Tag: Antarctica

Sastrugi N. Park

daveweimer

Day 30

Miles Advanced: 0

Weather: Blowing Snow

Yet another day in camp. Supposed to get another 48 hours of this sh1t. Bummer- tired of sitting around. The sastrugi on the trail ahead is huge and we can’t drive that area in a whiteout. You might find yourself hitting a wall or dropping off a cliff. So we wait. We are going to shifts- moving the tractors and module every 4-6 hours to keep them from being buried again. Necessary, but dangerous in a whiteout.

Miles Advanced: 13.1

Weather: Whiteout Conditions, WC -25F.

Location: 200 Miles from South Pole

Not the best of days but at least we made some miles. Weather cleared around 1:00pm and we finally made our move. Very hard to see the sastrugi but it wasn’t as bad as predicted. So far so good. We did however break another HMW (High Molecular Weight) sled. Last year we broke 17 of the 32 sleds in the National Park. This year only two broken so far, so we think the black HMW is better than the white stuff. As it is said, “Once you go black, you never go back.”

Miles Advanced: 16.0

Weather: Partly Cloudy, -13F Ambient, -48F WC

Location: Sastrugi N. Park

Took the GPR boom off the Prinoth and used the blade to smooth out the trail. Not worried about crevasses here. Dosinga drove my tractor today and I got to ride along in the Living Module. I thought this would be like a day off but then the sastrugi got big and I started getting sea sick. We were going really slow, trying not to break our sleds, so I jumped off the deck and started walking- mostly to exercise my legs. To my surprise I was actually walking faster than the convoy was driving. Took the opportunity to take some pictures- the sastrugi really is beautiful.

“Congrats! Yer Getting a Pay Cut.”

daveweimer

Day: 38

Location: South Pole!

Miles Advanced: 46.7

Miles Total: 1048.4

Avg. Miles Per Day: 26.9

Weather Days: 6

At 6:00pm we could see the station. There wasn’t much of a vote- we were going to push and try to make it that night. Our convoy was on the lee side of the station as we approached the skiway- this is an area that collects spindrift and the snow is bottomless- probably the worst snow conditions of the entire traverse. And we got stuck. Two tractors per load, three tractors on McLovin’s- that sucker wouldn’t budge.

At 8:30pm we finally made it, tired but happy.

Andy led us to the station, the galley, and the Conference Room. The table in this domicile was bigger than our sleeping quarters. We had lots of elbow room, great food, and plenty of booze. Mucho thanks to Andy and the galley crew for hooking us up big time- Pistachio Ice Cream and all!!!

We burned 25,636 gallons driving to Pole. We are currently offloading fuel- this should take 4 days, then off to AGAP. Yes, we are going to try. In the history of mankind- no one has ever crossed this area of the continent. Should be interesting.

Location: South Pole

Weather: Clear, -9 Ambient/ -30WC

Fuel Delivered: 61,598 gal.

LC 130 Flights Offset: 21

Morale: Taking a Dive

This morning we were told that our employer (Raytheon) has cut our pay by 30% due to the fact that we are working at a station and are no longer in the field. (They didn’t do this to us last year) We were also told we’d be leaving for AGAP on Christmas Day and would not be getting that day off like the rest of the station does. So instead of a ‘thanks for all your hard work’; Raytheon gave us a big middle finger. I especially feel for the mechanics who have been working 15 hours a day, trying to get the tractors fixed and ready to go. What a slap in the face.

It should also be noted that employees at South Pole get a 10% increase in base pay because they are working in an ‘extremely cold environment’. I guess it’s not cold enough for us because we aren’t getting that either. So we work more hours, making less money, with no days off.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m feeling motivated!”

We find ALIENS!

daveweimer

Miles Advanced: 20.0

Weather: Clear, Windless, 3 Degrees ABOVE Zero

Elevation: 9,317 ft.

Destination: AGAP

AGAP is a field camp located 450 miles grid North-East of South Pole Station. Using Ground Penetrating Radar, scientists discovered a jagged, subglacial mountain range (complete with liquid water flowing in the valleys) some three kilometers beneath the surface of the ice. Funding for the project ran dry and now the camp is abandoned. LC 130’s can land and drop off supplies, but at nearly 12,000ft they have trouble with liftoff- so much of the cargo is still at the camp. That’s where we come in. The NSF is hoping we can drive to AGAP, get the cargo, and deposit it back in McMurdo. All this remains to be seen however because no one has traversed this area of the continent before. It’s all new ground.

This may seem exciting to some of you back in town, but to tell you the truth- IT ALL LOOKS THE SAME. Flat, white, everywhere…f@#k.

And the snow is deep, REALLY deep. Tractors got stuck, blah blah blah… so yea, you might say I’m homesick.

My wife wrote me a letter today and although I usually don’t share things like this… well, it’s Christmas.

Hey Hun, I just want you to know that I love you so much and we all miss you so much!

I know it is tough right now and you are frustrated… Just hang in there.

I will support you in anything.

You will be heading on a new adventure soon, something that no one has ever done before.

That should help things… you will be home in no time! When you get back we can celebrate birthdays and Christmas!

Just hang in there and know that I love you and our awesome life together! We will go skiing and snowshoeing when you get home.

I love you!!! And miss you so so much!!!

Sara

Miles Advanced Towards AGAP: 51.5

Temperature: -14f. Ambient

Spotted something on the horizon with my scope, looked like some kind of disk- we thought it might be a Long Duration Balloon for observing the Ozone Hole. Decided to inspect and when we got near, this is what we saw-

Could it be some kind of intergalactic alien spaceship? Yup! Buck and McLovin’ were the first to investigate and sure enough, two little metallic looking spacemen greeted us.

They appeared to be stranded and in desperate need of a ride. We got on the sat phone and called up headquarters who ordered us to try and befriend the aliens, gain their trust, and then bring them back to Pole for immediate dissection.

 

The aliens are easily manipulated.  We buy their friendship with gifts- candy, coffee, booze… and necklaces.

The aliens trust us completely.  We all hold hands and pretend to admire the Sundog.