The North Face - Mission Antarctic

This is not really related to me or the SANAE expedition, but it is too awesome not to share. Xavier de Le Rue, snowboard freeride world champion and considered by his peers as the best big mountain rider, along with Lucas Debari is traveling to Antarctica for a month long snowboard trip. 

A link to the 'As it happens' journal can be found here : Mission Antarctic - Riding to the world's end

and a link to the trailer of the video that will be made from this trip can be found here : Vimeo - Mission Antarctic Trailer


and a link to Xavier de Le Rue's previous film can be found here : Xavier de Le Reu's 'White Noise'

This is the stuff dreams are made of...

Petrel pics

Its the last few weeks that we have alone at the base. Pretty sad to start packing up everything and getting ready for the masses to invade. The fact that we have so little time of peace and quiet left makes you appreciate the little things even more, like an evening of perfect weather and a once in a lifetime view. Here are a few more Snow and Antarctic Petrel pics. 

Snow Petrels

Finally got a picture with a Snow Petrel in (note two white specks on right hand side of photo).

We first noticed some birds flying around while we were prepping for the Grune Hogna field trip, and upon consulting Google, we found out that they are Antarctic Petrels. These were around for a few weeks, but then disappeared and were replaced by Snow Petrels. Both types are ridiculously fast, and by the time you have your camera ready they are already gone again - so that is the reason why they just look like two specks on the pic. The Snow Petrels are much more inquisitive and flies really close to us, but of course this only happens when nobody has a camera close. 
Hopefully I'll get a proper photo soon...

Grune Hogna photos

A few of the pictures I took while we were away on our field trip to Grune Hogna.

2am sunrise

The night before last I was fortunate enough to be awake to witness one of the prettiest sunrises we have had since winter. The sun now starts to rise at around 1:45am and is completely up at around 3am. The blowing snow created the illusion that the ice was on fire. Sadly the same wind that causes this beautiful phenomenon  also meant that going outside to take pictures would not be a good idea, so I spent the early hours of the morning lying in the upstairs lab, taking pictures through the window - not exactly my idea of a romantic sunrise, but still awesome..

Leaving on a CAT train!

...and the field trip is a GO! 

Official permission has been given, from both the big boss and the science boss. All of the preparations for the trip are done, assignments have been sent (stuck in my Outbox still counts as sent!) and almost everything is packed. Well, our current 'almost everything' might change again seeing that we also thought we had most of the stuff packed this morning, and then somehow the link kinda just filled up with all kinds of stuffs that still needed to go with. To be honest, I can't really remember what personal stuff to pack for a CAT train anymore. 

The plan is to complete the last odds and ends in the morning, hopefully leave before lunch, and then casually cruise our way to our camping spot. It is only 50km away, but with our raging Antarctic traveling speed, it might take us several hours to get there. Needless to say, we are all very excited that the day has finally dawned. 

Three days of no showers..bring it on yeo!

Snowman!

We had another uber storm that left us with no comms for almost a week, and the hangar covered in a proper layer of 'Its so fluffy I'm gonna die!' snow. So of course fluffy snow equals snowball fight and snowman building.. 

Sadly, it lasted only two days before it was back to being some misshaped blob that had to be shoveled from the hangar..

Preparation semi fail

We have been planning to take a field trip since maybe April this year, but then we had a spell of bad weather, then winter happened, then more bad weather. So now since the weather is improving, it seems we can finally start planning and preparing for a trip, with permission of course. 
Step 1, find out who wants to go on a weekend getaway to test out the Cabooses, divide them into two groups of 4 (since the base must be manned by at least 4 people at all times), and appoint an expedition leader. Then, find out what all the requirements are that we need to adhere to, and make a list of all that needs to be packed and completed. That was the easy part…

So the 4 of us that are on the first trip agreed that since the weather is good we will do all the outside preparations first and then do the inside packing when/if the weather is sucky again. Firstly, the Caboose that we are taking along had to be fixed, and cleared out of all snow, old food, and random pieces of stuff that were lying around. That took around 2 to 3 days. 

Day 4 - Next, preparing a 3000 liter diesel bowzer to take with on the trip for refuelling vehicles and refilling the mini generator if needed. All the bowzers and sledges are stored in the winter depot after takeover. A Dozer was started up and used to fetch an empty sledge and an empty mini bowzer. All easier said than done.. An hour or three later we were parked at the diesel bunkers, ready to fill up the tank. After some struggling on super slippery ice, with the refueling pipes that probably weighs as much as half a person and do not want to bend because of the cold,  we decided to take the easier way out and use the thinner pipe to refuel the tank. Then came the waiting, the wind, the cold, and finally the shivering. Vince was using the Dozer to clear the snow in front of the Caboose, so we didn't even have a vehicle to jump into to hide from the wind. 
Eventually we decided to stop pretending to be hardcore, and go hide in the little pump 'hut' at the top of the bunkers, which was also a good thing, since we then figured out how to make the tank fill faster. When it was about two thirds full, a leak at the bottom of the tank was noticed, and everyone went into overdrive to prevent having a major diesel spill. Using a random glove and a ratchet and strap, the leak was temporarily stopped. Now the tank that we just spent like 3 hours filling had to be emptied out again. The pump sledge used for this was still stored on the helideck, so first we had to get that, get a battery for it, start up a skidoo to tow it, and then lower it down from the helideck. Somewhere in the middle of emptying the bowzer out again, we realised that since the pump connector is probably 10cm from the bottom of the tank, and the leak is all the way at the bottom, we would need another method of draining out the last bit of diesel. So with a few empty drums and a pipe, that too was done. Although the damage report wasn’t too hectic with only a bit of contaminated snow and one frostbitten finger, it was still very discouraging to walk into the base at maybe 21:00, tired and dirty, after a full day’s work, and realise that nothing was completed, we now have more work than we would have had if we just stayed in bed... 

Day 5 - The morning was spent cleaning up the contaminated snow, taking the stupid broken tank back down to the winter depot, and bringing up a different tank to be filled. With the help of this weird little contraption the boys put together, the 'dirty' snow could be melted and put into an empty drum without too much hassle. The second tank luckily didn’t have any issues, and could be placed on the now clean sledge, filled, and then finally stored in the summer depot. 22:30 and the first major task is done!

Day 6 - The weather wasn’t too awesome, but we decided to go out anyway and see if we can get one of the Challengers started and fetch the long range skidoos. So, make sure the Challenger batteries are charged, put them back in, connect everything up, notice the wiring on the alternator looks really bad and start fixing that, get kinda grumpy cause your fingers are freezing and the wind isn't helping at all, start up the Challenger and notice smoke coming out of the dashboard, disconnect all batteries again and give up on outside work for the day. 

Day 7 – Sucky weather, so do some inside preparations and packing. Pack most of the snacks and sweets (and almost no nutritious food now that I think about it). Check the rescue gear, and Caboose tools and stuffs.

Day 8 - Atleast we were having better weather again, sunny with very little wind. While we went to go fetch a couple of other sledges from the winter depot, some of the boys went out to see what was up with Challenger 5. An hour or so of dozing, hooking, and driving, we had the appropriate sledges ready at their new spots in the summer depot. Back at the base, Challenger 5 was up and running again, without any smoke this time, yay. We had to take it for a test drive, so it was decided to make it a more efficient trip and drive down to the skidoos in the winter depot to see if we can get them started. After a few hours of struggling and no starting, the diesel mech decided to rather take some of the parts up to the base to clean out, and then come back another time to try again. Late for dinner, again, woops. 

Day 9 – Today – back to windy and sucky weather, and expecting more storms till the 28th, so preparations are on hold till then. 
Hopefully the next few tasks will go down smoother than the first ones… 

Spring has sprung!

Best thing about a bright sunny Antarctic day? Running outside in shorts and a pair of over sized Pampoenskoene (generally over sized since they belong to someone else and I borrowed/stole them cause  they were close and mine are all the way in the other link). 

The last two days have been pretty much perfect weather, almost no wind and super bright and sunny. So much like summer that you can actually stand outside and warm yourself in the sun, wearing just socks, a  hoodie and shorts. Making use of the perfect weather, Bango had his long awaited snowbath yesterday. Since the hole was dug maybe 30mins before the actual snowbath would commence, the diggers made use of the hole to sit and relax in while drinking a beer and making weird cowboy calls (yes, living with a bunch of dudes, that is what you put up with - it was hilarious though). 

Most of the team wanted to get outside after the long storm, so some of us started digging out the snow from the cabs of the Challengers and Dozers while others started working on a project to remove the dirty ice from under the base. Being outside in the sun felt great! 

I guess the amount of daylight we have now (around 15hrs) is just one of the many indications that the end of the year is fast approaching. Seems we have survived the winter. The thought of summer, takeover, and a bunch of strangers in our 'house' brings with it a feeling of nervous excitement. Well, with the amount of shaving our team does, the newbies will probably be more scared of us than we are of them!

The perfect storm?

The weather has been really miserable lately, giving us maybe 3 or 4 days of good weather in just as many weeks. Whenever the wind decides to die down just a tad, the race is on to see if we can make it to the smelly and back before it picks up again. This sounds pretty simple, but since the trip to the smelly is on the slipperiest ice EVER, all the slipping, falling, and especially the getting back up again probably doubles the time. 
At least the sun does peek out from behind the clouds every once in a while..

 

and when it doesn't, we always have the snow patterns on the windows to keep us fascinated..

** taken by Stefan Christmann, a German overwinterer, also stuck in their base

SANAE 52 - Mechanical Engineer

Any mechanical engineers out there who fancy the idea of spending a year in Antarctica? 

SANAP is still looking for a suitable candidate to fill the Mechanical Engineer post for SANAE 52. If you know of anyone that may be interested, please refer them to Mr Richard Skinner.

For more information on the SANAP / SANAE program or position requirements, visit the SANAP website.

Contact details:
Richard Skinner (Pta)    012 310 3569
Email                         rskinner@environment.gov.za
Susan Vosloo (Pta)      012 310 3570
Email                         svosloo@environment.gov.za
SANAP reception (CT)   021 405 9400

SANAE base                021 405 9450 - generally more for feeling bored and 
                                  lonely and want to talk to someone far away 
                                  purposes than for actual job applications

The Elusive Southern Lights

We had some pretty cool Aurora on Sunday night, not as bright as some of the previous ones, but since the weather played along, it was nice being able to watch it without having frozen eyeballs. 

Almost famous

At the end of last month I was asked to do an interview for an article that would appear in the August edition of Mango Airlines' in-flight magazine, Mango Juice. 20 questions (some harder than others) later, this is what was published..

Mango Juice in August - Due South

Thanks Hanlie!

Antarctic Film Festival 2012

Every year there is a film festival that all of the Antarctic bases can partake in. There are two categories, namely Open, where you can submit any film that was made in Antarctica within the last year, and 48HR, where the teams are given 48 hours to shoot a 5 minute film that features 5 given items. This year the items were a queen, a computer mouse, a map of your base or region, the sound of ice cracking and the words "I will save you".

At the end when all the movies are uploaded, the bases get a chance to vote for their favorite. I am pretty sure the only thing you win is bragging rights though.

Our movie was named 'SANAELand' and was based on the movie Zombieland, but with a few twists.

My favorites were:
48 hour:
SANAE - SANAELand
Dumont D'Urville - The Polar Hangover
Neumayer - The Soup Soap
Season of Change - Casey

Open:
Neumayer - One Small Step?
Crozet - The Departure
The South Pole - Spinning Round and Round (featuring some pretty awesome time lapse footage) 

The 48hour category winner turned out to be: 
Super Mario in Kergueland

The open category was won by Crozet with The Departure

Some interesting reading on how the festival started here.

SANAE 52

Anyone interested to overwinter at SANAE as the Cosmic Ray Physicist/Engineer (aka Potchkassie) next year?

Requirements: B.Eng - electric/electronic/computer
                      B.Hons physics 
                      or equivalent
Duration:  Training: 1 Oct 2012 - Nov 2012
                Expedition: Dec 2012 - Feb 2014
                Debriefing: Feb 2014 - 31 Mar 2014

Official advert and application forms can be found at the bottom of the page.
For any more info feel free to drop me a mail (or comment), else all other contact details needed are on the add.


SANAE 52 Cosmic Ray Physicist/Engineer advert

Busted!

We have been very fortunate so far in the sense that very few things have broken or gone horribly wrong, but last weekend we had a bit of a disaster weekend, making us even more thankful for the normal boring SANAE day where everything is working as it should.

Thursday ended off with one of the water tanks in the hangar breaking. Luckily the boys were quick to bypass the tank, so apart from the 10 000 litre water loss, it wasn't a major problem. On Friday a proper storm started and by mid day the wind was up to 40kts (74km/h)  average. This meant only one smelly session where roping up was required to try to replace some of the water that was lost the previous day. Laundries were closed and showers had to be used sparingly. By 3:00am the wind was up to 65kts (120km/h).

Saturday morning brought more wind and snow, and everything in the base vibrated and rattled like crazy. No smellying would be possible, so showers were closed too. After french toast (I think, darn T3!!) for breakfast, Johan discovered that the window in the leader's office has been taken out by a part of one of the antennas that has apparently been blown off the roof. Even though the wind blew from the opposite direction as the broken window, there glass and snow was still flying in, and needless to say, the room was freezing! A little blood, frozen sweat, and no tears later, the window was patched up with rubber and wood, so at least the wind and snow was kept outside, where it belongs.

The broken window caused the temperature in the base to drop significantly, leaving some rooms as cold as 0°C. The whole of Saturday we had raging winds of about 90kts (167km/h) average and gusts of more than 100kts. This did not help the already freezing temperatures inside, and by Saturday afternoon it was discovered that some of the taps in the AB-link did not want to work anymore. The conclusion: frozen pipes. So new worry - what if the pipes burst because the water in them freezes and then we lose more of the little water we have left?! Some quick thinking and acting, with the help of a few heaters in ducts, and the frozen pipe problem was fixed - without any pipes bursting or water spillage.

The rest of the weekend went by stinky and on high alert mode, but without any new major problems, well not inside anyways. After the storm kinda passed it was discovered that, among other busted things, some of the other antennas on the roof had also been blown to pieces, the VLF antenna was broken, and the HF antenna mast isn't what it used to be. 

Most of the broken things have been fixed, but others will have to wait for better weather and summer supplies before they can be reinstated.

Bro baths!

As you probably know by now, if you have a birthday at SANAE you get to partake in the long-standing tradition of a snowbath. In short, run out in shorts, jump in a freshly dug hole in the snow, and sit there while the others cover you in snow and force you to funnel a beer (or some other fizzy drink) while happy birthday is sung in various different levels of tone and frequency.

Here are some pics of the boys' snowbaths and birthday cakes so far..

 

Back in the sun

So, its back..

The storm raging outside and the freezing temperatures inside the base wouldn't convince you of the fact, but apparently summer is on its way again.