Life on the Ice

Today's Sunday - finally a day off and already 10 at night since life here doesn't really slow down much. I like it here. There is always something going on.

So I did arrive safely last Tuesday. Getting off that plane and seeing the ice and the mountains in the background was breathtaking. It still is that way. The place is beautiful. It amazing to me how we landed on a sea ice runway that by mid December will be closed because by January it will most likely be open water. A C-17 is a huge plane and that thing barrels down into the ice on landing. I've seen a couple landings since and it still amazes me.

There will be some pictures to come. My camera died on me as I was exiting the plane but I should be able to post some pictures from a flight arriving the next day for everyone to look at. I might be able to find the person who took pictures of me right after arriving on her camera and can post those too. I think I need to figure out how to post pictures better since I screwed up my other post and gave up posting any more pictures to that one.

So my job on ice is going to be awesome. I've really only been through training so far. It hasn't been that busy and won't be too busy until full operations start a week from now. I've been trained on how to properly drive in the harsh conditions here and it is generally pretty easy stuff. I still need to be trained on Ivan the Terra Bus. I think I'll like driving the big deltas the best. They aren't very fast but they are a lot of fun to drive.

My coworkers are all pretty cool. There are about 18 of us right now and I was surprised that most of them are older. Of the 5 guys I'm the youngest by about 20 years. One of the guys is 78 years old and most likely is the oldest guy on the base. There are a few older women, women my age with boyfriends or husbands, and a few younger women. It's really a great group of people. We had a shuttles party on Friday and it was a good time getting to know the group and all of them are such unique people. It won't even really feel like I'm working.

I am living in Building 155, which is the main building on base. It has the galley, dorm rooms for most of the fingees, and a few other offices. I've got four roommates that are all pretty cool. Two of them are in cargo and the other is a DA - Dining attendant. The room is pretty small and hard to move around in but most of the time is spend outside of the room so it hasn't been a problem yet.

People are extremely friendly on ice. It is a pretty interesting crowd. I think I'm in the minority on the number of adventures people have had. There are a great number of people who have been in the peace core and have down seasonal jobs since college. I kind of took the plunge to this great adventure. I'm looking forward to many more to come.

On my day off today I went with a couple shuttles people and another two guys and did some cross country skiing on the sea ice. Today just happened to be the worst weather of all the days I've been here. We skied for about 4 miles and walked back the short way. It was kind of cool to be in the wind and the blowing snow and get through to the end. There is a lot of opportunity to get out and hike and see the surrounding area. It's going to be fun to explore in the coming weeks.

Flying to McMurdo

I’m on my way – literally. I’m in a US Army C-17 on my way down to McMurdo. I’ve got about 4 hours to kill so I’m writing the blog now and posting it once I get down to the ice. It’s such an amazing feeling to be in the plane, next to all the cargo, and with the interior workings of the plan open to the naked eye. What keeps running through my head right now is that I’m now part of the Antarctic exploration and scientific research expedition. While I’m no Scott, Shackelton, or Amudsen, I am one of relatively few to follow these great names in Antarctic history. I’m one of the luckiest of people who is about to set foot on the 7^th Continent. This is just so cool!

The travel out to Christchurch was also a great experience. Right after arriving in Denver there was a group of 10 of us waiting for the shuttle to the hotel. The varied backgrounds and the stories of returning ice people increased my excitement and anticipation for the next 4 days. Soon I’d be stepping out onto a whole new world. Orientation was nice, not really necessary. Not much new information was added by the various speakers than what I already knew about the program. The best part was meeting the 35 or so other people who would be sharing the same ice flight as me. When I say there are varied backgrounds, I am probably not using the correct words. I first met Jesse who will be a Sat Op at the Pole who is probably the oldest of the group, there was Chuck who will be at Wais base camp as a medic and lives near Glacier National Park, there is Tirzah from Oregon who will be a GA and fought forest fires the last summer, Matt, also a GA, was on a boat in the Golf working for the oil companies, Dan, a cook from Minnesota who did a 13 month stint at the Pole, Sully, who like me took a little time to realize that the office job wasn’t the life he was made out for and had worked a variety of seasonal jobs the last 5 years, Carla a small IT girl who has always wanted to see Antarctica, Bob, a 52 year old fellow first time shuttle driver who was also trapped at one point by the corporate world and who is 100 pounds over the allowed 75 pound luggage limit on the ice flight. Though the backgrounds are varied we all seem to be united in a common goal of having a great adventure.

Most of the last few days has been all about the ice flight people. We all sort of congregate together, eat together, and sleep at similar hotels. It’s been fun getting to know this group and I hope that once on ice I’ll continue to learn more about each person and their lives off ice.

Christchurch is absolutely beautiful. Some of the pictures are posted. The hostel was right next to the botanical gardens and blocks away from the city center. The feel of the town and people of Christchurch is much more peaceful than a similar sized city in the states. People walk or take the bus everywhere. There are no towering skyscrapers. The city is full of parks and beautiful fountains. The food is outstanding. It is definitely a place I could see living in for a long time.

Time is ticking away and so is the battery life of this laptop is dieing…

Update – Arrived and at McMurdo – will post an update shortly with the photos promised above and some photos of the area. Still settling in.

Chapter 1 - Where in the World is Jim

Almost there. It's been a long road but I'm finally about to leave for what I believe will be the most exciting time of my life. I'm headed to Denver tomorrow, New Zealand on Friday, and then on to Antarctica on Sunday. This is just the beginning as I'll also be trying to see as much of the world as I can for as long as I can make the savings last. So welcome to my blog. I want to use this as a travel journal as well as a way to let all the people who I care about to see what I'm up to and a way to keep in touch with all of you. I'll always have e-mail, but will not always have the time to send to everyone I want to. As I travel any of you are more than welcome to join me on my way. I'll be roughing it a bit after Antarctica, staying primarily in hostels, so if your game just let me know where you want to meet up and I'll do all I can to meet you.

So my sis and brother in law already made it there last Saturday. It's been great to visit with my parents and with my sis and her family. Eventually I'll be grateful for the extra time I've had to sit around and live a total life of leisure. However, right now I'm so excited to go and start this adventure that I'm jealous of all those that are down to the ice before me. I'm ready to go! I've been ready to go for two plus years. I really didn't decide to pursue the Antarctic program until this last winter when I became closer and closer to my ultimate goal of traveling the world. What better way to start it all off in going Antarctica. It really has been a long road, a lot of saving, planning, and dreaming. And so it begins....