Ice breaker, penguins, and a seal

We now have contact with the outside world other than just by plane. The first ship of the season has made it in to port. It is a Sweedish icebreaker, The Oden. It broke the channel out of the ice, so that other vessels can make it into the station. It took quite awhile for the icebreaker to make it through the ice. It had to break its way through the ice for about 30 miles. The icebreaker uses weight to break the ice and not momentum or force. It rides itself up onto the ice, and then it pumps water up to the front of the boat, and the weight pushes down on the ice until it gives way. The boat then backs up a ways, runs up on the ice again, and repeats this over and over and over again. The ice that it broke through is seasonal ice. The seasonal ice doesn't melt away like ice on a lake does. Rather, what happens, is the ice will break apart and will flow out into the open water of the ocean where it will then melt. Depending on the season more or less ice will break out. The last few years the ice has not been breaking out very well, and this is due to very large icebergs clogging up the channel. The Oden has arrived in port and is back out in the ice trying to get the channels as clear as possible before the other ships arrive. There are three more ships yet to arrive. One is the Nathanael B. Palmer a research vessel, a container resupply ship, and a fuel tanker. All of them will come into port over the next two weeks, but one at a time.





Breaking through the ice


The Oden coming in to port...a seal in the bottom right corner.


Some penguins came over to say hi, while we watched the Oden at work.


A seal. You can see his track in the snow going between the two different holes.

The unending daylight...

It may sound fun at first to some of you who are currently in the dark days of winter on the northern hemisphere. However, living in constant daylight takes its toll on you. I'm finding that it feels like time is never ending. No matter when you wake up or go to sleep it is always the same. The only break we get from the continual sunlight is when a storm blows in. I'm definitely looking forward to the natural rhythms of night and day, to darkness, and the moon, and stars....but for now, I guess that I'll just keep working on the tan.


PS -this photo was taken at midnight.

Bowling?

Yes, that's right, there is a bowling alley in Antarctica. Cosmic bowling at that.

How random?

Ringing in the New Year

For New Years a group of my fellow DA's hiked to the top of Ob Hill, and we rang it in. It was a great time. It had been snowing for the previous two days, and it was quite beautiful.

Happy 2008...I think it is going to be a pretty great year!

Snowboarding...Antarctica

A day off, fresh powder, a good friend, why not go snowboarding?

On our day off last week my friend Carl and I headed out to go snowboarding. They have a few snowboards here that you can check out. It was a great day. It had been snowing for the previous two days so there was fresh powder awaiting us. We hopped on "Ivan the Terra Bus" the really big bus and rode it out to the ice. From there we hiked over to the 'ski hill.' It is just a small hill, but lots of fun. The Kiwi base has a tow rope there, and we were fortunate enough to be able to use it with them. We helped them dig things out in exchange for a few rides up the hill on it! Good times! Not only that, but we also got a ride back in a pisten bully. The green vehicle you see below.




Snowboarding!



Our shuttle 'Ivan the Terra Bus'...check out the tread depth on those beauties.


Carl in the Pisten Bully


Hiking back at the end of another epic day on "the ice."

Christmas Eve

These are pictures of our chapel, where we held our Christmas Eve service.
Good News, the long awaited one has arrived!!

Polar Plunge

Another little 'expedition'... Myself and a few friends hiked out to this little tent on the sea ice, where there is a hole drilled through the ice. The ice is around 14 feet thick here. They use this hole to lower very scientific instruments down into the sea to do research and what now. Well, we figured that we were scientific instruments as well, and we lowered ourselves into the sea. I have now swam in the antarctic 'ocean' as well. I say 'ocean' as there is controversy from time to time as to whether it is an ocean down here, or if it simply the southern part of the others. I vote that it is simply the southern part of the other oceans, and refer to what I swam in as the Ross Sea.