The Light Room is open

There are many people here that have a difficult time sleeping because of the darkness as there is no light during the day. Fortunately I am not one of them. A room was set up with fluorescent light fixtures with bulbs that mimic sunlight along with comfortable surroundings and furniture. We are encouraged to come sit, read and absorb some "sunlight". I visit here often and feel like I am in a park. The only thing missing is watching children play. It is a good napping area too!

Very comfortable new couches.

Nice wall hangings.

The sun is always shining.

Flowers and fountains.

Nice and relaxing background sound.

Some of the Memorial Day posters in front of the store.

My son Cary is a budding video game artist. He is putting together a portfolio to attend the University of Central Florida (UCF) masters program. He is also under commission to draw six "monsters" that will be included in an upcoming book. I set his fourth monster as my new Desktop Background. I really like this "Tar Man" and the setting. To see more of his work go to www.ezeleolos.com. (a shameless plug for my son!)

Tar Man.

I found this very interesting drawing of Antarctica with the ice cap removed. The continent is composed of many sub-glacial rivers and lakes. The elevation of the South Pole is almost 10,000 feet with about 9,000 feet of ice.

My coworker is brewing beer.

 

Castle Rock, Running, and a Memorial Day Tribute

Cartoon credit: http://www.joy-of-cartoon-pictures.com/index.html

How true: Today it is -47 degF (windchill)

(tomorrow's forecast is -58)

On Saturday after dinner several of us went to Castle Rock for a few hours of hiking and star gazing. I had a great time and sure am glad I brought my headlamp.

On the far side of Castle Rock overlooking McMurdo Sound.

I was toasty warm.

A nice viewing area but it was cloudy so only a few stars.

Our transportation was a Nodwell which is a two-tracked vehicle for adverse terrain. Riding in the back was like being on a motorboat at sea.

I am still amazed at the variety of vehicles here.

The Nodwell drives with 2 levers like a tank.

The rear seats 16 pax (passengers).

Icy cold on my face. I was sweating from the hike.

The pax had a good heater running inside.

For several months now I have been running on the treadmills in the Gerbil Gym. During mid-winter festivities next month there will be a run through town so after my gym workout Sunday morning I decided to try running. Even though I run about 25 miles per week on the treadmill it doesn't equate to real running outside. It ended up being a very challenging 30 minutes outside because of the wind, cold and terrain. It felt good though. I need to add another layer under the windbreaker and use my mittens instead of the gloves.

Running outfit for Antarctica.

Dressed a little different than for running on the beach!

The Stabilicers came in handy for running.

Since we are not here for Veterans Day, McMurdo combines Memorial and Veterans Days for one celebration. We were asked to submit names and pictures of our veteran family members alive or deceased. Poster size tributes are displayed in the galley area. This morning we met outside the Operations Building for a small ceremony including a brave soul playing taps on his bugle (at a -47 degF in 19 mph winds). We then gathered in the galley for a special cake.

My family is well represented. Thanks Mom and Dad! Several people mentioned that I look like my dad.

Attached to our dorm rooms today.

Classic Adventure Reading

I just finished reading "The Worst Journey in the World". This is a true classic polar adventure that was exciting to read as I am following some of the same paths as the author and his fellow expedition teammates. While browsing the web I see that it is listed as number one in the "100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time" by National Geographic. Of course my life here isn't as harsh as Cherry-Garrard but the conditions still exist. I have also read books and journals by Ross, Shackleton, Scott, Amundsen, and Byrd.

Extreme Classics: The 100 Greatest Adventure Books of All Time

A list we had hoped our readers would enjoy turned out to be one of the most popular features in Adventure's five-year history. You asked for it—repeatedly—now you got it: the 100 Greatest in all their glory.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0404/adventure_books_1-19.html

1. The Worst Journey in the World, by Apsley Cherry-Garrard (1922) As War and Peace is to novels, so is The Worst Journey in the World to the literature of polar travel: the one to beat. The author volunteered as a young man to go to the Antarctic with Robert Falcon Scott in 1910; that, and writing this book, are the only things of substance he ever did in life. They were enough. The expedition set up camp on the edge of the continent while Scott waited to go for the Pole in the spring. But first, Cherry-Garrard and two other men set out on a midwinter trek to collect emperor penguin eggs. It was a heartbreaker: three men hauling 700 pounds (318 kilograms) of gear through unrelieved darkness, with temperatures reaching 50, 60, and 70 degrees below zero (-46, -51, and -57 degrees Celsius); clothes frozen so hard it took two men to bend them. But Cherry-Garrard's greater achievement was to imbue everything he endured with humanity and even humor. And—as when he describes his later search for Scott and the doomed South Pole team—with tragedy as well. His book earns its preeminent place on this list by captivating us on every level: It is vivid; it is moving; it is unforgettable.
National Geographic Books, 2002.

To change it up a bit I am currently reading:

The days seem to fly by. 

On Monday I attended the weekly science lecture series. This week's topic was about the LIDAR project here in Antarctica.

LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging, also LADAR) is an optical remote sensing technology that can measure the distance to, or other properties of a target by illuminating the target with light, often using pulses from a laser. LIDAR technology has application in geomatics, archaeology, geography, geology, geomorphology, seismology, forestry, remote sensing and atmospheric physics,^[1] as well as in airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM), laser altimetry and LIDAR contour mapping.

The LIDAR is contained in this Arrival Heights building down the road from the 10 meter radome I work on. The laser pulses are shot into the sky and bounce off the iron rich atmosphere for climate research.

Tuesday evening was volleyball and Wednesday evening was hiking with friends to Hut Point for star gazing.  I was paged twice last night for the aurora alert and came out once to see a small aurora over the sound. After working inside one of the radomes this morning (up on a hill away from any light) we were greeted by a beautiful aurora that stretched about 90 degrees. It was dazzling. But since I wasn't able to get a picture it didn't exist!


This afternoon I walked to Hut Point in the disappearing light.

The light at noon.

The 10 meter radome and a bright star.

Speaking of adventure I have read several books about people rowing across oceans in 24 foot rowing boats as it is something I have an interest in. I have been following a young British woman's London to London human powered adventure around the world. She has biked, kayaked, and is now rowing from Japan to Canada. Her trip really is fascinating and she uploads daily updates.


http://www.sarahouten.com/


It is a very nice day:

	-18°C|-0.4°F Temperature
	-28°C|-18.4°F Wind Chill

Regional Summary	5/24/2012 5:00:57 AM
Stars abound this morning and winds are light as today is almost perfect for this time of the year. Temperatures will be starting the downslide today and will be cold by tomorrow. Some spotty fog or low clouds coming from the open water may be a hindrance from time to time but isn’t likely. Stay Warm McMurdo......

A Sunday hike to Castle Rock

Weekend recap:

On Saturday night I attended a wine tasting party in the library. I  had a good time enjoying fine New Zealand wine, talking with friends, and listening to the acoustic entertainment. There have been four parties with bands but I really enjoyed the music at this one. There are some very talented musicians and singers here. 

This was fun especially the acoustic music.

Enjoying the music.

A map of the Ross Island Trail System. Observation Hill is at the bottom with McMurdo to the left. The antennas that I work on are the Gray and White Domes and another dome at the T-Site (High Frequency Transmission Field).

Sunday morning I was back in the gym before brunch. After a nice stack of blueberry pancakes a friend and I left the firehouse at 11:30 for a  3.5 mile hike to Castle Rock. We were on the 15 mile route that Robert Scott and the Tera Nova Expedition (1910-1913) team used to travel between their huts at Cape Evans and Hut Point (McMurdo). An interesting side-note:

During one of the South Pole preparation hikes a crew with dogs was heading back to Scott's Hut at Cape Evans. They were more than half way there when one of their dogs slid down the ice and disappeared. After spending a few hours searching for the dog (the crew was very loyal to their dogs and pony's) they continued on to Cape Evans. More than a month later the crew returned to Hut Point where they found the dog barking excitedly at the hut's door. The dog had found its way back to Hut Point and survived on the dead seals stacked outside the hut (seal blubber used for heating and cooking).  

At about noon some twilight appeared in the northeast and then it was back to darkness after 1:30. We stopped at the igloos to see how they were holding up and two of the original four still look usable. We continued on to Castle Rock where we turned around and headed back to town. The seven miles of sometimes deep snow took us three hours.

An image taken from the Landsat7 satellite that we track here. Launched in 1999. It sure looks cold.

My favorite beer here. Pronounced Spats.

This is the one that I and three others originally built. The vestibule (right front) sort of collapsed though. Access is simply cutting a door anywhere with an ice saw. Still looks good.

A small collapse but should be okay inside.

A major side collapse.

A major top collapse. I don't think after cutting into this one there would be much room inside.

It was a nice day out.

The emergency shelter (tomato) next to Castle Rock.

Sat down for about a minute before we decided it was too cold inside. That's frost on the interior.

Back in my room. After sledging about 13 miles per day the old Antarctic explorers had to pitch their tent in sometimes blizzard conditions then try to light a stove to have something warm. 100 years later this "old Antarctic explorer" goes into his heated dorm room, takes a long hot shower, then pops open an ice cold beer to relax. I wonder what the explorers in another 100 years will do?

It's a real struggle outside today - not too cold but very windy.

Forecast and Outlook

UPDATED: Tuesday, May 22, 2012

-18°C|-0.4°F Max Temperature -40°C|-40°F Min Wind Chill

Skies: Cloudy Visibility (miles): Unrestricted, periods of 1-3 in blowing snow, isolated periods of 1/4 in blowing snow Winds (knots): E 20-30 gusts to 45 becoming E-S 25-45 gusting to 65