19 June 2008 Game On

June 19, 2008 – Game On

This fight had been brewing for weeks. Aggression had been fuelling the fire for way too long. Tonight it all came to a head…it was time for The Summit Camp Summer Soccer Match. The bull dozer leveled the snowy playing field two days ago in anticipation of the big game. The Olde Pirates (all Summit Campers 29 and older) were to take on the Snow Bunnies (19-28 year olds) in a head to head match of high altitude ice soccer.

Old and young began drinking Gatorade early this morning, trying to hydrate for the intense game. The elders barely conversed with young ones as the rift between the two teams grew even wider. After dinner the oil drums were rolled onto the field to act as goals and slowly Summit Campers began to flood the field. One could feel the enthusiasm of the crowd as both people in the stands cheered at the starting whistle.

*The Snow Bunnies (young ones) came on strong with a goal early but it was quickly answered by the Olde Pirates. The teams battled back and forth and players quickly became lame ducks as they sucked up air too devoid of oxygen. With their large snow packs biting for traction, the Snow Bunnies again scored. The Olde Pirates answered every goal. But, in sudden death overtime, the Snow Bunnies tapped in a lucky shot from the corner to seal the deal. The Olde Pirates had been taken to their knees by the Snow Bunnies (and a severe lack of oxygen due to the 11,000 ft altitude)! *

*The score was settled. The fight was over…or so the young campers thought! "A REMATCH!”, cried one Olde Pirate, and the referee proclaimed Sunday to be the day. *

The Olde Pirates will have their revenge!

The Olde Pirates (all players to the Left of the soccer ball) reluctantly concede victory to the Snow Bunnies (all players to the right of the ball). Staffers, researchers, students and teachers all united on a beautiful day for a game of soccer atop 2.5 miles of ice! Chris the Medic of Ye Old Pirates team, kicks the soccer ball toward the Snow Bunnies goal.

Let me apologize, sometimes my ADD gets the better of me and I start to ramble…I’ll get back to the important stuff…

Before lunch Tony (Georgia Tech) dug Luke (University of New Hampshire) a snow pit so he could take snow samples at various depths. He and Jeff (also of UNH) are sampling air and snow to look for compounds that will help the team determine if pollution is affecting the atmosphere and snowpack of Greenland. Their work requires long days and much chemistry. But every once in a while they get to dress up in funny "bunny” suits to get the job done!

Luke Ziemba (Univ. of New Hampshire) prepares to take snow samples inside a snow pit. The blue "bunny" suit is worn so that his clothes and skin won't contaminate the snow.

We are expecting good weather tomorrow, no wind but pretty cold. This means that everybody will be scrambling to get valuable data. The tethersonde "blimp” will be flying every hour on the hour starting at 4:00 in the morning, all through the day and going well into the night.

Food Update:

Lunch: Seafood cakes, Tofu cakes, extra cheesy Mac and Cheese (homemade, not from a box), and fruit.

Dinner: Flank steak marinated in a lime vinaigrette, rice pilaf, sautéed veggies, and salad. For dessert: poppy seed cake.

Stay Warm!!