It's been a couple of weeks and, since I've been working nights, there really has not been much to share. I did get a chance to fly a couple of night flights and it's such a special time to be in the air, especially since the sun is still setting and casting beautiful long shadows in the evening.
If I knew more about geology I could probably tell you what exactly happened here. I like to think of this area simply as fantastic layers of chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon and mocha... Childish? Perhaps. I'll try to learn more this season!

One great thing about night shift is that I've been able to walk home to these sunsets while most everyone else on station is sleeping. Monday I'll be back working days and able to attend science lectures and fly out into the field more often-- I'll let you know what happens...

Hello again and welcome back for another season at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. We departed the States September 24th and flew to Christchurch, New Zealand where we (once again) spent many happy days exploring new trails and visiting favorite restaurants while waiting for the weather to clear. By October 3rd we were on a C-17 bound for McMurdo and I guess that means we've been here about 10 days-- just long enough to get comfortably moved in to a small dorm room, reacquaint with friends and establish a routine.

Chris and I are out on our first walk to Hut Point.


For a reminder as to why I am here.... I am working with Helicopter Operations, or Helo Ops, as one of 6 Helotechs where the primary objective is to use helicopters to move scientists and their cargo out to field sites-- and they do not generally travel light! There are several locations where fixed camps are established for the summer season and staffed with camp managers who live there for the next several months. We fly food, equipment, survival bags, sleep kits, generators, Scott tents, snow machines, and all sorts of other crazy gear every day the weather allows.

This is the view from the teeny window of the C-17 we flew in on. So cold and rugged...

Tomorrow we are flying folks from the BBC who are filming for the Frozen Planet series. Remember Planet Earth and Blue Planet? Yep, those guys. Sunday night they'll be presenting to an excited full house audience. These guys are some of the best story tellers with brilliant photography and adventures to share.

Here's a photo of Mt Erebus from the other day, a really windy day, so no flying for us.

It's not much but it's a start! I'll post a few more links to science websites that talk about the work that is being done down here this season. The first site to check out is the http://www.usap.gov/ site where you can access the Antarctic Sun which has an article about the current BBC project. Last Sunday night I attended a lecture on the microbial mats that are found under the lake ice in the Dry Valleys and you can read more about it if you are interested.

Well... it's been another month and I thought I should at least let anyone interested know that I have left McMurdo for New Zealand and am 12 days into a 3 1/2 week road trip of the south island. We ended up flying from McMurdo 3 days earlier than anticipated and that meant packing and cleaning, partying and saying goodbye to friends all in one evening, but it was worth it to get a few more days of sunshine and traveling through New Zealand!

After starting in Christchurch with a long visit to the Botanical Gardens to sniff the roses and nap under the shade of a tree in the grass, we packed up to road trip south to Wanaka where we camped on friends' property and appreciated the starry nights and chance to play music on the porch with a mandolin tickling friend from Antarctica. After a couple of hours of hiking into Mt Aspiring National Park we pitched the tent and camped out for a couple of nights, hiking steep trails (oh so sore....) gazing at glaciers and waterfalls, and watching the sunset.

We've moved up the west coast and watched dolphins (through the haze of sand flies), seen Fox and Franz Glaciers, hunted out secret camping spots, and drank beers at several pubs along the way while keeping up with the rugby season. Tomorrow we'll head north to the coast and hope to find more sunshine and less rain, a chance to sea kayak and camp under the stars again.

Hope to write more soon!

aliann

It's another foggy day with no visibility for flying and so we sit and wait for the weather to clear. Imagine a 35 minute flight across the sea ice (flat and white) and how without a horizon line or ground definition it could be easy to become disoriented or lose vertical reference with the ground. So I will take a minute to tell about our flight on Thursday...

Thursday morning I was the lucky helotech assigned to assist in escorting Prince Albert II of Monaco around on his tour of Ross Island and the Dry Valleys. He traveled with his friendly entourage of 3 as we first visited Lake Hoare Camp nestled behind the Canada Glacier where he spoke with Dr. Fountain about the glacier studies there. Lk Hoare's camp manager and assistant have been returning for many years and are very helpful in loading and unloading cargo and passengers when we land but rarely do we shut down or see their home. Inside the one room hut is a kitchen with a large table filling most of the room, bunk beds for the unexpected guest, and a large pot for melting snow on the stove. Hanging from the ceiling are fine wire sculptures of fish, birds, a helicopter and a butterfly presumably twisted together by the visitors who have dined at their table. A watercolor given by artist Alan Campbell hangs behind glass protecting the message scrawled below the peak.

From there we took an aerial tour of the Dry Valleys, the Labyrinth, Upper Wright Valley ice falls, and stopped at Bull Pass to walk through the ventifacts sculpted by the wind over time. Then we were off to Marble Point, our primary fuel stop on the far side of McMurdo Sound, where Karen was there with another wonderful lunch of fresh bread and a selection of cheeses, soups, hummus, crisp apple slices, and herbal tea prepared in their warm, homey kitchen.
After lunch we returned across the Sound to Cape Royds where Shackleton's Hut sits facing a large colony of Adelie Penguins. They could be heard from a distance and as we approached we could see the fuzzy charcoal grey penguin chicks standing nearly as tall as the adults, some still warming and protecting their eggs. Open water surrounds the Cape so we were able to see them swimming, hopping up onto the ice, waddling to and from the rookery.

We entered the hut and stood in the place where those early explorers did-- socks still hanging on the drying line, bed rolls ready for rest, provisions stacked and neatly organized on shelves fashioned from packing crates stenciled with 'British Antarctic Expedition 1907'. Outside there are several dog houses, tools hanging on weathered wood, and a small heap of rusted trash and broken glass- an archeologist's dream.


Scott's Hut at Cape Evans was the next stop but it is currently under restoration and behind sheets of plastic as the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Fund cleans and replaces what is structurally falling apart. Still, to see the skis that they used, the snowshoes used by the horses and their names painted on the stable walls is an amazing thing. The view of the open water and Barnes Glacier, thoughts of what they must have encountered...

All the while Prince Albert II was kind, interested and funny while they were gathering information about the area, interviewing a few scientists, and getting another glimpse of the Antarctica that they are protecting with the signing of Monaco to the Antarctic Treaty.

We are just a few weeks away from departure with a lot of work to complete between now and then. Travel plans are beginning to be finalized and folks are questioning whether they'll return for another season, only time will tell!

Missing you,

ali

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