The last of my backlogged posts. Yesterday, the first full day spent on the ice, had us BLAST-Pol first-wavers (Elio, Juan, Nick, and myself) head out to LDB, examine our highbay, and start unloading shipping containers.
Unloading required a lot of working outside, or in buildings highly exposed to outside, so we were fortunate that the weather remained quite good. Light winds, clear skies, and a balmy -16C, roughly. Still, I discovered another downside to beards is the accumulation of frozen breath. Also, it only then became truly apparent to me that Antarctica is a desert—it’s seriously dry and there is a lot of sun.
In the evening was the famed Halloween party, and it did not disappoint. McMurdo-goers take their costumes very seriously, and the atmosphere was super fun. Juan brought his camera, so hopefully soon I’ll be able to rebroadcast some of his photos.
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- After some more orientation in the morning, a van takes the four of us to LDB
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- Scott Base, the New Zealander one, on the way to LDB
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- LDB, off in the distance
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- Our highbay, the later and greener one
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- Inside it’s mostly empty, and a little blurry (due to forgotten exposure settings)
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- The mezzanine inside, still mostly empty, still slightly blurry
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- Trying to open the door, the backs of Nick, Juan, and Elio glow with exertion (and maybe a bit of flash)
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- Our three little shipping containers, the big one is around the corner
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- A building I have since guessed is probably the outhouse
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- The door was a bit stuck. Nick opened it in super-fast motion
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- The view outside the door
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- More view outside, a little to the left. Featuring staircases to nowhere
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- Big plow maintains the roads
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- Flag
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- Progress partway through the day. We’ve unpacked a bunch of boxes, which will require further future unpacking
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- Nick and BLAST, in the big shipping container
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- I spent a while in the container too, but am poorly backlit
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- Honeycomb crush pads, packing material taken out of the containers for now
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- After carrying all the smaller items by hand, a forklift helps us with the rest
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- Mount Erebus seen smoking a bit on this very clear day
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- Our fork driver for the day: Alec
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- Lifting the Knaack
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- Very sophisticated mechanism to keep the crane’s control cord from dangling down into the middle of the room
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- Fork and Containers
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- Once unloaded, the containers are taken away for storage with the others
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- Myself, Elio, and Juan take a break on our doorstep
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- The gondola outer frame is lifted into the bay (it was carried out there by hand)
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- Juan and the gondola, as the day winds down
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- Carrying the inner frame in is the last job of the day
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- Both of the highbays
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