More questions. Thanks Art.

Questions

 

1. Knowing you like to fish, are there Ice Houses and Ice holes for Ice fishing?

 

There are fishing houses that are towed onto the ice but only during the summer season which runs September to January. Scientists catch fish for research. There are also diving houses brought out. Several posts ago I posted pictures of these sleds.

 

2. Do you get to ride the snow machines (snowmobiles)?

 

I haven't yet but there are plenty here. I drove a Pisten Bully last week. Fun.

3. Now that you are a member of the yacht club are there any land yachts to sail?

That would be fun to have a fleet of these ice boats! There is plenty of room on the Ross Ice Shelf for racing. Thanks for the picture. We could have Antarctica's Cup - The U.S. vs. New Zealand!

4. Do you have anything for walking on the Ice?  My wife and I have what are called YackTraxs, these stretch over the boot and use a cable like type traction device, we have seen those that strap on with steel points.

 

There are traction devices that clamp onto your boot. Haven't had to use them yet.

5. Is there any kind of ropes used between buildings for when it get dark, foggy & Windy?

 

There are three weather conditions with condition 1 being the worst and condition 3 normal.

Weather Condition III

• Winds less than 48 knots, and
• Visibility greater than or equal to ¼ mile, and
• Wind chill temperature warmer than -75°F.

Severe Weather Condition II

• Winds 48 to 55 knots sustained for one minute, or
• Visibility less than ¼ mile, but greater than or equal to 100 feet sustained for one minute, or
• Wind chill -75°F to -100°F sustained for one minute.

Severe Weather Condition I

• Winds greater than 55 knots sustained for one minute, or
• Visibility less than 100 feet sustained for one minute, or
• Wind chill greater than -100°F sustained for one minute.

During condition 1 no one is allowed outside. Eventually ropes are strung between the main building that contains offices and the galley to the dorms.


Yesterday afternoon we went into condition 2 for the first time.

6. Looking forward, can you imagine liquid water?

 

McMurdo Station sits on McMurdo Sound which leads to the Southern Ocean. Most of the sound doesn't freeze. That part where we are will freeze. So I still get to see water every day. We also have the purest water in the world here thanks to no pollution and a desalination plant. In fact the water is so pure that it won't freeze. There is nothing for the water to freeze on. Minerals are added.

 

7. Were you affected by the solar flare-up?

 

Not at all. The sun does funny things here though. It just goes around and around unlike in the U.S where it actually travels up across and down. 

 

Keep smiling, it looks good on you.

 

Art...

 

Another question from Chris:

 

could you go fishing out there?  Is there any good fishing?  What would you catch?  just wondering

 

Weather looked snowy lately

 

There are a lot of these interesting looking fish that have antifreeze in them! The Ice Fish doesn't look to appetizing.

 

 

Fishing is done in the summertime. The galley has served some good smoked salmon, clams, and shrimp cooked several ways. Fortunately no penguins or seal.

And yes it has been very snowy. Check out the local webcams:

http://www.usap.gov/videoclipsandmaps/mcmwebcam.cfm