all photos
[11/3(Fr) => Antarctica (McMurdo Station)]
5:30 Got to the airport, put on the ECW gear.
9AM-3PM I'm now on the C-17 jet-powered
cargo aircraft with ~55 passengers. The flight to McMurdo Station will be ~5 hours.
The background is a photo out the window.
3PM Landed on the ice. -15°C. Not cold at all! 1100 people on
the station -- I remember noticing last year that almost everyone here is
white; very few Asians or African Americans -- big change from Berkeley :)
All 3 of us were originally scheduled to fly to the Pole tomorrow, but
Pete and I got pushed to Monday because of many cancelled flights during
the past few weeks due to cold/poor weather at the Pole. It's too bad I
can't see our winterover Denis as soon and get started on our telescope
work, but I'll just use the extra time to write this journal and enjoy the
outdoors.
8-10PM Went on a little hike w/ Darren before he departs for the Pole
tomorrow morning. We climbed the Observation Hill and took photo's for
Darren's son's birthday.
Q2(Ali). Are the hills 10,000 feet high?
=) The hills are not quite that high, but the last photo shows (in the
background) a part of Mt Erebus, which is 12444 feet tall (3794 m). The
South Pole itself that I'm going to next is at elevation of 9300 feet
(2800 m)!
[11/4(Sa) McMurdo Station]
0-6AM Slept and woke up in time to say bye to Darren at breakfast.
9am Drew 3 oz of blood for Altitude Sicknesss Study.
10:30AM Outdoor Safety briefing.
12-13:30 Took some measurements for the Altitude Sickness Study:
My lung capacity was average; blood pressure was ~95/50 -lower than
usual; and I was able to hold breath longer than most people :)
2-4PM Took a walk to the Ice Runway -- the wind made my nose and hands
cold. Here, it's mostly your face and hands that get cold, not your body.
So it's a different kind of cold. Being cold in Berkeley feels less
pleasant.
4-5PM Explored some buildings around the station -- found a
rock-climbing gym, so played around a little -it's fun!
5-6PM Dinner here is not as good as at the South Pole Station...
7-9PM Talked to Nacchan on the phone.
9-11PM Went to the Kiwi Base (New Zealand) for a "Beach Party".
Midnight: Got hooked up with body-monitor instruments for the
Altitude Sickness study, recording my eye/jaw movements, breathing, brain
waves, blood oxygen saturation, and other things.
Went to sleep -- all my roommates flew away this morning, so I had a 6-bed
room all to myself :)
[11/5(Su) McMurdo Station]
10AM After dreaming about fighting people, I woke up surpirsed how
late it was.
12:30-4:40PM Went on a ~12-km hike.
[11/6(Mo) => South Pole]
