sunshine

me at the ceremonial pole
south pole christmas tree
south pole area regional transit

enlarge this photo for full effect-this is 4 sleds, 3 have been shoveled, the last one is on the far right
ancient styrofoam

good morning!

i hope you all had a wonderful holiday with friends and family! 

above is the photo of what i did on your xmas day! my co-worker alex and i spent the day in the ice tunnels with a sled and cargo straps.  our mission was to collect all of the styrofoam insulation that you see above, it was at the very end of the tunnel, which is over a mile long round trip! it took us 8 trips and most of the day as these pieces are about 4.5 feet tall and 1.5 feet wide, it was quite a cold day in the -65 degree tunnels, but a great workout!  this type of insulation is no longer needed because the water and waste pipes in the tunnels are now using different pipes with new insulation.  above this is the sled photo, (these sleds are extremely slippery), we spent yesterday with the traverse shoveling off fuel sleds so they could be converted to waste sleds.  this sled carried in 8 bladders each filled with 3,000 gallons of fuel for the station.  when the hercs (C-130's) bring us fuel it's usually about 1,500 gallons per trip.  i think the fuel storage facilities can accommodate 45,000 gallons, which is necessary for winter operations. these sleds will now be loaded up with tri-walls, which are the triple layer cardboard boxes all of our waste is stored and transported in.  the traverse encountered a set back on their way in from mactown...they had to cross a convergence of 2 glaciers- one moves 3 ft a day and the other 6 ft a day. they had to build special bridges to get here, and i assume the same must be done on the return voyage.  the christmas tree is made from old iron and steel scraps, it's quite an amazing sculpture! the SPART is a total farce, many jokesters here!  the top is my 'hero' shot, well, actually a true hero shot is taken in the nude, but that won't be happening! the winds have been so calm and the temps in the negative single digits, outdoor work is such a pleasure, it's not warm enough to have any skin exposed for long, but cumbersome jackets are no longer necessary! i hope it remains this warm for awhile, it seems like it should, but flights stop in mid-feb. due to temperatures, so i suppose this is just a fleeting summer time of joy! i am glad that many are enjoying this blog, it's really fun for me to do, and guess what sorts of things that may be of interest to you, then i realize...almost everything!!! please continue to have a safe and happy holiday time as 2008 comes to a close!! take care, karen grace