What? We can't fly in this?

Here's footage from the storm that is currently busting through the McMurdo area. I'm sitting at a desk in the Crary Science and Engineering Center library which looks out over McMurdo Sound. The weather appears to be clearing slightly, though today has been characterized by moderate temps with strong winds gusting to over 50 knots in town. This kind of wind is somewhat unusual here. We've been cancelled for our put in flight the last two mornings, though no one is flying anywhere; helicopters or fixed-wing aircraft.

Tomorrow should be better and we'll be on our way.

Danny

Well, at least no one else is flying either...

Crevasse simulator

It was time we put our knowledge into practice, and wearing warm mittens, headed out into the abyss away from McMurdo. The rope training and crevasse rescue training in the confines of a warm building would be tested in the real world filled with dangers of cold, wind, cold coffee, and disgruntled seals...

Follow the white brick road to Silver City.

Anchor construction. But are they strong enough to hold
Chris after 2 weeks of McMurdo food? 

After letting Tim dangle for 20 minutes, Danny hauls him out.

Danny my savior! And the crowd goes wild!

The majestic mountaineer strut. Only observed in the wild.

Cramp-ons: simple, supportive, and sharp. Like the Tims.

Introducing the Band...

Introducing:

Danny the Intrepid

Fawna the Brave

Chris the Gallant

Tim the Cold

Tim the Jovial

Sat Pix

We are indebted already to Brad from the Polar Geospatial Centre - he's organised all our satellite images at amazing detail, showing snow surface features, crevassing and of course all the lovely rock.  We have spent several hours working with him to perfect maps for printing, and also suitable electronic versions to use for provisional route planning, making life easier and safer on the ground.  All of our WorldView commercial imagery has been provided by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to the Polar Geospatial Center, and thanks to Brad and the team for all their hard work!!

SnowGa

The opposite of hot yoga.... 

Antarctic Basler.

Glacier salutation.

Skua and snow petrol.

     If you can do it in the heat...you
      can do it in the cold! We practice
      yoga at temperatures of -20C.
      Practicing at these temperatures
      increases stamina, improves
     posture, and alignment of the polar
     chakras. Patent pending.

Crevasse ascent

On Thursday we liberated the top floor of the Science Support Center from the grasp of the field safety people to practice our crevasse ascent skills. We mastered the skills indoors, but the real test will be doing the same exercises outside with mittens!

Hangin' out... 

Knots: simple, effective, and good looking. Like the Tims! 

Roping up. A fluorescent perspective. 

McMurdo cool

A beginners guide to looking cool in McMurdo: 

McMurdo cool circa 1967

One of the most intimidating aspects of going to a new place is trying to fit in and not look like the odd one out. As a Grantee or 'beaker' in local terminology, we are automatically placed in the 'uncool' category in McMurdo. Note that we are referring to being socially cool and not temperately, the latter of which everyone can be considered cool. Here are some tips for rocking the 'semi-cool' look, as lets face it, true 'cool' is reserved for mountaineers only.

Dining. The pinnacle of the differentiation between cool and uncool is the galley. The spirits of newcomers are commonly crushed and the coolness of the veterans are reaffirmed during meals. This brings us to Lesson (1): Never sit at a two person table in the galley. This is uncool. Lesson (2): Never pause while walking through the galley to find your group, choose a clockwise or counterclockwise loop and stick to it! Lesson (3) Feel free to wave and point to an imaginary person in the distance to give the impression you know more people. The more people you know the cooler you are. However if they catch you, this will make you forever uncool.

Bragging. You've climbed a big mountain. Big whoop. Everyone else has and most people here have climbed nastier and gnarlier things than you. Don't brag.

Parties. Saturday night and there are not many people in the bars. Why? Well, all the cool people are at parties elsewhere. Go find one!

Dress code. Bunny boots are the most uncool thing you can wear. Period. Wear less clothes than you actually need. This will make you both kinds of cool.

Now go out there and be cool!


Added note from Christine:  The geologist pictured here is John Lewis, Colorado College (!!) Geology professor who supervised Texas Tech PhD student John Wilbanks in the 1968 season. Larry Gould himself (first American geologist to arrive in Antarctica) helped arrange the opportunity for John, after Gould came to Colorado College to present an IGY lecture.
Funnily enough, I now teach at CC. And Larry Gould is the person who inspired me to go to Antarctica, too... but by then he was 92 years old and I was a grad student at U of Arizona!  Gould founded the Carleton College Geology Dept where Fawna and I both got our undergrad geology degrees!! All one interconnected geology family...

Tim I's views and sketches - WEEK 1

Cloudscape at 60 degrees south on
the flight south.

Happy Camper training for TJI -30C with
'diamond dust' in the air creating halos,
columns, sun dogs and a circum-zenithal
arc above.

Castle Crag from the sea ice.

Halos near Erebus.

Scott tent and training with
'diamond sky'.

Ob Hill from the Crary science lab.

Weddell Seals at Scott Point,
Trans Antarctic Mountains in distance.

Royal Society range from the Crary
science block.

Mt. Discovery with ice shelf in
foreground.

Why are we here?

Five members of geology group G-097 arrived in McMurdo on Monday to begin preparations for a 10-week field season in Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica. The group will be working in the Fosdick Mountains, which offer an exceptional exposure of intermingled networks of ‘migmatites’ – deep crustal rocks that have been heated to such a high temperature that they begin to melt – and granites – the final crystallized products of rock melting (see photo below). These rocks preserve a unique record of the linkage from partial melting of existing rock (migmatization) to granite formation, fundamental processes in the evolution and differentiation of the continental crust. During the last 400 million years, West Antarctica underwent two major cycles of mountain building events and crustal differentiation involving high temperature metamorphism and generation of granites, in the Devonian–Carboniferous (circa 375–345 million years ago) and in Jurassic–Cretaceous (circa 175–105 million years ago). These events promoted growth and stabilization along the Gondwana margin, and the Fosdick range represents a singular exposure of lower-to-middle crust that occurs within the little-studied, glaciated segment that bridges the geologic history preserved in the margin of South America to Australia. Their work will investigate the processes of melt generation, segregation and transfer through the crust during these two melting events through an integrated program of field work, structural geology, petrology, mineral equilibria modeling, geochronology and geochemistry.

Outcrop exposure of migmatites and granites at Bird Bluff in the Fosdick Mountains comprising layers of orthogneiss (gray-colored), paragneiss (brown-colored), leucogranite, and deformed mafic dikes (dark gray-colored). Two people for scale in bottom left of photograph. Bird Bluff is our first target site for field work this season!

The group intends to deploy to the ‘deep field’ in the next week, and will collect data and samples based out of a self-sustaining, traditional-style camp. Due to the remoteness and style of field work, extensive preparation and training is required. Over the last week in McMurdo, the team has been packing food, testing gear, and conducting field safety training. In addition, they have been utilizing new high-resolution satellite imagery acquired just a few weeks ago, with geospatial support provided by the Polar Geospatial Center both on and off the ice. This amazing imagery is being used by all members of the team, including the team mountaineers to scout safe routes and traverses, the Air Guard to assess safe L-130 landing sites, and the team geologists to see rock detail and structural features (see photo below).

High-resolution imagery acquired by satellite on September 28, 2011 superimposed with geology.

Tim preparing a Nansen Sled for rugged field work (10/22).

Packing!

We are packing furiously for the upcoming deep field season. Here is the insider view of how it all goes down in the depths of the Berg Field Center....

Southward HO!

The team arrived all together in Christchurch on Saturday. Sunday consisted mainly in touring around and enjoying the things that we won't have the chance to enjoy for the next three months. We had a great day swimming at Taylor's mistake and hiking around the Port Hills, enjoying Chinese dinner, and watching the All Blacks beat Australia in the rugby world cup. 

Monday morning at 4:30 am we had to report for departure at the airport. It was early for all of us, but the prospect of our first trip to the "ice"on a commercial airliner (Airbus) had me excited. Though a departure from the exploratory days of Shakleton, Amundson, and the rest, the Airbus offered tea and coffee service, pleasant flight attendants, business class seating, and most important of all: windows. Generally we fly down on military aircraft that are window-free, and therefore a more difficult ride from which to enjoy the first views of Antarctica. 

We have been super busy with logistics, as our first team (Danny and Chris) is scheduled to depart for the Fosdicks on Tuesday. So we have to plan and pack for eleven weeks in just a few days time. That includes ski doos, fuel, food, camp equipment, maps, and personal things. We have our fingers crossed for good weather. 

Danny

Yummy food in Christchurch

The beach. We would have gone for a swim here at Sumner but the Christchurch septic system has been broken since the earthquake, and now the water is "somewhat" contaminated. Yikes!

Teambuilding at a Speight's Pub.

4:30 AM at the air terminal. The is the launching point for our trip to Antarctica, and where we will return to in a few months time.

Pre-flight briefing.

Tim and I managed to snag business-class seats

Tim Burton, mountaineer and subject of the commonwealth always enjoys a good cuppa tea

Pointed south

We'd never seen this before on a commercial airliner

Views of the Royal Society range as we descend into McMurdo. These peaks rise from sea level to 13,000 feet.

Getting picked up at the airstrip

Logistics, logistics, logistics. Planning food for 11 weeks.