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 »
