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!”
Beyond the Backyard 