Bikes on an Icebreaker
Icebreaker graffiti
USCG Polar Star
The Nerd Room (video game room)
Washing machine
Hipster control panel
Anchors Mechanica
The Weight Room
Turbine Power
Turbine to Main Shaft Gear reduction
Mechanical Control Room
Beep Beep Bop Bo Beep
Hoops on an icebreaker
(C. Carpenter)
Birds nest from below (C. Carpenter)
View from the birds nest
Shower built out of drill parts
Control Building
Inside the Rac tent during the traverse
13 Hour Traverse
Basler flight back to McM (C. Carpenter)
Lets rewind back to January 13th where we last left off.  Over the next few  days while waiting for my northbound flight to New Zealand Ill try to piece together each part of the field season.  Since we work long, irregular hours its easy to forget what day it is and even what you did the previous day.  This season I tried to keep track of when I went to sleep each day and what hours I worked.  The only other activity other than sleeping and working in the field is eating, which accounts for any other time not logged in my timekeeping efforts.
January 13th we left McMurdo for our Herc flight to Cresis.
Delta Transport to airfield from McMurdo
Slept in the Pax terminal
Always either sleeping, eating or working. Â Here, I’m sleeping.
Landed at Cresis field camp
We spent one night at the Cresis field camp before traversing to our first borehole location. Â Heres some info on the Cresis science:
Hauling cargo at Cresis
After we got to Cresis we helped our camp staff organize and pack food for the next couple weeks of drilling. Â Graham and I offered to help secure this cargo being dragged around camp behind a snow machine.
An interesting fact about the Cresis camp
Walking to Cresis camp
Traverse staged for departure
Tuckers are made in Oregon
We camped one night at Cresis and started the short traverse to the first borehole. Â We rode inside one of the buildings called a rac tent.
Rac Tent
Inside the Rac tent
Cat Challenger
Drill Sled
More to come. Â This afternoon’s entertainment….Ice Breaker Tour.
The goal for this years field season is to deploy geophysics instrumentation at 4 locations in the Whillans Ice Stream. Â The drill team will be melting holes at locations 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B. Â The drill crew and scientists are scheduled to fly into Cresis camp (located next to the Wissard ski runway) by Herc (LC-130) tomorrow morning. Â The Cresis camp is located next to the skiway and we will be camping there for 1-2 nights. Â During that time we’ll have a chance to access the WISSARD drill camp this is about 7 miles away for a last minute tool and equipment run by snowmobile. Â The following day we will ride with the traverse (kind of like a polar convoy) to the first drilling site (1A). Â Once the 800 meter holes at site 1 have been finished we will traverse over to site 2 and melt two holes there.
We will be camping in un-insulated mountain tents this year so hopefully the weather is nice to us.
If everything goes according to plan, we will be pulled out by a single Basler flight on 1/30 and return to McMurdo. Â I should have some great pictures to post when we return. Â Until then, I won’t have any access to internet so I won’t be posting anything until then. Â See you in February…..as long as our flight gets out tomorrow!
The Wissard Facebook page and Wissard.org should have some field updates and possibly some pics while we are in the field.
Mt Discovery from Hut Point
Jam Session at the Coffee House
Heavy Fog on the flagged route
We took a hike out to Castle Rock this afternoon which is part of McMurdo’s trail system. Â Its about an 8 mile round trip walk and a darn good time. Â We walked in under heavy fog but were able to climb above it once on the rock which is about 200 feet tall. Â The views from the top show the top of the fog layer we hiked in on the way out.
Mr. Daren Blythe
Castle Rock nestled into the fog
Up above the fog
Atop the rock. Mt Erebus in the background
Looking down on the fog
Panoramic View From Castle Rock
Wings over Boston
Somewhere in the US
Wings Over the Pacific
Wings over Australia
Kiwi-Land
ECW at the CDC (Extreme Cold Weather gear at the Clothing Distribution Center in Christchurch
Herc Assemblies
Mega Mountains
On Ice…..
Mega Bus to Mactown
lemarctica 