Antarctia III!

My third season this year began early, and will be my longest season to date. By February, when I leave, I will have spent six months on the ice.

Winfly, as it is commonly referred to, is a series of flights arriving at McMurdo as the winter darkness is first breached by light. The flights bring folks in early to get a head start on the regular season. For the Carp Shop this means preparing buildings for scientists who work the pre-season, building the season's supply of deep field camp furnishings, and preparing for the opening of the many field camps near McMurdo.

Deploying during Winfly comes along with the amazing opportunity to watch the world go from dark to light a matter of weeks. Every day is different. The sky glows different colors for hours at midday, the sun plays off the mountains a little different every day, and the crowds are still summering at home in the Norther Hemisphere.

The French Balloon project Concordiasi, deploying a new balloon.
They were our #1 priority at Winfly this year.

I have also gotten to witness a few more Antarctic firsts since I arrived in mid August. The two most impressed upon me have been the Souther Lights and Nacreous clouds.

I got a little story to tell with the Auroras, because a lot of folks did not get to see them this winfly for one reason or another. It begins on flight day. We were postponed once the day before, but on this particular day the Air Force was chomping at the bit to get us down there. They had been weather delayed and so were on a tight schedule to their next mission. We took off and flew down to Antarctica.

The ice was beautiful as we cruised slowly into the dimming light.

As we neared McMurdo, the C-17 banked hard to the left and we were informed that we were to boomerang. This means fly all the way back to Christchurch and try again another time. This happens periodically down here as the weather is very unpredictable and there is simply no where else to land. A long trip, but just something you have to live with working down here. We got back to the airport and instead of being escorted onto busses and back to our hotels, we switched crews, got a quick bite to eat, and got right back on the plane once it was refueled. Now this is exceptional. No one had ever heard of the double turn-around and it turned a long day into a really long day of flying. In the end we were on the plane for about 14-15 hours... I think...

Landing in McMurdo, we were all glad to be anywhere we could sleep comfortably. After the 40 minute bus ride into Mactown, we were told when to report to our briefing and set loose to find our rooms and get some sleep. Our bags would be there in an hour or so, but feel free to retrieve them in the morning. My bed was already made by my excellent roommate Storm, but I ventured out to grab a quick bite to eat at the midnight rations and then figured I might as well get my bags since I was still awake.

I wandered out into the familiar cold in the direction of the terminal, and low and behold a green ribbon of light was dancing around the sky. Only faint at first, as I walked around trying to find a dark spot, the Aurora really came to life. It is hard to describe what they look like outside of a dancing green ribbon of light. Like the night is waving it's long magic green scarf in slow but strong wind. Pretty cool. I am quite fortunate to have stayed up late, because I haven't seen another since.

What I did get to see for many days consecutively were the Nacreous clouds. Rainbow colored and high in the sky these clouds occur only in high latitudes and are typically seen as the sun is quite low to the horizon. They add quite a bit of magic to a day in the shop covered in sawdust. Everyone will pause their work and wander to the windows or outside with cameras to enjoy the view.

A good description of how these clouds occur:
http://www.atoptics.co.uk/highsky/nacr1.htm

Getting late on a school night, so I will have to leave you with two photos: The first is my first HDR shot. (High Dynamic Range). The second is the first balloon launched this season. Take care!