Turf in Antarctica?

Monday, November 11, 2013

Season 3!

So I am back in Antarctica again for season 3. It is amazing how fast my summer went working for the Rockies again after having to shovel snow from the field 3 times, dealing with rain games, bad umpire crews and the retiring of Todd Helton. I was glad that I got in a little vacation in April to hike the Grand Canyon with my friend Alysa from down here as well as participated in an adventure relay race called Ski to Sea Memorial Day weekend.

So a little update on all things that are Tim from the last post and to today.

Life here in Antarctica was a bit of a roller coaster ride once I got here on October 3rd. While I was in New Zealand the United States government shutdown thus putting the Antarctic Operations for the summer season in a bit of a bind. I was on the first flight of what is called main body so the effects of the shutdown were not quite felt by the 120 of us who flew in, but others that were on their way to New Zealand were in the ride of their lives over the next few days and weeks after I got here. The weather on the date of our arrival was beautiful, clear blue skies and warm to. So having to go to work right away and unload the baggage wasn't that bad. It was nice after the long 5 hour flight to get to work right away. The next flight in was delayed a few days for weather and ended up being a bit of a scary flight and landing for those on the flight. The plane was unable to turn around and head back for New Zealand since it was pasts it's turn around point for bad weather and had no choice but to land here at McMurdo. They ended up circling overhead for about 2 hours before landing and the last little bit of fuel they had on board.

Here is a link to an article about the flight. http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/air-force-investigate-scary-antarctic-landing-5643184

Shortly after this flight landed we found out that due to the government shutdown the program was going to go into what is known as caretaker status. Which means that only the essential people that are needed to maintain the facilities would keep their job and all science studies would stop. What that meant for me was that I would be able to keep my job for only as long as planes would be flying, once they stopped my season would come to an end. Luckily things changed and the government decided to fund operations again so our season is now a go. So this year I am a Cargo Senior which means I will have my own team that I will work with building cargo for flights for field camps and for the South Pole station. I am looking forward to the challenges that this position will bring me this season but also the fun that I hope to have in the position as well. So that is all for now, hope you all enjoy the pictures and the stories to come this season.

Tim

Coors Field with "17" mowed in on the outfield!

Just a little snow storm!

Time to start removal!

8 Hours later, game time!

At it again!

Even more snow!

Arches National Park

Sunday, March 3, 2013

End of Another Season

So as I am writing this I have 2 days left here in Antarctica this season. It is hard to believe that I left Denver on October 8th to come down here and it is almost over. This season has been fun and hard at the same times. I am glad that I came back for a second season and I am planning on coming back for a third. It is weird how working down here gets into your blood and it feels like home. The hard days of working at the airfield when the road was bad and planes were canceling have not been enough to get me to change my mind. I am looking forward to next season and what it may bring. I hope that you have all enjoyed the photos and stories that I have shared this season. I know that I haven't posted as much as I did last year but there was far fewer new events and activities that occurred this year for me where as last year everything was new.

Till next time.

Tim

This van came from the South Pole and had 11,000 miles on it. That is a lot of driving around the world.

This is what is left from a Challenger from a field camp to get flown back to McMurdo to be repaired.

My friend Shelly is standing next to a case that has samples from the WISSARD science group, it cost almost $30 million for the whole project to get the samples that are in the case.

The C-17 returns after being gone for over 2 months! We were excited to see this plane again.

The engine from the tanker ship.

Loading a helicopter onto the C-17.

A view from the tankers bridge.

A flat rack being dropped off in the cargo yard for vessel cargo!

Had no idea that CSU was even down here this year. I need to find out what they are studying down here.

The ice breaker and a cruise ship just right outside our doorstep.

Before all the ice broke out.

The resupply vessel Ocean Giant. I will post video later of the ship leaving and hitting just off of Hut Point.

Mt. Discovery, the last C-17 of the season and a South Korean ice breaker.

South Korean helicopter and passengers getting off at the airfield before they flew out.

A coffin. Heard we had one here but never saw it till this year. I had to help load it on to the plane that the South Koreans left on.

The New Zealand 757, I will fly out on this plane in a few days.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Long time no post!

Sorry all that follow this blog for not keeping as updated as I have in the past. Work this season has been a bit busier at times with smaller teams and warmer temperatures down time has been used more for relaxing than anything else recently. The holidays have come and gone down here without much fanfare. Redeployment meetings have occurred and everyone is planning their post ice travel plans so the end is getting closer, the weather is cooling off some what, days are getting shorter, the food is getting less appetizing are good signs that everyone wants to go home. For me March 5th will be the earliest that I leave here so I haven't had a chance to really think about what I will be doing once I leave here since I still have a long ways to go.

So to get everyone updated about life down here recently, the NSF made a change this season in using the C-17 as the main resupply plane. The NSF decided to stop C-17 flights from December 1st till at least January 21st. This change has made life a little less comfortable down here from the aspect of the little creature comforts in life that we all like. All of our supplies have been flown in on the LC-130's during this gap period. What this means to us is 1/10th of the normal amount of cargo that would come into McMurdo on a C-17 flight now makes it to us here if the LC-130's actually make it here. The LC-130's have a higher rate of canceling a flight due to mechanical problems than the C-17. So we have not had any fresh food here since right before Christmas, package mail has almost been non-existant, letter mail is still getting in, passengers are getting bumped from flights, less cargo is leaving. In the end what this means to us in the cargo department is a constant change of flight planning and reworking pallets for flight right up until the plane leaves. In the end the lack of C-17 flights has actually been a good thing. We have had unseasonably warmer temps this season along with the storm that we had at the beginning of December blowing in dust from Black Island causing severe melting of our snow roads and runways, leading to transportation problems for our equipment as well as the planes. The commute for those who work at the airfield went from about a 45 minute drive to upwards of 3 hours depending on what vehicle you rode in on as well as your priority of shuttle service. Planes were also canceling because they were just to heavy to take off in the soft snow. As it stands right now the C-17 will not be flying here for at least a few more weeks, the runway needs to be repaired still and harden up so that the bigger wheeled plane can land and not sink into the runway. Since the snow was so soft to get to and from the airfield equipment and passengers had to be shuttled in on what we call the "magic carpet", the magic caret is a sled that is pulled behind a tracked tractor so we wouldn't get stuck. I have some video from these rides that I will post once I get it all finished so everyone gets an idea of what it is like.

As for other happenings down here, we found out that the resupply vessel we will see this year is a larger ship and is on its way, we should see the ice breaker here shortly so that the tanker vessel can get in. I have been asked to be a line handler again so I am looking forward to that and a chance to see the new ship as well.

I got the chance to go on a boondoggle last week to help a smaller field camps pull out. The camp I went to was at a place called Ottway Massif, this camp was a science group looking for meteorites that have fallen here in Antarctica that have been pushed out from the glaciers along the Trans Antarctic Mountain range. For this trip I got to fly on a LC-130 which is a first for me, I was able to ride in the cockpit for takeoff and part of the flight. Once we landed I got right to work getting the camps cargo organized so that it could get on the plane, it was a great learning experience for me to go to a field camp and see how things are done to get planes loaded up where equipment isn't around to do it for you. The engines on the plane stay running the whole time, so being able to talk without yelling is impossible let alone hearing what someone is saying to you. We were on the ground for about an hour and a half before the pilot said we gotta go. Once the plane was all loaded and tried to take off, things got interesting from there. Our cargo load was heavier than thought and in the wrong order on the plane so we were to nose heavy for the plane to get airborne, even using what is called JATO. I put a video up on a separate post after this one.

JATO stands for Jet Assisted Take Off. After 3 failed attempts and running low on fuel, the captain ordered us to drop cargo and get everything that we could including passengers to the back of the plane so that the nose could get up. We were able to get airborne but with being low on fuel we knew that we would have to refuel, so for us the closet refueling point was the South Pole. So I can now say I have run around the world! We were able to get out of the plane and look around the South Pole for about 30 minutes before we left to head back to McMurdo.

I have also been asked to help out on another cargo team as acting senior while that teams senior is out at a field camp for a week. I have been looking forward to this chance for a long time so I can see if it is something I want to do in future seasons. I know it will be a great learning experience for me but also just a great opportunity as well.

Well that is all, hope you enjoy the videos and the pictures from this update.

Tim