It is Saturday in McMurdo, but it is not a day of rest. Here, everyone works six days a week. Sunday is the only day "off" for most of the workers here. However, food staffers, a few lab techs, scientists and administrators are working everyday, though hours are not necessarily consistent!
Snowmobile training was scheduled for 10am this morning. We met with Dale. He was thorough in our care and use of the snow machine and in teaching us how to safely operate the sled. I enjoyed this as I love snowmobiling. It has been a long time since I last snowmobiled, but the memory is a fond one! In Wisconsin, it is not unusual to learn to drive a snowmobile before learning to drive a car, especially in rural Wisconsin. This training taught me a bit about maintenance and care that I had never had to worry about previously. I am grateful for the additional knowledge. Hopefully there will be some snowmobiling in my future back in Wisconsin!
Ski-Doo Snowmobile we will be taking into the field.
Ski-Doo training with Dave as Dr. Xie looks on.
Under the hood of the Ski-Doo. The models are old models, but with the knowledge of the staff and amount of parts in stock here, it is reasonable to keep these running!
Dave, our trainer, showing us how to put the pins in correctly after checking the belt. Part of our daily routine in taking out the sleds for use.
Tomorrow we will pick up our Ski-Doos and drive them from Scott Base to McMurdo. We met with the New Zealand PIPERS Project PI, Pat Langhorne, and have a trial run set for Wednesday. If all goes well, our first field day will be on Thursday. I have included a photo of Pat and our group from Wisconsin as taken by Shelley in MacOps (radio communication) with my camera!
Our group with Pat Langhorne, Principal Investigator from the New Zealand team we are working with.
Quite possibly we may be going up in the Fixed Wing Flight LC-130 on Wednesday evening for above ground measurements using ICEPOD. The weather here over the last two days grounded everything and with no work Sunday, all flights are on hold till Monday. This has pushed many projects back and with the precarious sea ice conditions this year, there is much concern about how and when various groups will be able to head out and collect data in the field. I am keeping my fingers crossed for a week of awesome weather and good luck!
Flat Lorax cards from Jason in 1st grade and Caitlin in APES!
Flat Lorax postcards for Jason in 1st grade and Caitlin in APES!
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