sunset dinner

greetings from the last days of sunshine for 5 months...
this evening the galley staff is preparing an amazing meal for us: herb encrusted filet mignon, lobster newburg, duck salad, and fine hand-made chocolates to mention just a few of the delicacies we will enjoy! we had quite a cold snap last week, it was -89 ambient and -127 with windchill... now i know what cold really is!  we are still working on mapping the "berms" - these are the outdoor storage places for the vast majority of our cargo and supplies.  it is quite important that we have perfect maps and photographs of each berm, of which there are 9, so that when we need to retrieve anything during the dark months it will take a minimum amount of time...it will be quite cold!  we just plumbed in a fancy new espresso machine, i held a barista class and have found myself back in the bliss of making great coffees for my colleagues!  one of the astronomers here, Robert Schwarz is holding an amazing astronomy class here, it's been great to learn about all the splendor that is just beyond the sunset!! we have, with the aid of matching funds donated $10,000 for the quake survivors in new zealand.  just as we get this out to our friends to the north the tragedy in japan struck.  it is strange to be down here as events shape the contiousness of the rest of the planet, the most common way we hear about world events is by friends and family sending us news.  our satellite connectivity is still shotty and up during work hours mostly.... with the combination of our space-like station and the flat beauty of the polar region it feels like outer space, especially with the feeling of desolation.  when i use the term desolation i mean it without negative connotation, it really is the best word for our life here.  i am going to upload some photos from my trip back through mcmurdo after r&r.

these are some of the 15 emperor penguins who wandered close to the pegasus airfield in mcmurdo for  several weeks of standing still to molt! 

notice the heaps of old feathers littering the ice

just a little chilly!

i hope this finds you all well enjoying the splendors of spring!  take care, karengrace

the end of summer

greetings!

this past summer was incredibly busy and between our unreliable satellite connection and my work schedule i've had no time for blogging.  it is now autumn at the South Pole, the sun is falling quickly in the sky and we have just a few weeks of sun remaining.  we still have much to do to complete the station closing activities, but we seem to be doing well with all of our tasks.  there are 49 of us here for the winter, the last plane left on my birthday and we don't expect a plane in until the end of oct. at the earliest.  we have a great crew of people and it seems that we have a wonderful sense of community that is developing.  i am working with 3 great folks in materials and am still the head of the emergency response team 3, which is the logistics branch and i am also the recreation coordinator for the winter.  i know that when the sun sets things will drastically slow down, but for now it still feels like the craziness of summer with less people!  i moved into the station after i returned from r&r in christchurch.

it has been difficult to hear about all of the destruction of the last earthquake, we have felt so helpless here.  there were 592 people who are involved in the antarctic program that were in christchurch when the quake hit.  amazingly, no one in the program was injured, but many of the folks who live there were not so lucky, we are still receiving reports of the terrible reality that has befallen many of the kiwi's who support us while we are in n.z.  there was noticeable damage when i came through at the end of sept from the quake that they had earlier in the month, this was the beginning of their nightmare.  when i was there for r&r in jan. the damage from the large quake they had in dec. illustrated another layer of destruction, but this last shake was by far the worst yet.  there are still missing people and the aftershocks are still happening.  we have started a relief fund from the station but we wish we could do more.  i am hoping to write more as the winter sets in and i find time to relax, i bought lots of yarn and art supplies on r&r and i'm looking forward to learning how to knit!  i will write another entry soon... until then, i hope this finds you all healthy and happy and enjoying the prospect of a splendid spring!

this is in a courtyard where i have spent lots of time in christchurch,

 next to a brewery called 'the twisted hop'

  

this is another part of the same courtyard, i fear it is all gone now

this is a beautiful corner near the city center

this is an example of what christchurch looked like in january, now the destruction is much worse

this is me with a sweet puppy at 'dogwatch' which is a dog adoption agency.  they let me come and help 

with the dogs, i knew that being away from animals would be one of the most difficult aspects of the winter here... it was a perfect way to spend a day!

              take care, karengrace

photos from 'ice burg and hut fun'

loving

the 

ice burg

speechless.

the ship broke free of this anchor and drifted out to sea before the sea ice refroze- long winter!

penguins that were being used in biological research, left in the stables.

provisions left in the stables

the stables, built on the southern edge of the hut

the dark room chemicals

the dark room from the outside

a penguin on Scott's table

scientific instruments from the turn of last century

more science

the kitchen

everything beautifully preserved

bunks with a desk in between 4 beds 

more bunks

a staple even then.

tools inside the door

blades for the sleds

the hut was insulated with hay bails

for my dad

these are amazing! strategically placed by the Kiwi's they keep the annual snow drift from covering the hut!!

the hut

the deltas we transported out on

ice burg and hut fun

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

waiting...

tulip spring in christchurch,nz
beautiful poppies in the botanical gardens in christchurch
happy blossoms
tulips with the arts center in the back ground in christchurchthe curling area constructed in mcmurdo this winter- this was the only olympic sport they could get here on the t.v. this winter!

a proper set-up
a cable reel going to pole- we practiced securing it to a pallet during our pallet building class
the final holes for ice cube are being drilled this summer.
more pallet building practice
Scott base- the NZ (Kiwi) base here, just over the hill- they host 'american night' each thursday- we can go to their bar and gift shop and tour their station.... it's quite nice!
the Scott base view over the sea ice
fyi...
the radio station here.... i am tempted to do a season here just to have the opportunity to play with the 10,000 records they have here!!
receiving shinanigans

receiving in the snow...
more receiving fun.
Greetings from McMurdo station on the Ross ice shelf... on the edge of Antarctica.

i've been here for 20 days. initially, we are here to receive training so that all participants in the USAP are working from the same base of knowledge. secondly, we "physically received" cargo from the 'vessel'-(the ice breaker that makes the annual voyage at the end of the summer here in Feb. to bring the mass of cargo to keep the USAP up and running). we receive it here in mactown instead of trying to do it at pole where it is considerably colder and we have many more tasks on our plates! the cargo was mostly food, in 13 milvans and 3 milvans of 'housing' items. all of the cargo is shipped in milvans which is just another name for the metal containers you see on the large container ships in many ports. we use a 'pickle' aka M4K-which is a small green(hence the name) articulated forklift that is specially designed to remove cargo from milvans. once the cargo is out we open each box/crate and take each item out to insure that it matches what was ordered and write a corresponding stock number on each item. once this is done we put everything back into the milvans and close them up as they await the cargo team here in mactown to place them on air force pallets and load them into the C-130's to make the trip to the final destination of the south pole station. we were very fortunate to have heaps of volunteer help both from polies waiting for flights and various mactown folks who lent a hand. we expected for the tasking to take 7 days, but we finished in 5!!!

now, we wait......

last thursday i was due to depart on a Bassler which is a DC-10. it is the aircraft used to do the 'soft openings' at pole because we need to get equipment operators in to groom the runway so that the C-130's (Hercs) can land and communications specialists in to work in the tower for the flights, etc. it looks now like i will be on the 1st Herc, hopefully within the next few days. this season has had difficult weather and aircraft maladies.... pretty typical for Antarctica! i am hoping to make it into pole before halloween, we'll see! all in all things are going well, we are keeping busy with other departments and more trainings. i hope this finds you all well and enjoying a wonderfull autumn day. take care and be well. karengrace