A Day of Preparation
Today may have been our last day in Christchurch before heading out to the ice. However, today’s flight to McMurdo was postponed due to bad weather, so they combined with ours tomorrow. Fifteen people from our flight were told they had to wait an extra day, but all of my team is heading south tomorrow - if the plane flies.
This morning, we visited the Niwa lab in Christchurch. Niwa is the National Institute for Water and Air research. Ian worked there for ten years. He introduced us to his friend, Clive, an expert on the lakes in the Dry Valleys. We had an excellent conversation about microbial mat morphology, how it varies, how wind affects microbial structures, and many other interesting topics. Talking about all the cool things Clive, Ian, and Dale have seen got me very excited about the science of our expedition. I already have new ideas to think about.
Then, at 1 pm, we went to the Clothing Distribution Center (CDC) to get our cold weather gear. First we heard about how to have our laptops checked so that we can connect to the internet at McMurdo. (We have to have anti-virus software and updated system software. We have to take a cyber security training course and test.) Then we heard about the dangers of flu. (We are required to have flu shots, and they’ve requested H1N1 vaccines through the US Air Force claiming that we are “critical personnel”. However, those vaccines may not be ready until December.) Finally, we got to the clothing and travel instructions. They pre-fill two orange canvas bags with the clothing they think we’ll need. Then we try it all on, change sizes as necessary, and request any extra gear. This is what they gave me: An orange down coat, an orange parka, black bibbed insulated pants, a hat, a balaclava, a neck gator, two pairs of insulated leather gloves, a pair of wool mittens, a pair of leather over mittens, a fleece jacket, fleece pants, long underwear tops and bottoms of two different weights, 2 pairs of wool socks, and “bunny boots”. I didn’t take any pictures of the clothes yet because the women were all in one room to try them on. It isn’t good form to take pictures when people are changing! I’ll take a picture of the important clothes later.
The down coat is fantastically warm, and the bibbed pants are great. However, the long underwear is old, synthetic and already smells funny. I’m really glad I brought my own. The mittens aren’t nearly warm enough. Bekah and Alfonso asked for extra warm over mittens, but since I already have some, I didn’t. Also, I brought my own Sorel boots, which are warm, and I know I like wearing. The others in my group traded their “bunny boots” in for more rugged F-DX boots. They are lighter, have liners that you can pull out, and aren’t waterproof. Water proof boots hold your sweat in if you wear them all day, making your feet wet from the inside.
Once we got all decked out, Alfonso and I walked to the grocery store. I got some tea and spices that I might not be able to get at McMurdo. Also some meat and breakfast foods for tomorrow morning.
We report to the airport tomorrow morning at 6 am!
This morning, we visited the Niwa lab in Christchurch. Niwa is the National Institute for Water and Air research. Ian worked there for ten years. He introduced us to his friend, Clive, an expert on the lakes in the Dry Valleys. We had an excellent conversation about microbial mat morphology, how it varies, how wind affects microbial structures, and many other interesting topics. Talking about all the cool things Clive, Ian, and Dale have seen got me very excited about the science of our expedition. I already have new ideas to think about.
Then, at 1 pm, we went to the Clothing Distribution Center (CDC) to get our cold weather gear. First we heard about how to have our laptops checked so that we can connect to the internet at McMurdo. (We have to have anti-virus software and updated system software. We have to take a cyber security training course and test.) Then we heard about the dangers of flu. (We are required to have flu shots, and they’ve requested H1N1 vaccines through the US Air Force claiming that we are “critical personnel”. However, those vaccines may not be ready until December.) Finally, we got to the clothing and travel instructions. They pre-fill two orange canvas bags with the clothing they think we’ll need. Then we try it all on, change sizes as necessary, and request any extra gear. This is what they gave me: An orange down coat, an orange parka, black bibbed insulated pants, a hat, a balaclava, a neck gator, two pairs of insulated leather gloves, a pair of wool mittens, a pair of leather over mittens, a fleece jacket, fleece pants, long underwear tops and bottoms of two different weights, 2 pairs of wool socks, and “bunny boots”. I didn’t take any pictures of the clothes yet because the women were all in one room to try them on. It isn’t good form to take pictures when people are changing! I’ll take a picture of the important clothes later.
The down coat is fantastically warm, and the bibbed pants are great. However, the long underwear is old, synthetic and already smells funny. I’m really glad I brought my own. The mittens aren’t nearly warm enough. Bekah and Alfonso asked for extra warm over mittens, but since I already have some, I didn’t. Also, I brought my own Sorel boots, which are warm, and I know I like wearing. The others in my group traded their “bunny boots” in for more rugged F-DX boots. They are lighter, have liners that you can pull out, and aren’t waterproof. Water proof boots hold your sweat in if you wear them all day, making your feet wet from the inside.
Once we got all decked out, Alfonso and I walked to the grocery store. I got some tea and spices that I might not be able to get at McMurdo. Also some meat and breakfast foods for tomorrow morning.
We report to the airport tomorrow morning at 6 am!
