crater

got to go up to the crater today. so cool. the plume obscured the lava lake much of the time, but every once in a while i could see the red glow. and although this has been a mellow season with no bombs being shot out (so far), it did make some impressive noises while i was up there. kinda sorta like the sound when a big wave comes and drags the rocks along the beach as it rolls back in to the ocean. kinda. but not exactly.

caving

so many caves on this mountain created by the thermal vents. can usually find entrance by the huge ice towers. inside some of these are the most amazing ice crystals. almost unreal or otherworldly. like if someone in movie biz requested a winterwonderland ice cave set and described what i got to see today, folks back in hollywood would just laugh, not believing anything really existed.

volcano

first, spent two days at fang camp acclimating (about 8000' elevation)

and now, i'm here on the actual volcano. wow. staying at the hut about 1000' from the top. i will be here for a week helping out with camp chores. but i should get to go on a very fun trips too. i think we're about 11,400' elevation here. altitude makes me tired. but i'm also so excited to be posting this from an active volcano.

more rigging

at lake joyce again (taking out the camp this time).
this was a bigger helo--a 212 vs the A-star. rotorwash much stronger, and i was standing on ice instead of gravel. almost blew me over. (but didn't)

fang camp

yesterday flew to mt erebus (the southern-most active volcano) to set up an acclimitization camp at 8000 ft. well, strictly speaking we weren't on mt erebus, but on the fang glacier between erebus and fang ridge. the day was amazing! we could not have asked for better weather. warm, sunny, NO wind. plus the helo pilot gave us a treat and flew right over the crater and around and tipped so we could see down. so cool. and during the approach to the mountain, because there was no wind, we could see smoke rising not just from crater but also from the various fumaroles along the ridge. big ice towers with smoke coming out of them. we also flew over the old crashed helicopter.

we were sucking wind coming from sea level then immediately working. setting up scott tents, hammering, shoveling, schlepping. and did a macgiver fix-it job on the hf radio. they made radio contact with mac-ops just as we heard the rotor of the approaching helo. they scrambled to get the radio inside and tent closed up tight while i scrambled to secure all our bags to keep them being blown away in rotorwash. shoved everything in duffels and laid my body across as many as i could.

then we flew home in time for dinner. i slept well that night.

penguins

flagged the route out to cape royds. got to see ice cave in erebus glacier tongue, the barne glacier, emperor penguins on the sea ice, adelie penguins at their rookery, shakleton's historic hut.
open water...as in not frozen. could hear the waves lapping against the ice shore. made me homesick a little. plus bonus of seeing emerors swimming and porposing and then jumping out of the water onto the ice.

they are very curious animals and since no land predators, they have little fear. will come right up to you if they haven't already seen people and bored of us yet. "what are these strange red and orange creatures?"
it was very exciting to experience. i did a little head-tilt penguin dance with the one closest to me.

dry valleys

trip to lake joyce.


view of blood falls while flying into camp



frozen pond






taylor glacier

helo sling load rigging and hover hookup

helping set up a science camp at lake joyce in the dry valleys

nighttime reading

Field Manual for the United States Antarctic Program

Ch 1. Standards of Conduct in the Field

Ch 2. Safety in the Field

Ch 3. Waste Handling in the Field

Ch 4. Weather

Ch 5. Snow Shelters

Ch 6. Tents

Ch 7. Stoves

Ch 8. Field Radios

Ch 9. Snowmobiles

Ch 10. Rope Use and Care

Ch 11. McMurdo Area Helicopter Transportation

Ch 12. McMurdo Area Fixed Wing Operations

Ch 13. Peninsula Area Boating Operations

Ch 14. Sea Ice

Ch 15. Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue

Ch 16. Roped Travel with Snowmobiles and Sleds in Crevassed Areas

Ch 17. Glacier Travel with Heavy Machinery

Ch 18. Antarctic Navigation

Ch 19. Altitude Acclimatization

Ch 20. Search and Rescue

Ch 21. Emergency Action Principles and First Aid

off hours

my extra curricular activities this season:

trauma team volunteer for mass casualty incidents.
barista/bartender at coffee house and wine bar
silver smithing jewelry making class
soon country dance lessons
and hoping salsa dance lessons start soon too