Getting ready...
The most common question I've gotten recently is "How do you prepare for a trip to Antarctica?" And the answer is you can't possibly prepare by yourself. Preparing for a trip to Antarctica takes the help of many, many people.
The first step in the process is to sort through the mountain of paperwork. If you've ever been on a field trip, you know that there are forms you and your family must fill out and sign. A trip to Antarctica has forms too, but MANY, MANY more than a school field trip. Usually, you are traveling with people who have been there before and they can help guide you in filling out the paperwork. In my case, that would be Dr. Adam Marsh and his fabulous team from the University of Delaware, College of Earth, Ocean, and the Environment.
The second step in the process is to become "Physically Qualified" or PQ'd. This involves a series of trips to the dentist, the doctor, and the lab. Without the help of good dentists, doctors, and lab technicians, you will never get tickets to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. After you have been x-rayed, poked, and prodded, you are hopefully pronounced in good health. It is really important to be healthy when going to Antarctica. Your body will experience some extreme changes and you need to be ready to handle those without getting sick. (Special thanks to Drs. Elkington and Viola and their amazing staffs.)
Once you've been PQ'd, you get a travel packet with these fabulous luggage tags for your bag. Cool, huh?
It's hard to believe that it's almost time to depart. My gear needs to be packed and these luggage tags need to be attached. How cool are they?
Once you've been PQ'd, you need to coordinate with the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) deployment specialist group. These folks are amazing! If you've never had to plan your own travel before it is not easy! It takes time and effort to look for flights with tickets on certain days and think about how to get from one place to another. In this case, you need to organize flights across the United States, the Pacific Ocean, and then from New Zealand to Antarctica. My head is spinning, just thinking about the paperwork. (Special thanks to Briggita and all the folks in the DSG!)
Finally, the last step before departure is packing. What would you pack for a trip to Antarctica? Your favorite book? X-box? iPad? How about for clothing? Remember, it's cold there! Oh, and you only get two bags - no more than 50 lbs each. That seems like a lot, but a single sweater can weight two or three pounds. Some of the space is occupied by your gear: scientific equipment or dive gear. It's tough to make room for it all. Don't forget the toothpaste!
Fortunately, I got a lot of help with packing. Here's some photos of my packing assistant in action. Well, come to think of it, she destroyed my piles more than she helped get them into bags. Oh well!
This is my dog, Mac, helping prepare my coat for departure. How helpful!
There's a lot of gear to try to fit into one duffel bag and one box. I hope it all fits!
Yes, I definitely could have packed faster without my assistant. At least we had fun!
In hindsight, I might have been better off packing by myself!