Fire in the Hole.

Yesterday I walked across the ice pier to get onto the NBP.

Today it got blown up.
(I totally jumped because it was so loud. And also, sorry for the sun glare. It's a little intense down here.)

Nathaniel B. Palmer.

The Nathaniel B. Palmer (NBP) is one of the NSF vessels that is used primarily for scientific research on climate change, geophysics, biology, oceanography, etc. It operates year-round and actually has ice breaking capabilities (The reason the USAP doesn't use it as our ice breaker is because it isn't qualified to escort the fuel tanker). Anyway, the NBP docked at McMurdo a few days ago for a crew change, so we got the luxury of being able to tour the boat!

Like I already said, the NBP is used for scientific research. The tour guide talked about the science they're working on, but the only words I really understood were "ocean floor sludge" and "radar." Seriously, no idea what the dude was talking about. Oh well. Here are the labs on the boat:

The "morale" section of the boat was way more up my alley. They have a cute little eating area, with rails that can be pushed up on the sides of the tables to prevent any plates from flying off when a big wave hits.

They also have a sauna, which they intelligently promote as a "safety item," for when people go overboard and need to be thawed out after becoming hypothermic in the icy Antarctic waters. Which obviously happens like, ALL the time. So...they have a sauna.

Only 72 people max are allowed to sail on the NBP. Why you ask? Because their lifeboat can hold only 76 people. When they first mentioned the lifeboat, my oh-so-cultured mind immediately thought of the dingy little boats in the movie Titanic. So when I saw the lifeboat, I thought to myself, "Dang! Nice lifeboat! I'd totally be ok in that thing!" However, apparently it is not as cushy as I thought it might be. Even though the boat is covered and seemingly unsinkable, there are a few minor issues: 1) There is water for only a few days. 2) There is no toilet, only a bucket. 3) You are forced to take seasickness medicine as you enter the boat, which for some people only makes them sicker. 4) You are strapped into your seat on the boat which makes you feel every single wave.

Basically, what I'm saying is that you would be strapped into a small floating windowless pod (hello, claustrophobia), with the swirling odors of 72 people's vomit and excrement (hello, disgusting), with no food and only a little water (hello, pain).

So then I decided that didn't sound so good and I'd rather just die in a Titanic lifeboat.

My favorite part of the tour was going up to the Bridge, where all of the controls are to steer the boat. It was very cool, and absolutely beautiful.

My second favorite part of the tour was the fact that there is a workboat on the NBP called the Cajun Cruncher. The NBP was actually built in Louisiana, and since I was born in Cajun country, I was pretty excited.

Here are just a few more random shots I took on the boat. 

 Pretty cool stuff.

Peace, Love, and Leonardo DiCaprio.

30° Below.

Through a series of unfortunate events, I have now traveled to one of the most unique places on this planet.

On Monday, I was invited to go to Happy Camper, which is an overnight camping trip where you learn winter survival skills (i.e. what to do in a white-out). Happy Camper was to be held Tuesday and Wednesday, so I would have missed 2 days of work. That was my legitimate reason for not wanting to go. My silly, girlish reasons were that I did not want to have to sleep in a dug-out snow cave and I did not want to have to pee in a bucket for 24 hours.

So, I did not go to Happy Camper. (Darn).

On Wednesday morning, I woke up abnormally early. I couldn't fall back asleep, so I decided to just move on with the day and grab breakfast. I ran into the gal who schedules "sleigh rides" to the Pole, and she mentioned that someone *might* be dropping from the flight, and that I *might* be able to go *if* said person *actually* dropped. But she told me to have my ECW gear on hand just in case.

At 7:20, about 25 minutes before passenger transport for the sleigh ride, I got a call telling me to GO GO GO. I made the flight! So I threw on my ECW gear, ran/hobbled up to the transport building, and was on my way!

So then I flew to Pole. Talk about being in the right place at the right time!

Our flight to Pole was 3 hours long on an LC-130, covering about 840 miles. The plane itself was delivering fuel to the Pole, and about 30 of us just went along for the ride!

Once we landed, we had 30 minutes on the ground. It was a whirlwind. Because there are actually two "poles" to go see: the Ceremonial Pole (mostly for photo opportunities) and the Geographical Pole (the actual Pole, which moves about 33 feet per year due to shifting ice). So we clicked away at one pole, hobbled over to the next pole, clicked away again, hobbled inside, used the bathroom, and then had to get right back on the plane! It was -30°, so quite frankly I was very excited to be on a nice warm plane again. My nose hairs had frozen and I seriously felt like I had wads of boogers hanging out. Gross, I know, but seriously. That's what it felt like.

Ceremonial Pole

Geographical Pole: Every direction points north!



Tebowing in every time zone. I only did this for you, Mike.



Standing on 9,000 feet of ice!

Pole marker. A new one is crafted every year.

 
I also got to sit in the cockpit during take-off on the way back to McMurdo. It was an amazing experience!

 

How do they keep all these gauges straight?!

Also, the discovery of the South Pole has a really interesting story to it. For the factual version, go to this website: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/09/amundsen/alexander-text. For the comical/explicit version, go to this one: http://vimeo.com/35084075. :)

Peace, Love, & BottomOfTheWorld.

Minke Whales.

So I saw whales. In Antarctica. No big deal, right?

Russians to the Rescue.

So maybe I'm a dork, but I am fascinated by the arrival of the Russian icebreaker, whose name I will never be able to pronounce: the "Vladimir Ignatyuk."

I am shocked that a boat of that size can actually break through sea ice; however, equally surprising is the fact that the NSF actually managed to acquire an icebreaker for this season. (Read this article for more information!). NSF has had long-standing contracts with the Swedish icebreaker, the "Oden", but this year the Oden wasn't available. The icebreaker is a critical need for the USAP, because it cuts a channel through the ice that allows the fuel tanker and re-supply ship to access the ice pier. There was a lot of drama/back and forth/panic when we found out that the Oden was inaccessible, especially because the U.S. Coast Guard doesn't have any operable ships with icebreaking capabilities.

But don't worry, the Russians came through and saved everyone. And now we will have food and fuel.

Life is good.

Peace, Love, & IceIceBaby.



Castle Rock.

I've been staring at the screen for 5 minutes, trying to come up with a way to explain how beautiful, incredible, awesome, and wonderful my hike out to Castle Rock was today. Some things are just better left unsaid, so I'll let the photos do the talking.

Trailhead

An "apple" shelter along the trail, for safety during a storm.



Red flags that mark the road

Megan & I. I did, in fact, carry a snowboard on my back for 6-miles, just so that I could go down one hill.

Erebus & Castle Rock from afar.



Castle Rock & the wonderful Antarctic sunshine.

Megan & me on top of Castle Rock.

I could not get over the scenery!

Icebergs.

Open water.

On the way back down.

Snowboarding! In Antarctica! In Jeans! :)

Happy girl :)

Hands down, one of the best days ever. Hiking is absolutely one of the greatest sources of joy and humility for me; I love to take in the Lord's creation, and it reminds me of how small I am compared to his greatness.

Peace, Love, & SnowboardingInJeans.