Hello,
the following entry was from 11/1/10, currently the south pole has been experiencing difficulties with our satellite that allows for larger data transfers. So, all the photos i have to post with the following entry will hopefully be up soon. cross your fingers for our satellite!
but for now, i wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving, today we will have our big meal and celebrate with 2 days off. the second week of November brought us "death claw 2010" which was a serious storm that produced white out conditions and kept all flights from coming in for 8 days. since we only have 4 months to accomplish 12 months of work, 8 days is quite substantial. there was a rope line, which is a rope tied in between flags that we could hold on to so we could navigate between summer camp and the station, it was an epic storm. we have had some hurdles to the start of this season, but it has only brought us all closer together. I am enjoying getting to know the 45 others i will be spending the winter with, we are ready for February so we can relax from the summer maddness and enjoy the aurora and the splendor of this amazing place. currently the station population is 250 and growing. I would love any mail you would like to send down, my address here is:
Karen Grace Clark, RPSC Winter-over
South Pole Station
PSC 468 BOX 400
APO AP 96598
the last mail from the states can be sent by mid- January, otherwise it won't make it in. I hope this finds you all well and enjoying a beautiful time with friends and family. Take care and be well,
karengrace
Greetings!
i'm still in mcmurdo. we were due to leave 1.5 weeks ago and have had many transports to the ice runway, and even took off on saturday. we returned quickly due to a rupture of a gasket in the hydraulic line of one of the props. we had to shut down the corresponding engine on the other wing and make a speedy return! the positive aspect of this unfortunate event is that i was able to go on in this trip!! i waited in line on thursday for an hour to sign up for the trip... i had a feeling that we might not make it to pole.... we got back into town around 4:30 and mustered for the trip at 6... perfection!! we were gone for almost 7 hours, we took a DELTA, which is a wild balloon tired machine that introduced me to motion sickness for the 1st time in my life. along the way on the ice road (which was in rough shape due to how warm it's been) we found a seal breathing hole... sadly none were present! next we came upon the ice terminus of Mt. Erebus- the southernmost active volcano in the world. finally we came upon the ice burg!!! AMAZING. we were able to walk around the whole burg and snuggle up to it in a few spots...
within the next 2 weeks the it will be off limits because the sea ice will grow too thin and it may be on the move!! once we left there, we went on to the Scott Hut at Cape Evans. last summer i did many hut point tours here at Scott's hut on the base, with the hopes of making it out to Cape Evans or Royds eventually-this was my lucky year!!! we toured around the hut for over an hour then began the long journey home. it was almost 3 hours of extreme bumps, no visibility and no heat and so worth it!!! today we tried to fly twice, it sounds like the weather at pole will not be cooperating for the next few days... i may be here for over a month on this tour... a little daunting as i know my work is stacking up at pole.... oh well, i will have plenty of time to complete it over my next 12 months there!!!! i hope you all enjoy these amazing photos and that this post finds you all having a wonderful post halloween day!!!
take care and be well, karen grace
