Thar She Blows

So. Many. Penguins.  Holy crap, guys, there are pods of twenty swimming around, another group walking right up to us on land, and Emperors standing right next to buildings to mold out at the airfield.  And whales—reportedly dozens of orcas out in the open channel the ice breaker is clearing, and several minkes I’ve seen with my own eyes right off the point.  The weekend weather has obliged us with sunny, almost windless days to stand outside and enjoy the spectacle.

This guy tilted his head back all the way while sheltered from the wind.

Good morning, sleepy Jackson.

It was so warm today I skied in a t-shirt and took off my gloves.  A few inches of densely icy powder coated the ice shelf, rainbow bits of glitter for miles and miles, culminating with the familiar white slopes of our neighborhood volcano.  I hustled a bit to get to an important rendezvous: a lunch date at the best cafeteria around.  After some cheesy polenta and green beans and cranberry sourdough and sausage and peppers, I got a brief tutorial/joy ride in a high-tech tractor. Grooming a berm (to keep structures from getting buried in winter drifts) is the most direct science support I’ve performed all season.

Oh wait, I guess I might have helped when I got to fly in a helicopter out to a field camp to take out some supplies.  Eeeeek!  Yes, I was gifted a morale trip (or as the official email put it, a “moral” trip) about 200 miles away to an ice core drilling camp.  Riding in a helo is awesome, the scenery was awesome, and I got some 120,000 year-old ice to put in my white Russians.  We swooped low over crevasse fields radiating electric-blue light, past mountainous rocky “coasts” where the ridge line comes down to the ice shelf, and eventually reached the collection of toy-like yellow tents huddled together next to a 40-ft drill draped in a circus tent.  It only took about two hours, but it felt, in a good way, much longer.

And I actually have now camped in Antarctica.  I was super tired from hiking and digging ice blocks and other activities, and the zero-degree bag was soooo warm and comfy that I slept wonderfully.  We had cocoa and biscuits, and I got a bit cold in the wind, so maybe I have a slight understanding of the early explorers.  But they definitely did not have leftover fried chicken or a van to drive back to a soft bed and brunch the next morning.