A series of long trips

Just under 100 years ago, explorers first attempted land traverses of this continent: Today it is still quite difficult: And this guy only went one way! (albeit by himself!)

So the fella in this picture is Todd Carmichael. He arrived at pole last week walking. Going for the world record in speed of cross country ski traverse, he achieved it by about an hour, and nearly completely on foot, without skis. He went through two sets of bindings, fell into three crevasses, broke a pole, lost one of his GPS machines, and that was just the first two of 10 degrees of latitude.

In a talk and conversation he presented to us, he told of his mental regimen and physical regimen to deal with the harsh and essentially boring, featureless landscape, and now with no skis, on foot (too determined to turn around). Two days out of pole, one satellite phone broke, his fuel spilled into his remaining food, and then his other phone and GPS broke. Luckily it was a clear day when he finally saw the station. Had it been poor visibility due to wind and snow drift, he would have been unlikely to find us. It's a pretty crazy story in it's entirety, which I won't rehash here now.

There are of course others traversing to the pole, but few solo on foot and make it here. We have had two large vehicle traverses come in. One is a cooperative Norwegian/US science-based traverse, the other a heavy traverse to transport fuel to pole at a better rate than the herc's can. (1 gallon burned to 2 delivered instead of 2 burned to 1 delivered).

Some of the science traverse' vehicles. All named for famous sled dogs from the continent's history. Lasse on the right was one of Amundsen's dogs and Chinook on the left was Shackeltons. Four vehicles in all, with the one out front running a radar looking for crevasse.

The science traverse was very interesting. In European style they had small, practical vehicles, and everything tidy and well designed for the purpose. Radar mapping the deep ice of East Antarctica, coring samples for density and odd-snow-isotope frequency, and an exploration of some sub-glacial lakes are the main objectives of the traverse. Their web addy is: http://traverse.npolar.no

What great use of our dry weather! Of cousre, every now and then you have to beat the clothes on the ground to break up the ice! These are their living quarters.

They had an open house and came to our FEMC holiday party. One of the Norwegians was a farmer in a past occupation, and they all seemed to now live in one arctic area or another most of the time. We talked for quite some time, and the suggestion that i go work on an arctic island north of Norway was proposed... Then they invited me over to have the best cup of coffee I've had since I arrived. It reminded me of home in that incredibly strong percolated coffee kind of way... mmm

And speaking of our Christmas BBQ - Here for your enjoyment are some only semi-terrifying pics!

Hmm... (Moose in orange hood) the left looks quite successful, but doesn't it look like the couch on the right needs some steering?...


Hmm...


Yes, yes! that's better!

This is a piece of ice that was made from melted ice many many thousands of years old, and roughly two miles below the surface here. Pumped out of the ICE CUBE science construction camp, it was estimated between 10-100,000 years since deposition. Melted and refrozen in a special way to produce a nearly totally clear (air bubble free) cylinder. ...some hoodlums... took a drill to it and made an "ice luge" to be used with potent liquors.

Of cousre, all partook (when was the last time you got to take a drink through ice frozen for a hundred thousand years?) and no one quite got frostbite on their noses! And in general it was an evening we all escaped from unscathed!