Day 30; February 21, 2009; Penguin Bukta, Fimbul Ice Shelf, Southern Ocean, Antarctica Average Daily Temperature: 24.53˚ F Average Daily Wind Speed: 14.77 mph Feels Like: 2.38˚ F This morning I awoke to find that the sea had literally begun to freeze. All around the ship, and as far as I could see, the surface of the ocean was covered in small discs of solid ice. Though the equinox is still a month away, which definitively marks the change of seasons, one can already see the signs of the quickly approaching winter. Watching the Southern Ocean freeze before my eyes was an awesome sight—completely profound, if not seemingly impossible. The…read more »
Day 16; February 7, 2009; Vesleskaervet, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica Average Daily Temperature: 17.78˚ F Average Daily Wind Speed: 13.42 mph Feels Like: -2.35˚ F A colour is never merely a colour, but the colour of a certain object… -Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of Perception Here in Antarctica there is snow and ice virtually everywhere, a fact that may at first seem elementary but upon deeper reflection is infinitely complex. The impressive quantity of these natural crystalline elements extends as much vertically as they do horizontally, permeating the air and cloaking the land. The depth of the ice beneath my feet approaches 30 feet, with the thickest ice on the continent…read more »
Day 15; February 6, 2009; Vesleskaervet, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica Average Daily Temperature: 18.14˚ F Average Daily Wind Speed: 11.63 mph Feels Like: 0.69˚ F It was half an hour before lunch when I finally awoke. On my way to the dinning room to find some caffeine, my stomach clearly announcing it was ready for a meal, I ran into the helicopter pilots of Titan 1, Neall Ellis and his son and co-pilot, Kevin Ellis. Wishing me a good afternoon, they told me that we would be flying to Grunehogna in 30 minutes and to gather my things. With my first cup of coffee sloshing over the rim of my…read more »
Day 12; February 3, 2009; Vesleskaervet, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica Average Daily Temperature: 15.08˚ F Average Daily Wind Speed: 12.30 mph Feels Like: -3.37˚ F Last night was the opening of ICEPAC, the Bienal del Fin del Mundo’s Antarctic venue. The whole base gathered down at the remote mobile base for music, video art, and dancing to celebrate this cultural center in Antarctica as an event and a place. We had spent the whole day preparing for the opening, and organizing various components of the exhibition. After dinner we all gathered in the media room for Alfons Hug’s lecture about the exhibition here in Antarctica as well as its other…read more »
Day 9; January 31, 2009; Vesleskaervet, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica Average Daily Temperature: 14.36˚ F Average Daily Wind Speed: 20.36 mph Feels Like: -16.18˚ F The day came on with force, due to my finally managing a good night’s rest, and while I was seeking my morning coffee, I made arrangement’s with Richard Duncan, the SANAE team 47 overwintering mechanic, to teach me how to ride a skimobile. We scheduled the lesson for 3pm, which gave me some time to write and email before lunch. Richard was a fantastic instructor, and in no time I was whizzing around in front of the station, practicing turns and getting used to the…read more »
Day 7; January 29, 2009; Vesleskaervet, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica Average Daily Temperature: 15.3˚ F Average Daily Wind Speed: 22.82 mph Feels Like: -18.97˚ F Yesterday morning, I awoke to a wild wind and intense anticipation. After a quick shower, I put on the first layers of gear, looked over the rest of my bags, making sure all was accounted for. My phone rang, and Thomas said the flight was confirmed and he’d be over straight away. Just enough time for a quick coffee, checkout, and then off we went to fetch Alfons and head to the airport. The flight departed from the Cape Town International Airport, and the television…read more »
Day 6; January 28, 2009; Flight to SANAE Station, Vesleskaervet, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica Average Daily Temperature: 19.4˚ F Average Daily Wind Speed: 26.17 mph Feels Like: -19.85˚ F Today, I do not have words. I must show you……read more »
Day 5; January 27, 2009; Cape Town, South Africa We continue to happily endure the seemingly never ending process of preparations, and spent the day getting extra tripod plates, DV tapes, a wind jammer for the microphone, s-rings, distilled water for our backup-power fuel cell, emergency blankets, signaling mirrors, a sound card for Ntsikelelo, and other random pieces of the equipment puzzle. Early in the day we stopped by Bobby De Beer’s warehouse where much of the ITASC’s mobile base was constructed, and met many of the people who built the three structures. At the end of the day, worn out from all the to and fro, Thomas dropped me…read more »
As I prepare for my first trip to Antarctica, now just weeks away, my mind is abound with visions of all the possible permutations of white. My imagination is confounded by the seemingly obvious fact that I cannot know this place in any capacity until I am fully there, feet planted solidly on the ground, eyes absorbing the view of vast ice deserts, breath taking in the cold air. The existence of Antarctica was first predicted by the ancient mathematician, astronomer and geographer, Ptolemy (1st century AD), who claimed that there must be a southern landmass to balance the North Pole. He named it terra incognita, “unknown land,” and amazingly…read more »
