The D Team

It is HOT here at the moment. The snow is melting. The rivers are
flowing (as they tend to do when it gets warm...) and the clothes are
getting removed more and more as the temperature soars. On the
Wednesday flight that took out Christine, Mike and Danny was a team of 3
highly trained individuals.

This wasn't the A team, as there was only 3 of them and they all wanted
to get on a plane (a joke for the 80's kids out there...) This was the D
team. The Dig Team. Their mission, should they choose to accept it,
was to dig out the depot (mentioned in an earlier post) The hole they
dig will self destruct during the next storm so the clock was ticking.
(That and they were hoping to get back to McMurdo for the new years
weekend for Icestock, drinking, dancing and visits to the Chapel/dorm
lounge/sauna)

On arrival at the site, all evidence of the previous Digging a la G097
had disappeared. The last storm had buried it and the warm temperatures
had set the snow hard. The D Team got straight into it - Solomon, Ken
and Cory dived straight in with shovels and sledge and got to the cave
that afternoon. The next day was the day of what is known in McMurdo as
"hot blocking" - the weather is too warm to cut snow fully clothed so
you take your clothes off, wield your weapon of choice (photo attached
of unnamed dig team "member") and cut & remove snow blocks. The plan
worked and after that day they had 80% done. By 2pm on Day 3 everything
was out. Phew. If only there was a massage therapist on the team. They
spent the afternoon doing runs back to camp with all the stuff and
finished around 7pm before the weather could close the hole again. Phew
and a big fat well done all round.

The sting in the tail though was that after three days of absolutely
gorgeous, sunny, warm, and still weather they were ready to fly back to
town, ready to tell heroic stories of hardship and endeavour and to show
off their new beards to get lucky with the girls in town. But. When
Chris awoke at 4am this morning to give the first weather ob the cloud
had arrived, and it proceeded to get lower and lower until the chance of
a flight was off. Instead of spending NYE in town with all the luxuries
and women and booze, the 3 guys will be spending it with the Twotter
boys, 1/6th of a bottle of Gin, 7 beers and 37 cans of tonic. Watch out
for the next post, "Quinnine Poisoning in the Fosdicks" and a very Happy
New Year to all.

PS The unnamed "member" of the D team in the photo (who has years of
Antarctic Digging Experience) says he has seen many holes in his time,
but nothing this big.

The first pitch

The final major peak in the Fosdick Mountains in our programme that has
eluded geologists for many seasons is Mount Colombo. Like a sharp dagger
sticking out of a endless sea of white, the trecherous mountain has
taunted us since our put-in at Bird Bluff Camp. Yesterday was the day to
tame the beast.

With pervasive blue sky, calm winds, and armed with copious quantites of
cheese, the Twotter boys began their ascent at the north-east end of the
mountain by crossing a series of house swallowing crevasses over pencil
narrow snow bridges until reaching the outcrop. The first portion of the
ascent went smoothly until they reached the infamous Kakymchukky step,
named for its similarity to the Hillary step on Mount Everest. After
conquering this glacier carved step, the ascent continued past
knife-edge ridges and wet snow until the boys were abruptly stopped by a
trecherous edge unseen from the ground. They proceeded to put on
crampons and tie each other up with climbing rope and skirted a massive
wind scoop that was presumed innocent until they found a slot near the
top. Proceeding with absolute caution, they found their way back on the
rock and enjoyed a gentle scramble to the summit...or so they thought.

Once at the presumed top of the mountain, they then caught a glimpse of
a yet higher section of Colombo towards the South. They paused to
reflect, cry, and then enjoyed some cheese and bagels. After the energy
from the special climbing cheese was assimilated into their systems,
they proceeded towards the final climb - the summit push. Feet
throbbing, joints aching (especially old Tim), and sweat pouring from
their brows, the Twotter boys marched up a wind carved snow ramp and
reached the true summit of Mount Colombo. A spectacular view of the
entire Fosdick Mountain range and the adjacent Sarnoff Mountains to the
South welcomed the boys at the top. Then in true British mountaineering
fashion they enjoyed a nice cup of tea.

After tea, the boys slowly made their way down the mountain ridge
sampling rock and taking measurements. Loaded with 50 lbs. of rocks on
each of their backs and the energy from the cheese wearing thin, they
stumbled down to the skidoos, had a second cup of tea and began the 1
hour drive back to camp. Mission accomplished - all in the pursuit of
knowledge...

A sneaky-peak from the inside, looking out

This morning I did my duty at 6:55 am and called MacOps (the communications center in McMurdo) from my Iridium Satellite phone, from my sleeping bag, drowsy and gravel-voiced. To my not-so-little surprise the voice on the other end told me that the Basler aircraft was arriving in our camp, to pick up Christine, Mike, and myself, at 12:30. 

As this was not the plan I'd gone to sleep knowing of, it was a bit of a shock, and it took a few hours to wear off the bad mood of being torn from a place I've grown to love so much, and the people I've grown close to there. On the other hand, now that I'm back in McMurdo I have complete control over the blog and therefore will take a few moments to introduce to the world the defenseless and priceless "Twotter Boys."

The season began with Chris and I trying for a week strait to fly into the Fosdicks on the Basler as the advance team; hence our title of Basler boys. Well, now Tim and Chris are all that remain of G097 and they are about to embark on a week of close support day trips with a Twin Otter out of Siple Dome. They currently are still at our Fosdicks "Icefall" camp, and will be flown to Siple Dome sometime in the next few weeks, but I predict they will be forced to winter over somewhere in Western Antarctica. Certainly once the Dig Team unburies the hundreds of pounds (or kilos, Tim) of Cabin Bread and bagels from last years cache, Tim and Chris should have plenty of food. 

Because it is late and I am exhausted I will cut to the chase. May I present to you, the reader, the "Twotter Boys:"

Chris day one of Fosdicks Season

Chris day 52 of Fosdicks season

Tim day 0.

Tim in his jacket made from an old Scott Tent.

The Twotter Boys

So boys, touche, as they say in the French. Have fun out there. We (I) already miss you. 

And on another note Monday was Christine's 50th birthday, which was her 10th in Antarctica and 5th in the Fosdicks. Happy Birthday Christine! We all enjoyed a jaunt into a BEAUTIFUL crevasse that Tim, the crevasse hound, discovered for us.

Christine's 50th Birthday crevasse

Christine's Crevasse

One Last Switch...

Sometimes we are looked at by the aircraft co-ordinators in McMurdo as a
priority, sometimes we are a backup, and someties we are a backup to the
backup. We were the latter this morning. Chris woke up at 2:45am to take
weather observations, which consisted of looking at the sky and
describing cloud types...their types not their various shapes which are
open to interpretation. For example, in the altocumulus clouds Chris
claims to have seen an elephant and a lawnmower. Danny saw dancing
ladies. Nevertheless, the news arrived shortly after 7am that yes indeed
a aircraft was headed our way. The backup to the backup was a go! We
were busy as beavers stripping camp and eating copius quantities of
cheese. The arrival of the Kenn Borek Basler aircraft (similar to the
DC-3 in the infamous final scene of Casablanca) brought the 3 person dig
team tasked to extract our 2010 cache and fresh apples! After a quick
turnaround of less than one hour, the aircraft departed carrying
Christine, Danny and Mike back to McMurdo; leaving behind Tim and Chris,
colloquially known as the Twotter Boys.

The Twotter Boys are the last of the geology party in the Fosicks. They
plan to explore some last rock outcrops and continue to drink tea and
eat copious quantities of cheese. Within the week they are expected to
be moved to Siple Dome camp to begin aircraft-supported geological work
in the greater region around the Fosdicks. Stay tuned...

Holiday time in the Fosdicks

Christmas and Boxing Day have arrived and been WELL celebrated here in
the Fosdick Mountains!! The holidays follow on a solid three weeks of
great geology field work in the Fosdick Mountains. More on that is to
come, when we have the possibility of posting suitably-sized photos!!
For now... really must highlight the Christmas day that involved
green-pea omelettes with salsa (Tim selected the green & red Christmas-y
color combination); enthusiastic opening of gifts from the Canadian Lady
Seals; exciting stream crossings on the Ochs Glacier en route to/from
Marujupu Peak and fabulous migmatites at that locality, and the
culmination of the day with a magnificent multi-course meal prepared by
Tim Burton, mountain guide- chef extraordinaire. The Christmas meal
started with asian-seasoned stir fry shrimp (Appetizer 1) and sauted
sirloin (second in sequence of appetizers). Cornish Game Hens were
roasting merrily away, all the while, in the cubic Coleman camp stove
ovens -- they, the MAIN course, served with roast-y potatoes, dressing,
mixed veg, and exquisite whole grain seed loaf BAKED by Tim in the same
Coleman ovens (so moist, hearty yet delicate, and delicious!!). Such a
feast! But the Main was not the end. A Cheese course with that
scrumptious bread (we had brie, compliments of Pam Hill and, by no
choice of their own, courtesy of I-464 in southern TAM, who couldn't be
sent their 'freshies' request at the right time)... then a break for
dishes/clean up so things could settle a bit before ANOTHER one of Tim's
specialities: steamed pudding with raspberries and blackberries!! Oh
my. Even now today it seems a dream of plenty and splendor.
The celebratory mood could not end with Christmas Day, however...
because today is my FIFTIETH birthday (Christine's). Imagine having
that decadal birthday in Antarctica while doing field work in
magnificent migmatites! Hard to beat -- especially considering the
number of birthdays in Antarctica by now (this is the tenth one),
including a prior decade b'dy here in the ever-loving Fosdicks a few
years back (30th!).

Happy Christmas, everybody!! And a good New Years to you in a few days'
time.

G097

Don't shoot the messenger...

To some, the weather forecasters in Charleston speak in code - eighths,
overcast, blowing snow, drifting snow etc. To some they speak in normal
english and you decide to write it in a notebook in your own code. For
some this code is like mission impossible, it is only decipherable for a
few minutes, after which the meaning of your code has self destructed.
To some it's not even possible to remember which notebook things were
written in, which forecast is the right one.

None the less, the "storm" is here, the forecast and messenger were
right in some ways, and we are eating pancakes and about to have our
first bloody mary of the season...

The calm before the storm...

The "Great Storm" of 2006 in the Fosdicks has become a larger than life
story that is a topic in ever Happy Camper and refresher class nowadays.
There were flying snowmachines, 100 knot winds, and essential camp
failure. That team had a lot of bad luck working against them during
that storm which in the end left their camp half destroyed as ski-doos
flew like bingo wings through the air and grenades of volcanic rock were
aloft. That experience has given the Fosdicks a badass reputation,
though this season has been quite mellow.

Before she left Fawna told me her side of that story. Being the humble
and understated person that she is, Fawna's recollection was very
matter-of-fact, and made the storm seem quite a reasonable affair to
have experienced. The truth is that its hard to desribe the
freight-train sound the wind makes at gale force speeds as its beating
on a tent wall.

This morning we received a forecast for winds that should exceed 70
knots over the next few days. The forecaster called the storm system
"robust." All that said we have had a few forecasts for high winds this
season and nothing much has materialized. The weather forecasters in
Charleston are starting to sound a little like the boy who cried wolf.

This morning Brian, the forecaster I spoke with said, "I know it looks
good now where you are but it will change." Today was crystal clear blue
skies and no wind to speak of. We were digging in tshirts around camp.
As I write this it is 11:15 pm and everyone is tucked warmly into bed.
The barometer has been steadily dropping since dinner and the sky is
filling with high cirrus clouds. To the north and east the sky is
certainly darkening. There is no question that a storm will be upon us soon.

We are camped on the windward side of Mt. Lockhart, which we call
"Icefall Camp" on account of the massive icefall that occasionally
provides some frozen pyrotechnics. On the satellite image of our camp,
the glacier looks like a large soft marshmallow of snow, as compared
with the rough-hewn snow and ice surfaces that populate most of the
Fosdicks. We are hoping the wind here will be smooth rather than
turbulent. Our tents are anchored as well as they can be, camp is
fortified, and our Kindles are all charged up for the duration.

It should be another one of the "normal" Fosdicks storms and will
involve a few days of tent time. But who knows. It could end up like the
other storms of the season and be mild, or our camp location could be so
good (read: lucky) that we don't get too much wind at all. I think it
will be somewhere in the middle. Luckily we are behind on our booze
consumption and way ahead of schedule with geology work. Tomorrow is a
well deserved sleep-in which will be followed by pancake brunch and
bloody mary's.

We'll let you know how it all goes...stay tuned.

Danny

News via the Australian contingent

[Hi! Tim and Fawna writing from Perth this time]

We have had some correspondences with the team and things seem to be going extremely well. Reports of good weather days and trips out to the west to visit the 1070 massif (so called as this is its measured summit elevation). Harvesting the cache has continued as well as extensive geo-debating.

Here in sunny Perth it has been a hectic week back at work, but Christmas holidays are close and mangoes are in season, so quite the change for us. We have had time to go though some of the 3000 photos (not including 3000 rock photos!) and come up with a photo journal viewable here:

Fieldwork photojournal
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.981753870821.2452989.61010791&type=1&l=9cc9a2912d

and another album from our experiences leading up to the fieldwork
Pre-fieldwork shenanigans
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.933817296101.2444753.61010791&type=1&l=f91d9d8848

and here's a couple of pics from Australia:

Yummy food you just can't get in the Fosdick Mtns!

Grizzly Adams turns to Babyface Tim

Our Xmas destination
...will be admiring a new type of granite while thinking of
you guys getting back to McMurdo. Catch up soon!!!

We Found It. But...

Fuel caches are like bigfoot...hard to find and no one believes you when
you find one.

Armed with the latest in ground penetrating radar (GPR), the Basler Boys
ventured to the purported location of the missing 2010 Fosdick Mountains
fuel cache. Using a gridded search pattern, the GPR, and copious amounts
of hot chocolate they managed to locate a geophysical anomaly under the
surface of the snow.

Danny probed the anomaly and found something. The scientist-in-training
Chris questioned his finding, as any good scientist will do, and
attempted to test Danny's hypothesis by repeating the experiment by
continuing to probe the snow. With his burly Canadian strength, Chris
managed to penetrate the anaomaly in question, nullifying the Danny
hypothesis. Fortunately, after several iterations of Danny saying 'I
found it' and Chris recanting 'I don't think so', they managed to find
an object unpenetrable by Danny's probe. Then they had lunch...

After lunch, Team Commonwealth attempted to dig into the anomaly to
confirm beyond any reasonable doubt that the cache does exist and was
where it was supposed to be. After digging 5 feet, morale was down
until...a red piece of cloth appeared at the bottom of the hole, which
represents the top of an eight foot bamboo flag pole. For reference, the
poles stood no fewer than 7 feet tall above the surface last season!
However, Chris the skeptic questioned Tim's findings as any good
scientist will do, and challenged him to reach a barrel. After another 3
feet, CLINK CLINK CLINK denoted the finding of the elusive Fosdick Fuel
Cache!

The rest of the team arrived an hour later to assist with the digging.
Unbeknownst to the them, the deviant Tim managed to cover the hole with
a sled and convinced the rest of the Team that we had no luck finding
the cache. Shouts of diapproval and profanity rained down upon Team
Commonwealth until Tim removed the sled to the joyful cheering of G097.
Depth to the barrels: 9 feet. Snow condition: hard as concrete.

The next day using a chainsaw, skidoo, shovels, and copious amounts of
hot chocolate the team braved heavy snow and winds and extracted 9
barrels of aviation fuel. Each barrel took an average of 1.5 hours to
remove from the ice-hard snow. Now there are only 21 barrels, 2 tents,
white gas, and all the year-old biscuts and crackers than you could
shake a stick at. Yummy.

(Photo attached - Danny, Chris and Tim at the bottom of the hole with
the cave behind hiding all the cache!)

The Big Swap

[This is Tim and Fawna writing from Mac Town]

Yesterday it all happened! Christine and Mike boarded the Basler and made the journey across the Ross Sea. Meanwhile Fawna and Tim packed their things on the most beautiful sunny day at the East Lockhart camp. Chris was readied to pass on photos, maps and ideas to the new party. Danny conducted interviews with the departing members to capture their reactions to the place, the people and the circumstance. It was a bittersweet departure for us (ah, don't feel too sorry as we are heading back home to summertime in Perth), and we are very excited to hear what the new group sees and discovers and hope the very best for the second half of the season!

Here are a few photos and sketches from the first month in the field...

Bird Bluff, site of the first traverse and the first three weeks in the Fosdicks

Chris and Fawna tackle the base of this vertical section

Blowing snow over a wind-scoop...blue ice lake to the left

Crevasse training on a windy day

Tim happy to find more chunks of the mantle

Using the tablet computer to trace photos of melt networks (yellow)

The Snow Petrels of Bird Bluff

Another windy day - this time playing cards in the Endurance cook tent

Fawna packing the last item from our Scott tent in front of the Bitgood massif

This time, last year...

...all of G097 enjoyed the hospitality, creativity, generosity, and ALL that Siple Dome Camp has to offer!!  A reminiscence is here: 

In the Jamesway with Sal Consalvi and Erick Toussaint

And at this time SIX years ago, a different project G088 was building toward the great discovery of the South Fosdick detachment system and its tectonic history.  Here's a look at the 2005 camp!

View to NNW of Marujupu Peak, with tent line on the right and cargo line on the left, on the Fosdick Neve.

Only one way to truly represent this day

... and that is by copying in the email correspondence arising from the cancellation of our put-in flight!

Mike Brown and I, with cargo, WERE scheduled to fly to Fosdick Mountains by Basler today, via Siple Dome (our old home away from Fosdicks), with an ultimate aim of Aircraft ops for the Basler to wind up at Byrd Camp at 125°W, 80°S.   Trusty old West Antarctica does not like to offer good weather at four sites on one day, so.. yep, we got cancelled!!   We'll give it the old college try again tomorrow.  There are several scenarios that could play out... but I am not going to summarize them here anew, when there has been so much email zinging back and forth about it today! Read on if you are familiar with this world, or skim it if your not.  As a final note of Fair Disclosure:  "Mr Pickles" is international mountain guide Tim Burton.

-----Original Message-----
From: Christine Smith Siddoway [mailto:CSiddoway@ColoradoCollege.edu]
Sent: Monday, December 05, 2011 2:19 PM
To: AirCoordinators
Cc: MBrown; g097fdm
Subject: G097 questions on cargo handling for the various scenarios

Hi, Friends of KBA,
You guys are full of action today!!  1/ wow, Julie, you made things
HAPPEN after I mentioned that Mr Pickles would have to do without the
Tanqueray in our Baja order -- we nearly wound up with a duplicate box!
(but drat, Dan MCMbeverages caught it and pulled one out.)  or,

2/ Is this cancellation today mainly so that the metal detector can get
into our hands and make it on a flight out to Fosdicks?? (I think I did
tell you, we are bringing more shovels out with us, ready to attack all
that accumulation and unbury the fuel drums)

but enough fun; on to business:
Thanks for giving us a run down on flight prospects for tomorrow, via
your conversation with Mike Brown this morning, that is a big help from
the planning standpoint!  A few questions arise from the various
scenarios.  OK if I lay out some of those to you, so that if need be I
can give a heads-up to the MCM workplaces that might be affected, most
principally cargo??

These plans are as described to me by Mike:

Plan A/ Tomorrow's schedule will be the same as today.
If FDM and SDM open then we will arrive there via SDM, and Basler goes
on to Byrd.  Does the cargo load remain the same, or has the equipment
that is needed at Byrd been sent on the two Hercs that went to Byrd
today? If so, is there a chance for a Basler flight direct to Fosdicks
if Fosdicks weather allows?
AND-- if Byrd is NOT open, can you allow the Basler to fly directly to
Fosdicks with us and cargo, then return to SDM to wait for weather to
improve at Byrd?

Plan B/  If FDM is closed and  SDM is open, we will still be manifested
to fly on Basler via SDM but will go with it to Byrd. Will that be WITH
our own cargo that is destined for Fosdicks?

Plan C/ Another alternative is that if FDM and SDM are both closed in
the morning,  the Basler will fly directly  to Byrd without us. Will our
cargo remain on the Basler in that case??   WE would be transported by
Herc to Byrd, where we would then get scheduled for Basler transport
from Byrd to the  Fosdicks.
In the Herc-transport-to-Byrd plan, will we have to differently organize
our resupply pallets and cargo and re-TCN it for Herc transport?  As
instructed for the Basler handling, we have TCNd our cargo as many
individual low weight and cubes items.

Just a remark on the Byrd to Fosdick option  -- I understand that one of
the Basler taskings from Byrd is to place fuel and supply caches for a
team who are doing a skidoo-traverse north FROM Byrd ... so at least
that would be somewhat in the right direction for transport of us to
Fosdicks if the jobs were to be combined.

Isn't this all good for mental agility??  I'll go talk to Brian in USAP
Cargo just for kicks,

Christine and Mike
G097

________________________________________
From: AirCoordinators
Sent: Sunday, December 04, 2011 7:23 PM
To: Christine Smith Siddoway; AirCoordinators
Cc: MBrown; g097fdm
Subject: RE: G097 questions on cargo handling for the various scenarios

Christine- glad that Pickles is going to get his booze.  I don't want a
crying pickle in the field.
As for the metal detector, today's weather in MCM does not seem
favorable for the pick-up from the helo camp. I was hoping today's cxl
might have given us the edge to get it, but....not looking good.  I've
let everyone involved know the importance, so if there is any chance of
connecting it with you before you go, we'll make it happen.
Finally, for the plan tomorrow:

The Basler will either go MCM/SDM/FOS/NBY OR  MCM/NBY - both options
include you and your gear.

As I don't want to wake you or Jules up tomorrow morning again, let me
know a good time/phone to reach you after 0630.
JAR


-----Original Message-----
From: Christine Smith Siddoway [mailto:CSiddoway@ColoradoCollege.edu]
Sent: Monday, December 05, 2011 5:02 PM
To: airCoordinators
Subject: RE: G097 questions on cargo handling for the various scenarios

oh, a trembling-lip, blubbering Pickle would be the Worst.  BTW, when
Brian USAP cargo found our 'Baja' this a.m., it had G-079 on it, rather
than G097, just to add to the intrigue!

Phone x2772 is completely GOOD for early morning phone calls  -- please
DO call x2772 between 6:30 and 7 a.m., you won't be disturbing anybody!
Jules seems to get up around 5 a.m. usually, and her buzzing around
makes ME wake up, especially if we are supposed to fly. After 7:10 a.m.
or so we'll prob be at our BFC cage hauling items out to a taxi-shuttle.

Final question for you (mainly b/c I talked to some Byrd-bound folks in
BFC, who had seen a forecast for Byrd for blowing snow tomorrow): IF FDM
and SDM are good but NBY is bad weather tomorrow,  could we go ahead and
get transport to FDM, with Basler returning to MCM or winding  up at SDM
to await good landing conditions at Byrd??
Thanks mucho,

Christine

G097
________________________________________
From: AirCoordinators
Sent: Sunday, December 04, 2011 9:08 PM
To: Christine Smith Siddoway
Subject: RE: G097 questions on cargo handling for the various scenarios

Yes, plan c is MCM-FOS-MCM

JAR


----- Forwarded Message
From: Chris Siddoway <csiddoway@coloradocollege.edu>
Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2011 17:18:43 +1300
To: AirCoordinators
Cc: Michael Brown
Subject: RE: G097 questions on cargo handling for the various scenarios

Wow, wouldn't that be something!!
Thanks, JAR,

Christine

Saints Day - auspicious, Patron saint of geologists

That is Santa Barbara, fittingly...

McMurdo: Creative and Scholarly Activities Retreat

As some of you may know, G097's field season did not go as planned (despite the fact that it was pre-planned via the ORW that went through three iterations and the SIP , followed by the RSP). Last year, our team did not achieve a field put-in at all, but rather waited, waited and waited for transport to our field site from a waypoint at Siple Dome.  After much reflection, we investigators of anatexis and crustal differentiation  set upon an alternative course of action in McMurdo station, that we suspected might bring about an on time put in / personnel exchange now at the midpoint of the season.  With the groundwork well laid by Chris Y. and Fawna , Christine and Mike worked with coauthors Mark Fanning and Rory McFadden (pictured below) to get a manuscript ready for submission so that it can ‘incubate’ (undergo peer review) while we are in the field.  The strategy has been to stay so utterly preoccupied by other matters that our put in day would arrive and take us unawares by happening at the first possible moment. Which is today.  Let’s see what happens! If there are no posts appearing here in short order... it means that we are in the field!

Here's the title of the paper, and Antarctic pics of our colleagues!

Colleague Mark Fanning in the field in Antarctica

Rory McFadden at Mt Ferranto in 2006

Hello, dear readers,

Well, that last post is puzzling, in respect to the remarks about average age of the team.  Perhaps it will be well that as the age of the G097 field team increases, so also does the experience!!  In any case, any playing of the game 'bingo' is only going to happen in Pickle-Tim's dreams ... since on any non-field days I imagine that he is more than occupied playing card games learned in his past tours on Mt Erebus (and drinking tea, of course:  see 25 November blog entry).


Bring on the OAE's!! Here they are:

Mike Brown, anatexis expert

Christine Siddoway, cordierite afficianado
- Kevin Emery photo 2010 -

A Beautiful New Campsite!

We finally performed our epic camp move after witnessing a massive ice
fall hours before our departure from Bird Bluff, and have situated
ourselves in our most spectacular camp site yet, near Mount Lockhart and
overlooking an even grander mountain range. The camp is dwarfed by the
rock and ice cliffs above us and we have been hearing the nearby ice
falls twice an evening and avoiding swooping snow petrels (think a much
cuter version of 'The Birds') The whole new area is absolutely stunning.
We had a breathtaking recce day out and about through the region
followed by two days of geology in lovely weather.

Today we had our first transportation incident...one of the team members
parked a Skidoo in a foot of water. Obviously, this is not the best
place to park a Skidoo. See the attached picture. The team member in
question noted 'I thought it was only a little bit of water on ice...'.
To our relief, the Skidoo was rescued from the water by David Hasselhoff
and returned home. We are now preparing for a mid-season team changover
that will substantially increase the average age of the team. Bring out
the Bingo cards!

Field team moved camp / McMurdo Resupply all set!

A quick news update:  G097 field team have moved camp from Bird Bluff to Mt Avers.  The search for the buried fuel cache continues.  The lack of posts to the blog since that move is an indication that geology work is happening, in reasonable weather!!  Mike Brown and Christine Siddoway arrived in McM on Monday, set to work on cargo management  and completed required trainings, and presently are scheduled for a Basler flight to Fosdick Mtns on Monday.  However, there may be perturbations:  a "Blue Ribbon Panel" is here for an assessment visit to MCM, South Pole and other sites (requiring dedicated flights and staff support), and the Ice Runway will close on Friday, with operations to be shifted entirely to Pegasus Field that is one hour away.  Understandably, this is an enormous task that disrupts normal flight operations somewhat.  Watch for future posts to learn where things stand in another day!

Art of Science

Graphs are a scientist's canvas. Two graphs are shown above that depict relationships that are
most important to us in the Fosdick Mtns: geology and tea.
The left hand graph demonstrates an inverse exponential relationship
between the quantity of tea consumed by five persons and weather
adjacent to Bird Bluff in the Fosdick Mountains, expressed by the following
equation: C = (L+EG)/2.6 x e^(p-t+(2xws)) where C = tea consunption, L =
herbal tea quantity, EG = Posh tea quantity, p = barometric pressure in
inches of Hg, t = dew point temperature in degree kelvin, and ws = wind
shear in m/s. The line is a significant statistical fit of the
mathematical model with an r-squared value of 0.98 and Monte Carlo
analysis of the residuals indicates a gaussian distribution over >99.99%
of the data points.
The graph on the right is a summary of the data collected from the rock
face shown in 'The Pursuit of Knowledge' post and shows the amount of
dark rock to light rock. It is also exponential.
Inferences from these models can be drawn as follows: there is more dark
rock than light rock and the impending storm forecast for tomorrow will
result in an increase in tea consumption...

The Pursuit of Knowledge...

Science in action! Prof. Kakymchukky is measuring the thickness and
spacing of light-coloured layers in the rock face that represent
formerly molten rock which he finds really really interesting. The red
tape is marked and annotated for individual layers. A blue safety line
was placed to provide security and aesthetics for the otherwise dull
rock colours and to complement the red tape...

Bird Bluff Camp

Photos seem to be working - we have a new toy!

Here is a photo of our current location - sneaked up nice and close to
the windward side of the mountain a little East of Bird Bluff. In the
photo the team is driving away from camp off on their daily commute. The
line of little dots across the centre of the photo are the tents and
behind we have a big face of rock with 60ft ice cliffs towering above. A
very scenic spot we think, although not as scenic as the next campsite...

What people from Canadia do best...

Could someone comment on the last post if the photo posted and you could
see it? We'll get the comment here and then we know it's good :-)

If so, just in case it's working (we have time on our hands today and
that last one took almost 15 minutes to send!) here's another of
Professor C. Kakymchukky doing his Canadian thing - travelling to the
rock on his ice skates.

Photo! Kakymchukky Crag of Doom

Well, it's time to put our satellite phone modem to the test. Time to
try and send a VERY TINY photo that should post on the blog. As it's so
small you'll have to work a little with the description here...
Danny The Brave walks across the Bird Bluff ice skating lake towards the
Kakymchukky Crag of Doom in the background, with the big phat wind scoop
on the left of the photo. It was a beautiful, blue sky windless day.
Today is nothing like that at all.

A Propane Holiday

This morning a moderate wind whips the flags outside the cooktent as I
write. The wind is a constant sound in the Fosdicks and Antarctica.
Perhaps because we've enjoyed so many near-windless, bluesky days, the
fates have decided it is our time to get blown around a bit. As Tim
mentioned in his previous post, we've been waiting for a big storm that
was forecasted, but hasn't yet appeared. The weather isn't good enough
to move camp, and not good enough to work, but it feels a little guilty
not being totally pinned down by a "proper storm," as Mountain Tim would
say (Tim Burton that is, as opposed to "Science Tim," who is Tim Ivanic,
the geologist) and just have a wee bit of wind. That said, with our
binoculars I can see the 10 miles across the Belchen Glacier, on which
we are camped, to the Phillips range, and there are large clouds of
blowing snow, which means there are high winds in the area.

So back to the topic of guilty pleasures, yesterday was the traditional
American day to celebrate Thanksgiving, and that we did, to the best of
our ability in our meager camp. Our feast last night was orchestrated by
Chez Tim (Mountain Tim), hmmm, how to describe such delights...

It all began with a raid of the "baja" box, code language here for
booze. We began with gin and tonics with "Jesus Ice," which is ice from
a local glacier, termed Jesus Ice because the ice might be 2000 years
old. Yummmy yum yum! Then we moved on to Sparkling White (not Champagne
which science Tim reminds us must be from the Champagne region in
France). In the background DJ Phat D was blaring a variety of tunes
including JBizzle (James Brown) and Professor Chris Kakymchukky's fav,
Katy Perry. We have frequent inpromptu dance parties here, but as the
8x16 kitchen tent has little extra room for dancing, we usually dance in
place, or "in situ." Plenty of space for shakin the hips.

The first proper course was a group appetizer, "tim's special spicy
shrimpy nubbins," which was served in a fry pan on a rox box and we all
ate collectively with forks. I just learned last night that in fact we
british Americans (or North Americans, I should correct myself to
include Prof Kak in this count) use our utensils improperly while
eating. The British, who apparently do everything with a bit more class
and charm than us, do not shovel food into their mouths with an upturned
fork, but rather turn it upside down and place carefully picked bits of
food onto their delicate and sophisticated palates with their left hand.
What a caveman I've been my whole life! That story reminds me that our
trip is as much a cultural exchange as it is a science expedition since
we have one American living in the US of A (me), one American living in
Australia (the illustrious Dr. Fawna "Rock Hammer" Korhonen), one Brit
living in Australia (resident artist Dr. Tim Ivanic), one Brit living in
Britain with a French girlfriend (Timmy B), and one Canadian living in
Maryland, near Disneyland). Displaced peoples we are.

The next course, of course, was the main course, which in traditional
American style, was a bunch of things heaped on to one plate. Chez Tim
baked us each two rosemary and sundried tomato whole wheat rolls, from
scratch, which we used to slop up the homemade Cornish Game Hen gravy,
which Tim (of course) made from the drippings of the Cornish Game Hens,
which were baked in one of our TWO metal box stove top ovens. All of
this was accompanied with boiled mixed veg, Gratin Dauphinoise (cheesy
garlicky taters...) from-the-box stuffing, and freshly opened canned
cranberry jelly. Lets just say that Chris and I (the basler boys) had to
play the "big spoon" game at the end, in which each person has a big
spoon and must eat up anything remaining. Neither of us could move off
our respective asses to help with dishes, as our stomachs were
completely full and it would have been dangerous to move.

In perfect fashion, the next two courses were red wine, which a tipsy
Fawna excitedly produced after her mid-meal voyage to the poop tent,
where we keep all booze, of course. I'm not sure if she went to make
more room for dessert or just to get booze, but in the end we all got
more of the vino, so thats all that mattered.

Earlier in the eve, I made the short journey to the freezer box,
unburied it, and removed the pint-sized milk carton of completely frozen
"eggs". I proceeded to hacksaw, woodsaw, and hammer a portion of the
frozen yellow stuff into submission so that Chez Timmy could thaw them
for necessary inclusion in his "Goat Cake" (a reference to a sad cake
made last year at Simple Doom that unfortunately tasted like Goat).
Fortunately it tasted like it should, blueberry and topped with homemade
cream cheese, lime juice and sugar frosting.

The rest was history. We got more drunk, played some cards, shook some
tailfeather, and went to bed good and early in tradional fashion.

I'm still not hungry.

Crying Wolf?

Fosdicks is famous for the weather. The Great Storm of 2006 as
previously mentioned is infamous at Mcurdo and most people who have
worked with the program since have heard of it. Stories have been
recounted, exaggerated and told many times. The forecast at the time
was for 50-60 knots and they were getting gusts of more like 120 knots.
Fully loaded and fuelled skidoos weighing 400kg were blown across the
snow, tents were damaged or destroyed and things got hairy-scary.

After recent experience of the forecasts, we're wondering whether the
Fosdicks are starting to Cry Wolf. "You should experience 30-35 knots of
wind" turns into 13-15 knots. Today, forecast was 40-50 but we're
getting up to 20 max so far. The forecast this morning for Sunday is
for it to blow up to 75 knots - that's more than 80mph. If it doesn't
happen again and we only get 30 will we start to ignore the forecast?

Perhaps the Fosdicks are playing a game, who knows? Perhaps the
forecasters are nervous from the 2006 experience and always overestimate
so we are always prepared? (although the thought of a nice 50 knot blow
is mischievously exciting in some ways...) Perhaps our planned position
in a sheltered spot is actually reducing the winds at camp a lot? Who knows.

Only one way to find out, "Hurry up and wait" That's what we'll do.

Hurry up and wait...

Christchurch: Perimeter RISING!

The citizens of Christchurch have experienced tens of thousands of earthquakes over the past year, with three major, damaging events, as follows:  M7.1 Darfield earthquake on 09/03/2010, an M6.2 event on 02/21/2011, and an M6.0 event 06/13/2011 (UTC).  There has been terrible devastation of downtown businesses, apartments, and historic buildings.  Demolition is underway over a large sector of the central city that is termed the Red Zone.  Usually busy downtown thoroughfares (the "one way system") have only a solitary car passing every now and then.  The center city is fenced off, and there are cranes and bulldozers everywhere.  Around the perimeter of the red zone, though, there are the beginnings of renewal... and seriously THE most art-y and uptown use of shipping containers ever seen!

The Arts Centre

View of Christchurch Cathedral

Lorry headed out of Red Zone, driving along Armagh Street toward Windsor Hotel...

 BUT AROUND THE PERIMETER, IT IS CHRISTCHURCH RISING!!

 

Steadfast sign for Windsor Hotel, still standing... and a new building under construction on the former site of the Windsor Annex.

This building is being fitted with a shining, burnished, copper roof!!

The Cashel Mall has a new look -- this is going to set off a circum-Pacific container architecture craze !

In Christchurch: "Clothing Issue"

The US Antarctic Program provides top-to-toe clothing according to sound practices of layering.  Here is long-time USAP employee Marlene McLennan to give the run down:

There on the board is the lineup of clothing from outer to inner.

Mike McElroy checking on flight status no doubt.

The team, getting ready to handle exchanges. Warehouse is pretty empty. Lots of clothing in use out there!

A cross-warehouse view of Doug Wiens making a request:  BearPaw mitts, please!

Routing -- CONUS to MCM

Travel from "CONUS," continental USA, to McMurdo Station...


Mike Brown from  Washington Dulles, C. Siddoway from Denver International Airport... we met up in LAX and embarked on the 12h 45 m trans-Pacific flight to Auckland.   Three of us beakers wound up in sequential aisle seats:  Mike Brown 25D, Christine Siddoway 26D, Doug Wiens 27D.  Think of that -- at a slightly slower time of the season than late October when we ordinarily head down...

As expected, the Auckland airport did not disappoint in its ability to serve one mighty fine, foamy, fern-patterned Flat White.

The other MOST enjoyable experience at Auckland airport is the footpath between the international and domestic terminals.  I am very fond of these trees.  This is the first time have seen these 'old friends' in bloom, despite the fact that Metrosideros excelsa with its crimson flower is a beloved part of  New Zealand's Christmas traditions!

Pohutukawa in bloom

Here we are in the check-in line for the JetStar connection to CCh...  happy to have a stopover en route to the Ice, but with a bit of trepidation wondering what we will find in dear Christchurch, the city so wracked with earthquakes during the past year!

One or two astrophysicists became evident to us once we caught our connection from Auckland to Christchurch, and then a few more at the baggage claim in the city.... an opportunity to become acquainted with such acronyms as BICEP, BLISS, CIBER and so on; and to get an update on the CMB and the latest best determination for age of the Universe, at 13.7 Ga.

 

http://science.jpl.nasa.gov/projects/Boomerang/