Tuesday 15 December 2009

A Busy Time, On Base And Off....

Yet again, it's been a while since I last posted an update. Time just flies past so very quickly these days. Of course, now that the summer season is in full swing the pace of life has accelerated accordingly.

Firstly... the 2009 wintering team's Winter Photo has been published and now hangs proudly in the New Bransfield House lounge.















What a mottley crew we are.... (or rather, were.... the winter is over now).


During the winter the atmosphere on base was very laid back. We all had plenty of work to keep us occupied, but with half the base closed up and winterised and only 21 of us on station, Rothera had transcended into a sleepy little village. Now, with almost 100 people on base all rushing around trying to get as much done as possible during the 5-month summer, Rothera has transformed into a hustling, bustling metropolis. There are all manner of vehicles whizzing round all over the place and people going about their business with a purpose. Everywhere you look there are new names and new faces, and it isn't always easy to match one with the other. But Rothera is, perhaps, the friendliest place on the planet; it doesn't matter if you don't recognise the face or you don't know the name - strangers don't stay strangers for long here.
There is always someone interesting to talk to, whether they are seasoned FIDs returning for yet another season, or someone just having their first experience in Antarctica. The newbies are, of course, the easiest to spot - they are the ones with wide eyes and open mouths, transfixed in a hypnotic trance, looking around and going "Oh.....Wowwwwww.....!!!!!"
Just over a year ago I was just like that. Come to think of it - I still am!!! I still look around and chuckle to myself and think how very lucky I am. I haven't yet tired of this place; I haven't yet lost the "wow-factor". Antarctica still takes my breath away.

Lots of exciting things happen during the summertime, the best being that the planes are flying again. And that means that I get to be a co-pilot again.

















So far, I've been on two depot drops to the Larsen Ice Shelf, flying over the spectacular mountains of the Antarctic peninsula and yes, I got to fly again - hee hee heeeee!!! Back in the UK I'd make deliveries in a van - down here I do it in a Twin Otter. And the view out the window is so much better than anything the M25 can offer!!!!

















Oh, it's a hard life down here.....!!!!


















If the flight over the mountains was spectacular, the campsite where the scientists and GAs would be living for up to twelve weeks was a complete contrast.




















Antarctica is a hostile and dangerous environment to work in. This photo shows quite clearly the crevasses on the glacier. But not all the crevasses are clear to see. It is the ones that you can't see because they are covered by snow bridges that pose the greatest threat to us.

















Being high in the sky gave me another opportunity to see Rothera from a different perspective. These photos show just how small our Antarctic home really is.













































The summer also means a return to 24-hour daylight. This is a photo of one of our last sunsets....
















... the sun no longer drops below the southern horizon. It will be February before we see the night sky again.

Towards the end of November I was told that I was going to be sent out to man one of our deep field stations. As is typical here, it would be for an unspecified time, but they couldn't tell me when I would be going, or which depot I would be sent to.
Eventually, it was decided that I'd be going to Fossil Bluff.
Yessssssss!!!!!!!!!!
Followers of this blog may remember that I spent some time at the Bluff last summer and I loved it there ("A Lot Has Happened...", January 2009). It is my most favourite place that I've been to since I've been in Antarctica, although to be honest, I haven't really been to many other places yet.
I packed a bag in readiness because I know that things happen very quickly here.
Things also change quickly, too. Twice I was told that I'd be leaving in the morning, but we were unable to fly because the weather crapped out. Hmmm...... frustrating!!!
The third time I had just one hour's notice to be ready to fly. It's just as well I'd packed that bag!!!


The Fossil Bluff forward logistic station (latitude 71°20' S, longitude 68°17' W) was established on Alexander Island in 1961. It is about 225 miles south of Rothera, about 1 hour 50 minutes flying time away and again, I flew for some of the way there. I would be relieving Riet van der Velde, who had been there for the last 10 days, and sharing the cabin and the work duties with Keith Waddell, who was new to Antarctica.

















Living at Fossil Bluff is like stepping back in time; the cabin has hardly changed since it was built in 1961. The hut itself is painted red, but was affectionately named "Bluebell Cottage" by it's first inhabitants.... Hmmmmm...!!! I don't know the significance of the reference to bluebells - there aren't any here; in fact there aren't any anywhere in Antarctica!!
(Trivial factoid here: there are no trees or plants at all in Antarctica, apart from some hardy species of moss and lichen which are found only in coastal areas or on some of the many islands around the continent.)

Inside the cabin I quickly settled in and made myself at home. Ahhhh - it was good to be back.
















But manning the deep-field stations isn't a holiday; first and foremost,we have to work. Responsibilities (in no particular order) include:

Sending hourly "Met Obs" (Meteorological Observations) via the HF radio...















Met obs every hour are vital for the pilots because the weather can change so very quickly. The Bluff is an important way point and potential refuge for planes flying further south or depoting science projects on the nearby peninsula. On busy flying days we were averaging 11 hourly obs a day, and on the longest day we did 16!!


Refuelling the planes...















The skiway, where the planes take off land, is run just like any normal aerodrome, with safety procedures and fire precautions strictly adhered to, so not only was I a filling station forecourt attendant, I was also a fireman, paramedic and.... tea-boy!!


Organising the fuel depot...

















Don't let the t-shirt and shorts fool you - it was actually minus 8C that day!!!
Because the air is so dry and there was little or no wind it was surprisingly comfortable.
The depot has to be organised so that the fuel drums are readily accessible to enable a quick turnaround when the planes come in.
But we don't have glorious weather every day. Sometimes it snows - well, what did you expect??? And when it snows we have to... yup - we have to dig!!!!
















All the barrels and any equipment such as fuel pumps and fire sledge, all have to be dug out and re-sited on top of the newly deposited snow. This is known as "raising the depot".

There are also some periods of prolonged inactivity whilst we are waiting for the next plane to arrive....
















When the flying finishes for the day it's back to the hut for some dinner. Unlike at Rothera, where there are world-class chefs and professional caterers to feed us, we have to cook ourselves!
There are usually only two of us manning the station so cooking isn't really a major problem, but because of the changeable weather, on three occasions we had planes making an overnight stay, and one team actually stayed over for two nights!!

Cooking at the Bluff isn't always the easiest of tasks - there is only a stove with a single hotplate, and a single-burner kerosene stove, better known as a Primus stove. But in spite of this, everyone was well fed. I even baked bread - not easy with no oven, but, using some pots and pans a bit of ingenuity I managed to create an "oven" of sorts.
This was the end result...















...and very tasty it was, too.


For some reason, my banoffee pie was also very popular...
















After dinner was usually when we'd go out exploring - weather permitting, of course. With 24-hour daylight, we didn't have to worry about it getting dark.
One fine, bright evening Keith and I decided that we'd climb some of the local peaks. First off, we attempted The Sphinx...















I'm not much of a climber, but Keith has a lot of Alpine experience. After a couple of hours of frantic scrambling we made it to the summit.

The view across the permanently frozen King George IV Sound was just breathtaking and well-worth the effort of the climb...
















We sat on the summit for almost an hour eating Mars bars and drinking ice-cold glacial water that we'd collected on the way up and chilled out for a while in the total and absolute silence of Antarctica.

Fully rested and refreshed after our exersions we decided to attempt the magnificent and mighty... Pyramid!!

This photo (below) shows Pyramid towering above Bluebell Cottage...

















... and this next one shows Pyramid from a different angle...















...if you click on the photo to enlarge it, Bluebell Cottage can just be seen as the red splodge in the foreground. The blue building is the garage/workshop and the red, white and blue building is Tesco's, our food and provisions store.

Unfortunately, I didn't quite make it to the top of Pyramid; the final push was a bit too technical for my limited climbing skills. We got to the highest plateau just below and to the right of the summit (see the photo above), and that was good enough for me.

If the weather wasn't good enough to go exploring or climbing I'd occupy my time sitting out on the veranda playing my harmonica...















... and chatting to my old mate George...

















... the skua I befriended last time I stayed at the Bluff.
It was good to see him again.

One day, when we'd had a delivery of food and provisions, I found some mail addressed to me. The plane crew had found my mail back at Rothera and kindly decided to bring it down for me.
You cannot imagine how it felt to be living in a vast, barren wilderness, hundreds of miles from anywhere, opening real envelopes! What a joy it was!
















The mail turned out to be birthday cards that hadn't been delivered in time for my birthday. But it didn't matter - Alexander Island is approximately the size of Wales, and Keith and I were the only two people there.... and I was getting mail!!!
Brilliant!!!

















After two fantastic weeks at Fossil Bluff I finally got the call to return to Rothera. With much sadness I said goodbye to Keith, George and Gordon (who came out to replace me) and climbed aboard the plane. But hey - that meant I could fly again...
















I got back to Rothera to find that things had changed a bit in the fortnight that I'd been gone - much of the snow around the base had melted, and more new faces had arrived; some had flown in and others had travelled down from the Falklands on the RRS James Clark Ross, one of BAS's ships.
















This photo was taken during the JCR's second visit.

Christmas and New Year are only a short while away now, and then it will be the final countdown to my departure from here and my return to the UK.

There - you are up to date now...

Sunday 25 October 2009

The Winter Experience Is Over....

Hello again.

Firstly - regular followers of this blog will have noticed that I haven't posted for quite a while; over two months, actually.
Apologies for my absence; I have no excuses, but I do have some reasons.
Let me explain:

I last posted after I returned from my second winter trip. Shortly after my return the weather crapped out; high winds and driving snow more or less confined everyone to base. No snowboarding or skiing, no boating - not much to write about, unless you want me to tell you about the dvds we watched. Hmmm.... thought not. But here's another video clip of me going out in the aforementioned bad weather:


It's not always blizzards and storms here. We get the occasional good day and we have to make the most of it because we know the bad weather won't be far behind.
Here's a view of Rothera that I took in early September....



At the start of September I took my second stint on nightwatch; again, not too much to write about, although I did take this rather bizarre photo of my footprints glowing in the snow.















On the subject of footprints - this is what happens to them when you leave them out in a storm.
When you tread on loose-packed snow your foot sinks in, compacting the snow underfoot. Then, all the loose snow gets eroded by the ice crystals that are carried by the ferocious wind. It is just like being sandblasted, but with ice crystals instead of sand. The result is raised footprints.
Now try to imagine going out and working in weather like that!!!










But the storms actually deposit more snow than it erodes, and that means.... yup - we dig!!!
Oh, what joy!!!












The mechs have much more fun because they have toys to help them shift troublesome snow.












Another reason why I have been neglecting the blog is that we've been very busy: Shortly after I'd finished nightwatch and before the bad weather had cleared up, we had to start work in earnest to get the base prepared for the summer season. Everywhere that had been "winterised" for the past seven months had to be dug out, opened up and cleaned up. That included work areas, pitrooms and the runway and hanger. That is a lot of work for 21 weary winterers, made even more difficult by the foul weather. We weren't quite working "round the clock" but we were really working hard to get it all done in time, before the first planes arrived.
But with the feisty British spirit and true grit and determination, we just about got it all done.

The first planes to fly in weren't actually ours; they were two Canadian planes on their way further south, stopping here for fuel and an overnight rest. They actually stayed for two days; due to the bad weather.
Our Canadian friends didn't arrive empty-handed - they brought with them some boxes of freshies. Oranges, apples, pineapples, grapes, bananas.... simple pleasures that you folks back home take for granted. We've been living on dried, tinned and frozen produce for quite a while now; it was soooo good to taste those fruits after so many months without them.

Seeing new faces, hearing new voices; we had mixed feelings about it.
On one hand, we were excited about it but, conversely, we had our own little community that was getting along just fine, thank you, and we weren't sure that we wanted outsiders invading our home.
But they were going to come anyway, whatever our private thoughts or reservations, and in all honesty, I think we were all happy to see them in the end.

But the Canadians were just transients, passing by; they weren't "our" people, in "our" planes, so our winter hadn't yet finished.


Before our Canadian friends arrived we'd only had two other visitors, on two separate occasions - one was a lone Gentoo penguin, the other was a lone Emperor penguin.
Emperors are occasionally seen here, Gentoos are very rarely seen; both gave us an opportunity to get our cameras out and have something different to talk about over dinner.

Gentoos are a similar size to the Adelies that usually live round here - about two feet tall.


There are always birds flying overhead; the Gentoo was the first visitor that hadn't flown in.
I named her Mandy, after my wife.







Emperors are much bigger - about three feet tall.
This one was a big bird, and pretty impressive.













What else has happened lately?
Oh yes - we finished shooting our feature-length horror movie, and it had it's world premiere here on the base. It was only shown to a specially invited audience and had a full supporting programe of movies that were also made by us.
It was just like being at the Oscars; we all dressed up in our finest clothes and were treated to a slap-up meal, prepared and cooked by Riet (nice one, mate). It was a brilliant night.

Completing the movie meant that I could finally shave my FID beard off. It kept my face warm and cosy throughout the coldest days of winter, but I'm really quite glad that it has gone at last.










The resident house band, Deaf Leopard Seal, played a cracking end-of-winter gig, too. We entertained a packed house with an eclectic set that included "Fat Bottomed Girls", "Wonderful Tonight", "White Room" and "Ziggy Stardust".


(Photo: Mel Langridge)
















(Photo: Matt von Tersch)















(Photo: Matt von Tersch)









I was a little bit sad that I wasn't at home for the birthdays in early October of Sam and Jessica, my children. It is the first time I have not been there for their birthdays. I know they understand and they fully support me being here, but I know that they miss me, as indeed, I miss them, too.

On the 17th of October Daisy, our Dash7 aircraft, returned to Rothera, finally ending our winter experience. And what a truly memorable experience it was. I am one of a privileged few who get to winter in Antarctica; not too many people can say that, can they?










It was my birthday last week. My friends here helped me celebrate it in style. I spent the afternoon on Anchorage Island (I was working, of course, but it was enjoyable work) and in the evening I enjoyed another fine meal from Riet. He also baked a superb chocolate gateaux birthday cake which was enjoyed by us all.
And I was presented with a stunning painting by Matt Doc, framed by Shaun and signed on the back by all the winter team. Long-term followers of this blog may well recognise the photos in the painting.
I would've loved to have shared my 50th birthday with my family, but I spoke to them on the day and I know they were happy for me and pleased that it was such a unique and memorable day.



Me, on Anchorage Island














With my pressie.















I love it








Don't ask me how, but I managed to find the time to write the September entry for the Rothera diary on the BAS public website (I was actually press-ganged into writing it!!!). You can read it by clicking this link. While you are there, make sure you read the entries by my colleagues. They give a different perspective of life here at Rothera.


The summer season is well under way now, with over 50 people on base and increasing steadily.
It's like having two brilliant jobs, because although I'm still in the same place, the summer is so very different to the winter (shhhh.... but winter is still the best).

I'm doing yet another stint on nightwatch, which is how I've found time to do this latest posting on the blog. The nights are rapidly getting shorter; the sun dips below the southern horizon, but you can still see it's twilight glow. It won't be long now until we don't see any darkness at all.

And so the cycle of life in Antarctica continues....

Saturday 22 August 2009

Back On Base Again....

I've returned to base after after my week of winter field training or, as we prefer to call it, my "2nd winter trip".
The winter trips are an essential part of our ongoing Antarctic training. Although it was an enjoyable trip, it was a week of intense training and instruction in Antarctic survival and rescue techniques.
Ian, my GA for the week was constantly updating my personal knowledge database with an onslaught of information on every topic, from setting up camp to how to spot hidden crevasses; how to correctly identify and use our jingly-janglies and valuable tips on how to survive and stay alive in the hostile Antarctic environment.
For my first trip I went to the southern-most tip of the island. For my second trip I elected to head north. The north of Adelaide Island is notorious for sudden and extreme changes in the weather. Previous visitors to this area are known to have been trapped for over two weeks by sudden changes in the weather.

The trip again involved negotiating the notoriously dangerous McCallum's Pass and the Shambles glacier.


Skidoos ready and waiting. Note the frozen sea of North Cove in the background.






At first light we set off with our skidoos each hauling a Nansen sledge loaded with equipment and supplies for 30 days survival for two men.
For safety we always travel linked together, so my skidoo was tied to the back of Ian's sledge, and we travel as a convoy; just as well, because the visibility and contrast were very poor.

As we made our way through McCallum's Pass we encountered a newly-opened crevasse. Ian had to check it out to establish the safest place to cross it. It was only about one metre wide, but about 25 metres deep. We actually crossed this crevasse just to the right of the flag.




We successfully cleared McCallum's and headed up the Shambles glacier, where we had to negotiate another crevasse. This second one was wider and deeper than the first, with a steep drop on our approach side. Again, Ian checked it out and got us both safely across.
After that the visibility started to clear and it was four hours of skidoo-touring across the most glorious terrain imaginable to our base-camp location at the foot of Bond Nunatak.

We arrived at our base-camp location in bright sunshine; fortunately for us the sunshine would stay with us for the whole week. But it was to be a very cold week, averaging minus 25 degrees C during the day, substantially colder during the night.














It doesn't take long for your beard to freeze in these temperatures.








The temperature out here in the open was substantially lower than back at Rothera. I awoke in the morning to find my beard had frozen and stuck itself to my sleeping bag. I checked the temperature; minus 16.... inside the tent!!! We estimated that it was in the minus mid-thirties overnight. Once we got the stove lit for some breakfast the temperature rose, but the temperature inside the tent never rose above zero for the whole week!


The morning on the second day; perfect weather, but this photo doesn't show how cold it actually was.












Frost on the outside of the tent shows how cold it was; on this occasion - minus 26 degrees!






On the second day we drove around the local area on our skidoos, then we'd stop and Ian would point out things of importance, things I hadn't even noticed, like concealed crevasses and other dangers.

You can see the crevasses on this glacier that flows between the two peaks. Ian showed me how to spot the more dangerous hidden ones. We rode up this glacier later in the week, when we climbed Bond Nunatak.





Notice the heat haze through the centre of this photo. The sun has tremendous heating power, even though it was minus 20-something.








Bond Nunatak, as viewed from camp. We climbed this, but not from this side. We used a route on the other side, but it was still quite a trek!!






The view from the summit of Bond Nunatak. The two little dots in the centre are our camp!








View from the summit of Bond.








Ian and I at the summit
(Photo: Ian MacNab)









Our skidoos, viewed from halfway back down Bond.








Antarctic scenery. Notice the sastrugi in the foreground








The only tracks in a barren wilderness.










The sun setting on the camp.







Skidoo and sledge
(Photo: Ian MacNab)





Me, loaded up with my
jingly-janglies.
(Photo: Ian MacNab)










Me on the 'doo.
(Photo: Ian MacNab)







Hmmmm.... Why won't it work???
(Photo: Ian MacNab)





Returning home on the Shambles glacier, heading towards McCallum's Pass.
Stonehouse Bay, in the centre, is totally frozen.







All in all, I had a great week, although I was secretly a little disappointed that we didn't get the change in weather that would've meant us extending our stay at Bond, even though it would've meant being confined to the tent for the duration of the bad weather.


However, the bad weather has caught up with me now I'm back at Rothera. We've had a storm blowing non-stop for 4 days now, with the wind peaking on Thursday evening at a treacherous 68 knots!

What else is happening at Rothera, apart from the storm? Well -

"The Quest For The Golden Roll", our entry into the Antarctic 48-Hour Movie Festival won the best film award. We also won the Best Screenplay category and the Best Use Of The Elements category. We were runner-up in the Best Cinematography category and the Best Acting category. Almost a clean sweep.
Kirk has posted some links to some of the other entrants on his blog site, so you can check out our opposition from there. Some of them were actually very good and well worth a look.

Our feature-length horror movie that we are filming is coming along nicely, too.


This week we shot my death scene down at the Bonner Lab.
We had a whole lot of fun, with plenty of blood and gore and quite a few outtakes.






Oooooohhhh!!!! That's gotta hurt....!!!!











Icicles make entering and exiting buildings quite an adventure.
Of course, we knock off the ones that hangover doorways.









It can be a harsh life living down here, but there are lots of compensations.
For example; some people just have a great view out of their office window.


Andy, our Comms Manager, has this view from the Comms Tower....








.... and Riet, our chef, looks out the window at this!!!









Despite the bad weather, we still get some glorious sunsets.









the bad weather means that the snow is drifting fast, covering windows again...





.... and it covers holes that you thought you knew about, but had somehow forgotten!!!











The sea is still frozen solid.
This is down at the wharf....














And these two are North Cove.











I bet your job isn't as much fun as mine....