18 January 2019 The Wormherders Prepare For Another Stay In The Dry Valleys

Who is the "Frosty Boy Master"? Keep reading and you'll find out.

Today was a day to prepare for our early departure back into the Dry Valleys. We will be flown into Lake Bonney. From Lake Bonney, we will be hiking and flying into several different locations where experiments are being conducted. Some locations will require hours of hiking to get to. Others will require hikes across lake ice and crossing moats, which is the zone between the thick lake ice and the shore. Sometimes this ice is a little thin. Sometimes there is open water. We might even be using stand-up paddleboards to cross. We will have a busy few days, but if all goes as planned, we should get our fieldwork done and be back around Tuesday with some great samples.

Some chores to get done prior to flying included getting our food pull done. We put in a request of the food we'd like, and the awesome support staff here pulls the food and put it in boxes for us. Just like calling up the grocery store and having the groceries waiting for you to pick up. We had to weigh the food, tag it, and get it, along with our other lab supplies to the helicopter folks. They will load it on the large Bell 212 helicopter for tomorrow's flight.

We were honored with a visit from these men who are spending a year at the South Pole Station. People who work at the Pole are known as Polies. We gave them an hour tour through our lab. They really enjoyed looking at the animals we were counting under the scope. This is the "Chapel of the Snows" located here on station. It is the 2nd most southern church in the world. It is used by all faiths. Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are also held here. This is inside the beautiful Chapel of the Snows. It is open all the time. It is a quiet place to think, pray, worship, or just relax for a while. Worship services are scheduled. Prayer service is held every morning. Chapel of the Snows.

Trip Preparations Done. Time for some Frosty Boy fun. Frosty Boy is the name of our soft serve ice cream machine. He is famous. Most everyone stopping into McMurdo Station inquires about, or visits, Frosty Boy. He bring much happiness and joy to all who visit this Station.

What started as a little friendly competition quickly spread through station and became a fiercely competitive ordeal. The first annual Frosty Boy Challenge has started. Contestants are given a few minutes to make their creations. Artists have to hurry so their work does not melt away prior to being judged. Judges were lined up, categories designed, Frosty Boy was ready, winner medal designed, and away we went.

Just as our Frosty Boy competition was about to get underway, he went down. He just required a little rest for a few minutes and was back in the game. This was Tasha's creation. Look close and you'll see Ross Island. See the caldera of Erebus? Also notice that McMurdo Station is also marked. This was the winning Frosty Boy creation. It was one of the big mountains here in the Dry Valleys. You can see all the geology this mountain is going through. At least that's what the winner described. And the winner of the 2019 Frosty Boy Challenge was... 2019 Frosty Boy Creation Master is Dr. Byron Adams. Look close at his cool medal he was awarded. It was a proud moment for all who beheld this event.

Stay tuned as the Wormherders head back into the Antarctic Dry Valleys to face the conditions that the coldest, windiest, highest, driest continent can throw at us.