Antarctic Expedition 2006-07

Traveling to/from McMurdo can be an adventure in itself. We are limited in how much weight we can carry into the airplane (75 lbs), we need to have all of our ECW gear (including the red parka) with us, and every pallet full of gear, food, snowmobiles, and other needed equipment has to be weighed. We are subject to weather conditions, take-off and landing conditions, and pilot work hours. However, all of the support staff are AMAZING and really did their jobs well when it was time for us to get replacement equipment and other supplies.

For our deploy to Otway Massif on December 8, we loaded up 2 C-130 Hercules airplanes, operated by the New York Air National Guard out of Schenectady, with almost 18,000 pounds of gear and took off from Williams (Willy) Field, basically an airport-type area out on the ice. The pilots who flew our C-130 had never landed at Otway before, so their map of the landing strip was basically a rectangle with dimensions "unknown X unknown". I got to sit up in the cock-pit and had a pilot's view of the scenery below. Seeing the glaciers and mountains from above was a spectacular site. Fortunately for us, the weather was perfect, so we landed on the first try after the pilots overflew the area to check things out. Once we had a tent set up for shelter and a propane stove hooked up for heat, the airplane was cleared to take off again. Because we were at an altitude of ~11,000 feet, the air was really thin and the pilots had to attach rockets to the wings of the plane to assist in lift-off. That was neat to see. We were treated to an extra C-130 flight (for a total of 3) because 2 of our snowmobiles were left behind due to weight limitations. Those pilots, unfortunately, taxied for almost 4 miles before they got enough "oomph" to get off the ground.

A C-130 on Willy Field.

Mike and Ralph check on one of the C-130 cargo loads. We're missing 2 snowmobiles!

Traversing from site to site required us to pack all of our gear onto sleds; they call them sledges down here. Six snowmobiles pulled 2 sledges each, while 2 others pulled one sledge. Traversing is a tricky business. Our mountaineer was always in the lead position and on the lookout for crevasses (deep pits in the snow into which we could fall), and we ourselves had to be on the lookout for steep icy slopes and sastruggi, snow mounds that could overturn your snowmobile and sled if you're not careful. As you can see, we had a few "dumps" during one of our traverses. (Only when no one gets hurt do we do the "look at me" dance!) We also have to make sure everything is securely fastened, in the case of a turnover or in case a sled hits a sastruggi. We travel in a straight line at around 10 mph, enjoying the scenery and trying to keep warm. The handles of my snowmobile had heaters in them, which I kept on all the time. Making sure your hands and feet stay warm is a top priority, as is keeping your face covered. Four of our guys suffered from frost nip on their cheeks, noses, and lips. Frost nip is a mild case of frost bit, in which the top layers of skin are frozen and turn white. Normally, the skin just scabs over and no scar is left, but it's an indication that you'd better warm up that skin!

A line of sleds during the traverse from Mauger Nunatak to Larkman Nunatak. Visibility got as low as 100 m.

Oops! A sled flipped over.

We had 2 resupply flights from Twin Otter airplanes, during which we received new supplies, food, and mail. The Twin Otters are operated by Ken Borek out of Calgary and the pilots have flown in-and-out of difficult landing spots all over the world. Most of these guys fly up in the Arctic during McMurdo's winter season. A Twin Otter arrival is a much-heralded event - basically because we get to see people other than our teammates, hear news, and receive mail. I was lucky enough to travel by Twin Otter back to McMurdo on the 20th and the weather was beautiful.

A Twin Otter buzzes camp before landing at Larkman Nunatak.

Views of Antarctica from the Twin Otter.

Finally, Paul and I head north to Christchurch tomorrow, if all goes well, on a C-17, the luxury airliner with the nice seats. We have “bag drag” tonight, when we and our luggage get weighed and checked baggage gets put into the cargo line. Wish us a good trip and we’ll you back at Albion!!!