I woke up this morning to discover I had frostbitten finger tips on both thumbs and some of my fingers. White blisters surrounded by darker pink skin had replaced my normal light pink skin. Bummer. I also have already gotten a crack from the dryness. I need to drink more water and stay really hydrated and keep that crack covered and moist so it heals.
My sadly frostbitten fingers
I feel really stupid for having gotten frostbitten fingers… I needed to wear thicker gloves, and not just the thin liner gloves, when I was working on the stoves. I am guessing that some of the fuel from the stoves went right through my liner gloves and that caused an instant freeze. The bad news is, depending on future conditions, I may be limited in what I can do to help my team. So getting injured in any way here can really impact other people that are counting on you…
Today is Sunday so the departments here are closed. The regular working hours at McMurdo are 7:30 am to 5:30 pm, 6 days a week. Everyone works long hours here to help the science teams with everything they need. The 10% of so of people here that make up the science teams get the trainings and supplies for a successful field season from the other 90% of the good folks on the ice. The "summer" season starts here around October 1st with some personnel arriving on the same flights as the people they are training, feeding, supplying mechanical equipment for, etc. The spin-up of the field season is AMAZING! I'm glad they get today off to rest!
Nick worked hard on his SCINI journal entry and if you want a funny story you should read his entry for October 6th!
Bob, Marcus and Bryan got the commercial R.O.V. from Marcus’s company in the water. The aquarium tanks are right outside our lab room. To see more information on VideoRay go to www.videoray.com
For me, today was a much-appreciated warmer day inside the Crary Lab!