Angels, and Inspector Gadget. Most of the teams dressed the part. The characters were all grouped to be questioned as suspects. I was in a room with JD, a guy who was friends with the murdered guy but was secretly dating me and had set me up with the dead guy who owned his own country and I was going to inherit it. OK, I hope that made sense. I'm too tired to make sentences right now. So every 15 minutes another group of 6 would come in and question us. At the end of the questioning, we all met back in the Galley as a group to answer 3 final questions from each team. They then had 10-15 minutes to write down who they thought did it, and what clues led them to believe that. Three teams got the murderer right (it was the doctor with the crazy kids), but the Scooby Doo team blew everyone out of the water with something like 13 clues correct compared to other teams with three or four clues. JD (who was actually played by DJ) and I were thought to have been the murderers by one group, which meant we fooled them enough. Here are some photos from after the mystery:
Me, Bill (one of the "detectives" who went from group to group to make sure everything was going smoothly), and Ralph (one of the detectives from Dragnet)
Sandwich (who went around with Bill), me, Bill, and Ralph
Me and Carrie (our photographer who just went around from group to group)
Photos from Karen Hagerman and Sandwich:
The Characters in the McMurdor Mystery 2007:
Wanda Erzogit massaging the shoulders of JD. They were denying anything but friendship.
Bob the Channeler and Zuela (lifting weights) who was a parapalegic suspect.
Moonshore and Rainbow Blossom with their father Dr. Sigmuend Maslow
I had to include another photo that would show just how ugly those gold shorts really are. It's amazing how many events Kris wears them to.
Lena, a crazy artist, and Application #374851 (or some other long number). Application was a grad student who had applied to BE Lena's art project. They did crazy things like a donkey ride around the main building late at night.
Paulie, a singer that the victim announced was a fraud, and his lawyer Martika Cha-cha-cha-Ole.
Our group shot just after questioning.
The Detective Groups:
CHiPs
Dragnet
The Viking Horde
Fred from Scooby Doo... tomorrow I'll have a photo of the rest of the Scooby Doo group
Monday, January 15, 2007
Me and Ob Hill and Erebus
Me standing on the sea ice. All the markings in the snow are sastrugi made by the blowing wind. You can see Ob Hill (in the little black hills behind me) and Mt. Erebus (the tall peak behind me).
I'm off to Happy Camper tomorrow and won't be back until Wednesday afternoon. Although it's considered Snow School, we like to think of it as a vacation from work! Two days off - whoo hoo!!!
Friday, January 12, 2007
From Mrs. Fencl's Kindergarten Class in Westby, WI
Yesterday I received this email:Hi Katie,
We are learning about Antarctica in kindergarten. The class has some questions for you. How cold is it in Antarctica? We want you to see us and to say Hi to us. What do the penguins look like there? Can you come to our school sometime and read us a book about scientists? What do seals feel like? Can you show us your gear from Antarctica? Can you take more pictures of penguins? We saw them on your Weblog yesterday...cool. What do the scientists wear? What do the seals look like?
We will e-mail again soon.
Thank-you...From everyone in Mrs. Fencl (Auntie M's) kindergarten
Dear Mrs. Fencl's kindergarten class,
I am really glad your class is learning about Antarctica. It is such an interesting place. I will try to answer all of your questions as best I can.
Right now, it is summer in Antarctica while it is winter in Wisconsin. Our seasons are opposite each other because we're on different sides of the globe. December and January are the warmest months here. The warmest temperature it gets in summer is about 40 degrees Fahrenheit which feels really warm to us since we're used to really cold weather. During the winter, it can be almost 40 degrees below 0! The South Pole, which is 800 miles from us, can get down to 100 degrees below 0!
There are two kinds of penguins around the McMurdo Station area, where I live. We have emperor penguins, which are the tallest and heaviest of all penguins. They can be four feet tall and weigh 75 pounds. They are almost all black and white but have yellow on their necks. I have seen emperor penguins in the wild, but they were far away from me. I posted some pictures of them at the beginning of October. The most recent penguin photos on my weblog are of Adelie penguins. They are much shorter and lighter than the emperor penguins. Adelie penguins are all black and white and have a longer tail than most penguins.
I will try to find a book about scientists to read to you at your school. I would love to visit your class when I get home!
We are not allowed to touch seals here in Antarctica. The Antarctic Treaty is an agreement made by 45 countries which makes Antarctica a protected place for science. Only scientists are allowed to touch the animals, and they must have permits saying they're allowed to.
Hopefully we will be able to talk to each other over the internet, and I will be able to show you my extreme cold weather (ECW) gear then. I have a big red parka, which everyone here nicknamed "Big Red" and these funny white boots we call "Bunny Boots". We are given so many clothes to wear down here that they fill two large duffel bags!!
I will try to take more pictures of penguins for you, but we haven't had any more close to town since the day I took the photos you just saw.
The scientists are all here studying different things so they wear what they need to depending on their job. Some scientists work outside and have to wear lots of clothes like the ones I just told you about. There are some scientists that live way out in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica for weeks and weeks to study things like rocks, lakes, fossils, and glaciers. One of my friends camped with a science group in the Dry Valleys, and he didn't get to take a shower for SEVEN weeks!! They couldn't do laundry either!
I will try to find a close-up photo of a seal for you, and I will post it on my weblog soon!
Hope to hear from you again soon! Great questions! Keep them coming!!
Sincerely, Katie
Monday, January 08, 2007
Penguin Videos (including noises)!!
The videos I took of the penguins yesterday. You can hear the penguins making noise during the second and third for sure. Can't hear the other ones very well. The second to last video on this entry has a special surprise for all of you! Watch the penguin closely!! I just realized now what he was doing!Penguins A Ways Away
If you watch one of the first penguins to move to the left, you'll see him fall in the crack there. Don't worry, he gets out eventually!Another penguin falls in during this video too. Watch around second 34.
Watch more towards the bottom right corner, and you will see a line of Adelies waiting their turn to jump the big crack in the sea ice.
Photos from Jeff Gebauer
The great photos in this entry were taken by my co-worker Jeff Gebauer:Oden, the Swedish icebreaker, in the distance and a group of Adelies scurrying across the sea ice.
All of us standing out on Hut Point watching the big group jump the crack in the sea ice.
Me laying on my stomach watching the penguins lay on their stomachs.
A penguin picking at a rock on the ground
I wonder if he knows how to read??
Big stretch!!
Close-up of an Adelie
Sunday, January 07, 2007
PENGUINS in McMurdo!!
There was a large group of penguins at Hut Point today, and so we ran out to see them (along with half the town).The view of the icebreaker, the Oden (a Swedish ship), just docked at the Ice Pier near McMurdo on the walk down to Hut Point.
See the penguin in the bottom left corner?
The crowd at Hut Point watching a large group of Adelies.
Penguin tracks.
The penguins below us.
Penguins jumping the crack.
They high-tailed it out and everyone was saying there must be a party going on out there... dumb joke but considered great humor here on station so bear with me.
People watching the penguins with the icebreaker and town in the background.
The one penguin (photographed in the second photo from the top) must've called his buddies over because just as we were about to walk back to town, this crowd climbed up the little hill.
I got down flat on my stomach since we can't approach the penguins because of the Antarctic Treaty. However, they can approach us, and they sure did! A few came up within three feet or so. I probably took a hundred or more pictures so I did you a favor and chose some of the better ones.
Penguin with a rock in its mouth.
Got these next two from someone else. That's me just behind the penguin on the right. I'm wearing a purple neck gaiter on my head.
Friday, January 05, 2007
2nd Place
I entered some photos in the Antarctic Sun's annual photo contest, and one of them placed second in the people category.Check it out here! Page 9!
Monday, January 01, 2007
Party 'til the Sun Goes Around
The end of 2006 came to a close with an annual event called Icestock here in McMurdo. Think hippies, ECW gear, hula-hoops, togas, crazy people wearing wigs, and alcohol all jamming to a soundtrack of the talented musicians in this town and the scents of chili from the cook-off wafting in and out with the winds. I was a proud member of Team Nick in the chili cook-off. There were eight teams in the cook-off, and each team called a milvan their kitchen. There was an award for Best in Show, and then three teams placed for the actual chili itself. I scrounged up some decorations very last minute including the gold tinsel and the blue tablecloth you'll see in the photos. I "made" the t-shirts that morning too. Our friend Michelle brought us some party hats and aprons. My favorite part of the day was just watching the uniqueness of the crowd. It seemed like every time I turned around there was someone wearing a crazy outfit. I didn't even really feel like I was in Antarctica. It almost felt as if I was tailgating back home.Our competition decorating the milvans.
More competition setting up.
Cooking up the meat and veggies. We made a Turkey Green Chili and a Loaded Veggie Chili (the only vegetarian option that was made).
The Ross Island Yacht Club milvan. One girl actually wore a bikini top and served chili for awhile.
Nick and me, the original members of Team Nick.
Me and my buddy Omar. He's a Canadian pilot working here for Kenn Borek Air, and we play volleyball together. Oh, yeah... and I kick his butt at backgammon.
Youssef and Andy, our happy customers. Andy is a Wisconsinite!
Omar and Ben, another volleyball bud, in front of the Icestock stage.
One of the bands, Condition Fun, who sing songs about the vehicles of McMurdo. Ralph played the trombone for a song or two... I don't think he really plays.
Ruth showed up to help out Team Nick... thank goodness. She's Irish but has lived in New Zealand for quite awhile. I think she went home to get this black shirt so we could make her a Team Nick shirt too.
Terri on her 3 foot tall stilts handing out reminders for the MAAG (the McMurdo Alternative Art Gallery, which is this Saturday night).
Some friends of mine in their band called "A Guy, A Girl, Another Guy and Another Girl". They had a major brainstorming session to come up with that.
Ruth and Nick stirring the chili.
Bill, the IT guy, recording the show from on top of a milvan.
Sawbucks Coffee stand, set up by the carpenters of McMurdo.
The Kiwi Cargo guys, who weren't allowed to drink, showed up in togas anyways and drank lots of soda.
Mike in his Mongolian hat smoking a pipe.
The winds really picked up later in the afternoon, as you can see in this photo. It was so dusty, I picked up my Nalgene water bottle and had to wipe off the layer of dirt before I could drink out of it (and it was only sitting on the front table for about 15 minutes).
Five people got up on stage and played harmonicas... it was really great!
Paul, Carrie, and I were watching the beard contest.
The beard growing competitors. I think they've been growing them for about a month. One of our janitors won worst beard, it really just looked like his face was dirty, but he was a really good sport about it (and he couldn't wait to shave after the judging).
This is another of our janitors, who learned that he could keep drink straws in his beard. Thirsty anyone??
Icestock 2007 stage
Me and Helen
Helen hula-hooping with her neck and cracking up! There were hula-hoops everywhere.
She was really concentrating.
Our friend Austin with his second band.
Sharron, a friend of mine from Scott Base, and me (I wore that party hat all day and didn't even realize it).
