Well yesterday we completed our babysitting job at the Ice Runway. The Kiwi C-130 that broke last Wednesday finally made its trip back north. They had to replace the entire #1 engine out on the Ice. Not a fun job I am guessing. Since the C-130 is now gone we do not have to staff Station 2 other than on the days that C-17 flights are arriving, which is 4 days a week. However the 109th New York Air National Guard with start to arrive with there LC-130’s on Monday of next week. Once that happens we will be manning Station 2 with a Lieutenant and five Firefighters 24/7 for the remainder of the summer season. I will likely be stationed out there every third shift that I am on, or about once a week.
Things are warming up some. We have been in the 0-5F range most days now and the winds have calmed down substantially. Actually I was outside for an hour or so yesterday in Ice town with a sweatshirt and hat and gloves and was nice and warm as long as I stayed in the sunlight. We were at a population of 830 last Saturday and we are planning to be at 1000 by the end of this week. So the station is filling up quickly.
Not allot new to report now but I have stolen some good photos. The first group is of a dive group doing something out on the sea ice. You can see the layers of gear that is needed to dive in 28F water. And you can also see the other folks that like to share you dive hole.
The second set of photos are the best photos that I have found from the flight down. This is the most remote sections of the entire planet. And it is a beautiful and stark place to see.
The last photo is a very nice view of Ross Island. The photo is taken from Black Island which is about 40 miles south of McMurdo. If you look closely at the photo (you will have to click on it to enlarge it) you can see in the foreground a black area of the Island. This is the McMurdo area. Just to the right of the centerline of the photo is a triangle shaped peak in the black area, this is Ob Hill which is the 750 foot peak that is right next to MacTown. If you have been looking at our photos from the last year Ob Hill is shown next to town many times. The great perspective that this photo shows is the massive size of Mt. Erebus, the southern most active volcano on Earth.
Enjoy and I report back soon.
R.J.
Things are warming up some. We have been in the 0-5F range most days now and the winds have calmed down substantially. Actually I was outside for an hour or so yesterday in Ice town with a sweatshirt and hat and gloves and was nice and warm as long as I stayed in the sunlight. We were at a population of 830 last Saturday and we are planning to be at 1000 by the end of this week. So the station is filling up quickly.
Not allot new to report now but I have stolen some good photos. The first group is of a dive group doing something out on the sea ice. You can see the layers of gear that is needed to dive in 28F water. And you can also see the other folks that like to share you dive hole.
The second set of photos are the best photos that I have found from the flight down. This is the most remote sections of the entire planet. And it is a beautiful and stark place to see.
The last photo is a very nice view of Ross Island. The photo is taken from Black Island which is about 40 miles south of McMurdo. If you look closely at the photo (you will have to click on it to enlarge it) you can see in the foreground a black area of the Island. This is the McMurdo area. Just to the right of the centerline of the photo is a triangle shaped peak in the black area, this is Ob Hill which is the 750 foot peak that is right next to MacTown. If you have been looking at our photos from the last year Ob Hill is shown next to town many times. The great perspective that this photo shows is the massive size of Mt. Erebus, the southern most active volcano on Earth.
Enjoy and I report back soon.
R.J.
posted by R.J. at 10:57 PM
1 Comments:
Very impressive photos. For some reason Kiwi birds make me laugh.
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