I have arrived!

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  McMurdo, Antarctica
Wednesday, October 3, 2007

I have officially arrived on the ice. What an amazing place! I have only been here a few hours and am already overwhelmed. Where do I start?

First off, we left a cold, rainy, windy NZ so it felt really good to get out of there. We boarded a US Airforce aircraft around 8:00 this morning. The interior was incredible. All the wiring was exposed and there was military personnel everywhere. I sort of felt important for a little while :). It might have been the most comfy flight I have every been on. After about 6 hours, we finally landed on the Ross iceshelf right on the edge of MacTown (McMurdo).

I was awestruck when Iwalked off the plane. The weather was absolutely gorgeous (I have no idea the temp, but there was a bite in the air). The first thing I saw was the Transantarctic mountain range. Mount Discovery was right there. It was clear enough that I could also see Big Razorback Island which is where my field site is. The town was nestled on the other side of the plane with Observation Hill (Ob Hill) in the background.

We boarded a huge bus/glacier vehicle thing-a-ma-jig and headed straight for town. As we were driving up, I saw the dock that is used for the ships coming in. Right now, that is part of the ice shelf, but come January an icebreaker breaks up the last bit of the shelf so ships can come into town and dock. Our field site is actually on the iceshelf, which is why we need to get off around the beginning/middle of Dec. I have heard that the iceshelf hasn't extended out as far as normal this year so we will actually be working quite close to the coast.

C-17

This is great for us because there will be much more wildlife. However, it is bad for the Weddell seals because there are predators this year preying on the pups when normally there aren't predators (because they are so far inland). Predators being leopard seals, orcas, and such.

For the first week or so here, we will be doing training for the most part. Because this is my first time on the ice, I have a lot of training to do. The big one is Happy Camper school where I get to stay in a tent out on the ice. This is to prepare us if we ever get stranded and need to set up emergency shelter. I will also be taking a snowmobiling course, science ethic thing, and maybe a couple others. After that, we tow our huts out to the our field site and begin working. We have a dormitory style room in town where we stay when we are here and for the few occasions (every 2 weeks or so) when we come back to shower and do laundry.

I have already used the Wells Fargo ATM (can't believe it!). Oh, and our boots look like moon boots. They are crazy big, but very warm. I also have my address that I will be using. If anyone does decide to send me something, please know that no styrofoam packing materials are allowed. It does take weeks, maybe months to send something, but you can always try :). The address is:
Sascha Jeffers, B-009
McMurdo Station
PSC 469 Box 800
APO AP 96599-1035

Well, I suppose that is enough to read for now. I'll be back soon.

A cold goodbye from way far south,
Sascha

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Discovery Hut	inside C-17	McMurdo	View of ice from plane window

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