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Finally, after eleven days in McMurdo, the weather cleared and we were off to CTAM. The flight was aboard a LC-130 Hercules which is quite a bit smaller than the C-17 we arrived on in McMurdo. It is special because it is on skis instead of wheels. After approximately a two hour flight, we landed at

When I think back to my time in Antarctica with John Stone's research team, I have very fond memories. This reflection post is very late, I know. There have been many times when I sat down and tried to reflect on my experience. It's been difficult because there is simply so much to think about; how

The San Juan River is in my blood. If you've been following Paula Dell's journals from Antarctica, you already know about the ice fish that have no hemoglobin in their blood. Well, sometimes I think that if you were able to analyze my blood, you'd find one part San Juan! While I've floated down many

Last night, Koni called the local car rental agency and arranged to have a car delivered to us at 9am; we are going to the ice sheet! After a quick breakfast, we jumped in the red Toyota diesel pickup, and started the 1.5-hour drive to the edge of the ice sheet. More commonly referred to as the

First my apologies for the sporadic entries; the Internet on the high seas is sporadic. I mean, if you think about it, I'm lucky to be able to post any thing at all from the middle of the Drake Passage! Really - have you looked at a map lately? Luckily we have had unbelievably smooth sailing across

The first morning back from the field was nice. I didn’t’ have to scramble out of my sleeping bag, put on cold clothes, unzip my tent, and lurch across the seemingly endless snowfield to the Big House. Nope, today, I rolled out bed, went to the bathroom, shaved, and moved at my normal morning pace

The last night in my tent at Summit was the best night of sleep yet! I finally feel like I could get used to sleeping in minus ten-degree temperatures with the sun up all night long. The morning started with a buzz, as everybody was working their hardest in preparation for the short visit from the

Pronounced ghee - o - tah - koo. Gyo referring to fish, taku referring to impressions. The art of Japanese fish printing. I am told that this art was developed in Japan over 100 years ago to record trophy fish catches. Pretty creative if you don't have a camera. Gyotaku is yet another skill I have

We had to leave at some point. Though I still have a few more stories to tell about the work going on down there, so don't leave just yet. In fact, if there is any aspect of the work and life down here that I may not have covered, feel free to send an email - pdell [at] polartrec.com. As we headed out of

It is hard to believe, but today is the last full day at Summit Station and being on the ice sheet. There was a list of items to address today including, Swiss Tower maintenance, BSRN inspection, and digging a backlit snow pit. We began the day by going out to the Swiss Tower. The hike from the Big