A chance to be a hero...?

Greetings,

Weather certainly has been a challenge for me ever since I moved to swing shift. It has been up to me to observe and forecast the weather at the South Pole so that we could make our evening flights.

On Monday, fog rolled in to the Pole and we had a number of distinguished visitors (DVs-reporters) who needed to get back to McMurdo Station. I needed a minimum of 1 mile visibility in order for the plane to arrive safely. The plane circled around about 20 miles away for about an hour before it tried to land. I did an observation that had the one mile visibility. However, 5 minutes later, the visibility dropped to a 1/2 a mile. I was getting nervous that the Air Guard would be unhappy with me. They tried twice to land in the low clouds and the fog, but they missed the approach. They turned around and headed back to McMurdo so they wouldn't run out of fuel. Of course, 15 minutes after they turned around, the visibility was 3 miles and better conditions to land the plane.

Overall, the reporters spent the night at the South Pole, which most of them were not terribly disappointed about it. We all have our 'what if' moments once in a while. This would have been one of those times.

On one of our clearer days, there were some awesome halo shots. This happens when ice crystals race across the sky and when they get hit by the sun's rays at the right angles, we get to see some of these halos that are pictured here.

I hope you enjoy my story and pictures today. Until next time....

A Dash to the Finish Line with a staggered start.

Greetings,

Now that the holidays are over, it is time to push the nose to the grindstone and finish the season strong. I'm on the move to swing shift in the next two days and I feel that I'm ready to do another 6 week stretch.

The Christmas and New Year's holidays were fun with not much work that I had to take care of, so it was nice for a couple of weeks with that. Also, I have to decide where to go for my time off and I'm no better off finding a location that I was when I started this year. Hopefully things will change in the next couple of weeks.

I'll do my best to keep things updated, but like life at the Pole, things can change.

Take care until next time.

December Catch-up and Holiday Time.

Howdy,

It's been one busy month, this December. So much so that I've had another drought on this blog.

One bit of new involving my days in Nevada was that an article that I'm a co-author on did get published. I'm excited for that. Now, if I had the time and the resources to finish the article that I'm the lead author on...

Also, our Meteorology Department was awarded a safety medal for working so safely on the station. I believe that this accomplishment was mentioned in an Iowa news station somewhere, I think Sioux City. As for the South Pole itself, it has been warmer than normal, but yet there have been plenty of clear to partly cloudy days, which is a little unusual with this combination.

Christmas has come and gone, but I still want to make sure that you and your loved ones enjoy your holiday season.

Until next time.

Time to stop and smell the....glycol??

Hello again,

I hope things are going well for you wherever you are reading this. I just want to take some time to remind you to enjoy life a little bit, take advantage of what's around you and don't wrap yourself up in a myriad of mini-tasks. I maybe feeling that way with things on station and things that I have yet to begun. So, instead of rushing off to other odd tasks after work, it would be better to have a good conversation with some friends or plain not just worry about the world for a while. That's the little bit of wisdom that I have to share.

FYI, glycol is the coolant that is used at the Pole to make sure nothing mechancial freezes. Have a rose on me, everyone.

Dome sweet...Dome...?

Salutations,

Things are still going quiet and smooth during the night shift. I'm getting plenty to eat at Midrats and I still have time to get my work done.

However, the big event that's going to be happening this year at the Pole is going to be the demolition....uh.., I mean deconstruction of the Dome. The dome was the home for scientists, construction workers, galley hands and everyone else for over 3 decades at the South Pole. The dome itself was meant to house 33 people when initially built.

Over time, the population during the austral summer has grown to 250 people another facility was needed to house most of them. After the new station was built and dedicated in 2008, the old dome hung around but it wasn't as bustling as it was most likely back in the day. For my two seasons here, the dome has been used as a storage for the food on station. I also help out on occasion with the weekly food pulls from the dome to the galley.

For me, I probably won't miss the dome much compared to some the people who worked here for years and years. Still, it's always nostalgic when an important structure gets taken apart.

Take care everyone and if I don't write again soon, Happy Thanksgiving!!

Taking care of some business...and some pleasure.

Howdy,

Well, a little more than a week has passed and now I'm beginning to feel acclimated to the Pole. It was a rough first couple of days, but I managed to pull through. Now this means that I have to actually work now (swipes snapping finger hand). The night shift is moving quickly and quietly and I have gone and have done some workouts in the gym, taking it easy of course.

In the not too distant past, I did partake in the McMurdo Halloween party when I was over there longer than expected. I had a great time there. A little further in the past in February when I was in Christchurch, I attended a rugby match.

So these are some examples that everyone can have their moments when they work hard and play hard.

Cheers.

Better late than never. Made it to Pole.

This post it to let you know that I've made it as far south as I can go. I arrived yesterday and I kind of forgot how altitude plays a role in the Pole. I've been instructed not to do too much strenuous labor for the first couple of days. Last year, I didn't notice it as much, since I feel that I was on adrenaline over there. Now, maybe the physical and mental aspects are becoming a bit of a factor. I just have to remember to drink lots of water and not try to do wind sprints while I'm here.

Also, seeing some of the winterovers did give me a prespective on some before and after shots between vists. Some changes were very small, others were quite drastic.

That's all I have right now for my grand reappearance at the South Pole. I bring you up to date on any changes.