EJ's Travels

Life on the ice is full. If autonomy or seclusion is what one is seeking, McMurdo in the summer is not the place to find it. On the contrary, it is a tight knit bustling community with no end to activity or sunlight. And don’t believe anyone who tells you “it’s a harsh continent.” This is easy living. Sure, we work a minimum of 60 hours per week and the living quarters are tight, but meals are cooked for us, our bathrooms cleaned, and our social calendars filled. There may not be a lot of time left in a day after 10 or 12 hours of work, a shower and meals, but that doesn’t discourage the recreation department from tempting us with an unending list of activities, nor us from engaging in them all. In my short time here I have attended science lectures (that is why we are all here after all); begun thai chi; learned to throw pots in the ceramics room; tried my luck at bingo; taken up knitting and started dodgeball league. This week I begin bellydance lessons and yoga as well. Other ongoing options include language classes; volleyball, soccer, rugby and bowling leagues; writers groups; trivia nights; karate and self defense courses; tap & swing dance lessons; meditation; movie nights; open mic nights and on and on. There is no shortage of talent on this base. Everything you ever wanted to learn is being taught… for free. Of course I haven’t even mentioned the parties that happen here. My first weekend here was the infamous 70’s Party, and of course more recently, Halloween. While dancing in my *go-go boots* (actually gear issued bunny boots) amidst a crowd of steamy people in tight pants, afros and huge glasses a friend of mine whispered in my ear, “this is not what people back home picture when they imagine me in Antarctica!” The Waste Department even put together a haunted house for Halloween. In addition to all of that I have managed to take my skate skis out for an afternoon, and whenever I can, I try to squeeze in a hike, if even a short one.

70’s group shot

Me & Amanda

First skate ski on the ice

First time at the wheel

Self portrait along Hut Point

We are actually pretty limited in respect to how far we are allowed to wander. Aside from the 7 mile long Castle Rock Loop hiking trail, everywhere we are allowed to go is essentially within sight of base. Therefore, any opportunity to leave town is coveted and greatly appreciated. My fourth day on station I had the pleasure of participating in Sea Ice Training. This involved jumping in the back of a Haglund (tracked vehicle with passenger box) and traveling approximately 7 miles out on the sea ice in order to profile cracks, i.e., asses whether or not they are safe to travel across. It was a gorgeous day with stunning views of Mt. Erebus. I was hopeful to spot a penguin since they had seen one the day before, but no such luck. I am still keeping my eyes open for one.

Mt. Erebus

Haglund on ice

The next off-sight adventure will probably be Happy Camper school. This involves setting up camp on the sea ice, building a snow wall and an igloo and practicing other skills needed to survive a night out in the elements in the event any one of us gets stranded away from town. Happy Camper is necessary before we will be considered for a *boondoggle.* A boondoggle is any opportunity to participate in an activity that takes you off station. This may mean a working trip such as dive tending for the divers or assisting the fishing folk or the scientists studying penguins. It could be a helo ride to a remote field camp to assist in some capacity. Or, it could be a bona fide reward for some good deed, or in my case, a great costume.

Yep, I was allowed to join some friends a bit last minute for their group Halloween costume. The saying goes around here, “It’s a harsh continent.” My friend, Sandwhich, had the brilliant idea to dress as the *harsh condiments!* Brilliant. Many hours and much laughter was put into making our costumes. And, in the end, they were fantastic. So fantastic that we won the group costume category. Unbeknownst to me, the prize was an aforementioned boondoggle! I was shocked and ecstatic. Sometime in the future the 6 of us will ride on snowmobiles to “Room With a View,” situated somewhere on Mt. Erebus for the day. I cannot begin to tell you how anxious I am. Oh, and my sauce of choice, A1 Steak Sauce.

The Harsh Condiments!

see more of my photos at: http://ej.smugmug.com

Tags: Travel

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 6th, 2005 at 6:37 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.