9.29.2010

Shoveling at the South Pole

At 5:45 AM the sun is perpendicular to the DA observation deck and the light shines down the hallway, brightening up our mornings. This morning I walked out of the computer lab with a cup of coffee and took a moment to enjoy the blinding light.

It has been clear and warm (-55 F) over the last several days.

Long shadows extend from our station's structure.

The sun won't set for at least 5 months.

We have two weeks before the first plane arrives and hopefully it arrives with fresh fruit. We are working around the clock to shovel away by hand doorways, heaters, pipes and tanks while the big dozers groom the fields and runways. The winds don't help us any, they only create more snow drifts.

Besides shoveling we have also been hauling in food from the berms. Here's Debzilla tweaking a cargo strap back together... after gathering several premade pizza crust cases.

Once we pulled the cases of food out of the triwalls we drove around and picked them up.

Those boxes are the breaded mozo cheese sticks.


Every time I go out there it's some kind of freezing adventure.

Adios.