antarctica

Saturday, February 04, 2006

this is the krasin. it's a russian ice-breaker ship. it arrived last month; then, two weeks ago it broke one of it's propellar blades. divers were flown down to repair it.

this really screwed up our cargo ship and fuel taker ship's off-loading times. we were supposed to be finished with the cargo ship and fuel tanker last week. we just started the cargo ship on friday and the fuel tanker won't start until next thursday.

scott's hut

me in scott's hut

100 year old crackers

inside hut

who wants a seal snack?

this guy is over 100 years old.

scott's hut

this is scott's discovery hut. he (and others that came after him) used it for storage and theatrical plays. they slept on the ship.

locate it from past photo of town. the dead seal in the next photo is located behind the mound of rope-ish looking stuff under the eve, to the left.

this hut was built based on the australian huts IN THE DESERT. this is why they didn't sleep in it. it was very cold and impractical for antarctica.

weddle seal on the sea ice. saw this guy on the trip to "nowhere."

walking to nowhere.

note the flags. we have to stay right next to the flags to avoid weak spots in the ice (or when not on the ice, crevasses). flags are also there for when there are white out conditions. if you can see to the next flag, you're good. if you can't see to the next flag and you're with another person, and you have a rope you can travel that way as well.

dj and i went on a rec trip to "nowhere."

the recreation department has stuff going on all of the time. this was a trip we took on the deltas (these hulking machines here). the trip went to nowhere. we just drove for about 45 minutes on the sea ice and stopped, got out, walked for a bit, took some pictures, and then got back in.

turns out "nowhere" is pretty cool.

dj at the halloween party

dj and i at the "upper crust" party. suits and ties required.

luckily, gear issue has lot's of costumes to choose from.

parties

there is a party every night here somewhere. the deck i am standing on is a popular spot. it's called "tequilla beach"

i'm sure it's way over capacity in body weight daily.