Less than a month left and we are staying busy with flights in and out and around as we continue to move science groups and all of their equipment as necessary. Weather has changed some in the past week and flights are cancelled or delayed as visibility decreases due to snow, fog or clouds moving over the Sound. Flexibility is the key!

Different groups are testing biochemistry in the lakes where glacial melt has pooled, collecting stream measurements as the run off changes over the summer, or changing moisture and temperature to study the effects on nematodes in the soil. As we fly the 30-40 minutes to most locations I usually ask where they are from (universities all over the US, Canada, England), what they are doing and how many years they've been returning. There are interesting folks from all over and everyone has a story to share.

We also spent time at Lake Bonney moving a camp that had been there for the summer. Carpenters from the Carp Shop come out and disassamble everything and rig it all for flying external loads-- that day I hooked 13 loads off the ice to the belly of the 212. It was a gorgeous warm day brilliant with sunshine.

Yesterday we were held up due to weather at Marble Point, our primary fuel stop on the other side of the Sound and a safe place for us to stay when conditions change. Several times each week we stop for fuel and, if we are lucky, schedule a short lunch break. Karen and Crunch are the hosts at MP and there is usually a cup of tea or pot of coffee, a bowl of home made soup and fresh baked bread and cookies along with reminders of home in the form of music, kitchen smells and friendly conversation.

Once we were cleared to fly we started to move people around to their field locations for the day but our schedule was interrupted again when the aircraft had a 'compression stall' and we were forced to shut down at Blood Falls for a few hours until the mechanic could fly out and correct the problem. It is rare that we are able to shut down and explore the lakes and valleys, to take a closer look at the places we fly over so frequently-- I was pleased with our delay! Snow was fresh over the peaks and wispy clouds were slowly moving through, playing with the sunlight and creating beautiful dramatic scenes.




Last week we flew along the crater of Mt Erebus, an active volcano here on Ross Island. From there we could see open water, one of my new favorite views. Two days ago the icebreaker named the Oden made it to the pier at McMurdo and now continues to widen the channel between here and the sea ice edge, preparing the way for the vessel that comes stocked with goods and food for the coming season. We have seen the ice change over the past 3 months but are still waiting for winds to push it out to sea, until that happens we will likely not see the whales and penguins that normally make their way here.

Just a quick update as we wait to fly!
ali