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 7th 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.
3 comments:
You may not be no Scott, Shackelton, or Amudsen, but that's okay...no one knows who they are either. (;
Good to hear you made it there safely.
I'm glad you're having fun. Be safe!
I understand your journey Jim, for on the dry land, I too have aspirations to one day be like William Seward Burroughs (the inventor of the calculator)or Frank Schmuck & Flaviu Cristian (inventors of amoritization). Life if in the mortgage industry is pretty wild, but I get by... one day at a time.
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