Before drilling starts, our days are structured a little differently. When the drill starts, we work 24-hours a day with three shifts working throughout the day. Right now, while we are still preparing for the drill we start our days at 7 a.m. Here is the break down of a typical day for the science team:
6:30 a.m.: Walk from Tent City (our little camp where our tents are located) to Town (the main area of camp where we eat and where camp staff is located).
This is our little tent city where most members of camp have a sleeping tent.
In town we have heated spaces for eating, relaxing, and working on our computers. This is the view of town from the drill arch.
7-8 a.m: Breakfast! Most folks eat a big meal to prepare for a day in the cold. Today I had a fresh egg and some yogurt and berries (previously frozen).
8-8:15 a.m.: Morning meeting. Paulene, our camp manager, gives us a run-down of the activities for the day including updates on weather and our flight schedule.
8:15-8:30 a.m.: Morning stretching. One of the cooks leads the camp in a morning stretching session. It is important to stretch before working in the cold as it is easier to pull muscles and get injured.
8:30-9:00 a.m.: Get dressed in several warm layers and walk 1/4 mile out of camp to the drill arch.
9-12:00 p.m.: Pack boxes of ice cores onto pallets. Ice cores drilled last year spent the winter in the arch. We now have to prepare these ice cores, which are already packed in boxes, to be shipped back to McMurdo Station. We have to pack the ice onto pallets that fit in the airplanes and then cover them with a special ice core blanket. The blanket keeps the ice cores cool during the 3 hour flight back to McMurdo.
12-1:00 p.m.: Lunch! After packing ice on pallets in the freezer (at -28C) we are all very hungry!
1:00-5:30 p.m.: Continue loading core on pallets and clean the arch in preparation for the drill season to begin. We warm up about every hour since it is such a cold working environment. Warming up usually involved eating some candy or a cookie to help you stay warm throughout the afternoon.
5:30-6:00 p.m.: Free time to exercise or relax after a long day. I often go for a ski or run on the skiway (the runway for the airplanes, which have skis on them).
6:00-7:00 p.m.: Dinner! By this time of the day we are all hungry and ready to eat, even after having a filling lunch.
7:15-8:00 p.m.: Even in Antarctica you can't escape chores! One or two of us in camp will help the cooks do dishes and prepare the kitchen for the next day. This includes melting snow for drinking water, sweeping the floors, cleaning tables, and doing LOTS of dishes (we have about 45 people in camp right now!).
8:00-10:00 p.m.: Free time! Many of us hang out and play music or card games. We also have movies to watch. I brought down a mandolin. I don't play it yet but hopefully by the end of the season I will be able to play a few songs!
10:00 p.m.: Time for bed! By ten most of us are tired and ready to sleep. After brushing our teeth it is off to Tent City! If it was a windy day, you often have to shovel out your tent door. Then, it is off to warm up your frozen sleeping bag and fall asleep! ZZZZ!
My tent is on the edge of tent city. Every morning when I wake up I can look out over hundreds of miles of ice sheet! Each day I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to be here.
Heidi's cozy tent!