A dance with the demons, penguins and other stuff

It seems like winter started last weekend when I camped in an igloo as the following week was windy and bitterly cold especially this last weekend. I woke up Sunday morning freezing as the dorm boiler (heating) wasn't functioning properly. It was pretty miserable in the room so I quickly dressed and went to the gym where it is always warm. The mid-winter run scheduled for Sunday morning was postponed Saturday afternoon due to the first major Antarctic storm of the season. Saturday evening the winds really picked up and the windchill temperature quickly dropped to the -50's. Everyone's plans quickly changed to staying in their dorms after dinner. Several of us watched the recent film "The Thing" a prequel made for John Carpenter's 1982 "The Thing". Even though much of it was filmed in Antarctica (like the original) we all laughed at the discrepancies from the real Antarctica - for example the film showed a real night and day.

It was a good call to postpone the run as the wind was blowing 30-40 with larger gusts bringing the temperature down in the -60's. It made for a very quiet Sunday. The Ross Island Yacht Club of Antarctica met for the monthly meeting even though the building we met in was cold. We enjoyed a course on charts then had pizza and beer while telling sea stories - my kind of meeting. After a dinner of pan seared mahi it was off to the Coffee House Theater for the McMurdo Science Theater 3000. Even that was cold as the Coffee House heater wasn't working either. The coffee bar (my Sunday night hot chocolate hangout) wasn't open due to frozen pipes. So I was bundled up in bed before 9 for what I thought would be a long rest.

Not more than ten minutes later a page came about an "environmental alarm" up the hill at the 10 meter antenna. So I dressed in everything I had including my Frankenstein boots (or as popularly called "Herman Munster" boots) and met my co-worker. We were able to reach the radome with the van although it was a very hazardous drive as the snow was blowing hard. We did keep in contact with the firehouse for safety purposes. The main power feed to the building and antenna was down with the some of the equipment on UPS - battery backup. And of course the heater wasn't working and the inside temp was in the 40's. We then called out the electricians and linesmen as we knew it was going to be a long night for repairs. One of our feeder lines was down and power was restored three hours later. Our van wouldn't move (vehicles here are always kept running or plugged in) so we called the firehouse and were soon picked up.

Back at work we discovered that we could not control the antenna so we "borrowed" another van and went back up the hill to work the issue. The weather was worse as we had to fight the wind and cold to move around to the different work areas. I was thrown to the ground a few times and it was extremely difficult to get back up so I just crawled. What's funny was after just watching "The Thing" I thought I was in the movie except there was no monster chasing me! But I'm sure there is a "Thing" out there somewhere.

Sunday night and into Monday afternoon we made 5 trips up the hill but still could not solve the issue. I finally got a few hours sleep last night and was in again at midnight (Tuesday) to work the issues with the California vendor. We are waiting for the results of our troubleshooting from the vendor for the next step. It is going to be a long week. I have never been so cold for so long and it really does hurt.

The station Manager sent out this email (in response to weather related issues):

Bringing it

All

Unless you live under a rock (or an ice block), everyone should know by now we have been experiencing a number of issues since yesterday afternoon.  Many of the issues have been resolved, though some are still being worked on.  It will probably be another day or so at least until all systems are back in normal operation.

As always, these issues don’t go away on their own; they go away because someone came out of their comfortable room or walked away from their favorite activity to engage in the challenge.  The fact it also entailed a dance with the demons in the wee hours of the morning was just another detail to these people.  

So once again, I am reminded of the dedication of our community to each other and the ‘town’ when the chips are down.

Thank you.

 

 At Cape Crozier on the the opposite side of Ross Island the male  Emperor penguins are sitting on eggs for two months in the dead of winter. The females are out gathering food and will return when the chicks are hatched. It is fascinating that the male penguin can stand in one place and incubate an egg with no nourishment  for two months during the brutal winter.

A friend sent me this from a previous party. I posted the video a few weeks ago.

I really missed Tropical Storm Beryl's Brevard County surf.

The Recreation Board at McMurdo.

Plenty of opportunities.

An aerial view of McMurdo.

The daily activity board in the galley.

Taped to the wall - I like this.

Tuesday night I went to the gym for volleyball. The heater wasn't working and the digital thermostat read 25 degF. The gym is an old navy quonset hut. Needless to say a frozen volleyball doesn't react well to a hit as it just sort of drops. So we tried playing basketball but a frozen basketball doesn't bounce. We shot around for about 30 minutes before deciding we were too cold. At that point the temperature was 26 so we did induce some heating. Gallagher's bar is on the way back to the dorm so a few of us went in to warm up with a beer. Fun times.