Beginnings

Transport plane taking off on the ice runway at McMurdo.

View of McMurdo. Scott's Hut is in the foreground.

The following are a few emails I sent out prior to starting this blog. For those who hadn't recieved them, I wanted to copy them here to update everyone with my adventure so far.

Oct 23, 2006 Monday
Friends & Family!!!
I'm in Antarctica! Can you believe?!! This is totally crazy!
We were debriefed and screened and loaded onto the USAF C-17 cargo plane starting at 6am this morning from the Antarctic Center in NZ. I have some really great pictures! After a very long 6 hour flight, we arrived at McMurdo around 3pm only to go to another briefing. My first impression of The Ice after stepping off the plane was how it looked so similar to any number of ice fishing spots in NoDak. Another guy from NoDak said the same thing and it was hard not to look around for the tip-ups (ice fishing poles).
It was a warm 5F above when we landed, but I've had a crude awakening since then. Trying to lug around 75lbs of luggage with huge layers of ECW gear up a steep hill against a very cold wind was really exhausting!
The word is we will be here in McMurdo for a few days. There weather hasn't been cooperating at the Pole and no planes have gotten in or out yet this Spring. I can imagine how those Winter-over people at the Pole who are eager to get home must feel.
It has to warm up to -50C (-58F) in order for the plane to land (yes, that's warming up to NEGATIVE 58F). The LC-30 has landed in much colder conditions, but with the crosswinds and air density, this is the limit they've set. Right now it is -59.9C (-75.1F) with a wind chill of -77.7C (-107.9F)! They are behind schedule getting planes and supplies to the Pole. There are 3 planes to go before mine is scheduled to leave. We are supposed to go on Thur, Oct 26, but my guess is it will be later than that. I heard talk tonight that they've scheduled a smaller plane to try and get in there tomorrow with a small amount of supplies and people. The talk was because of the conditions they are going to have to fly so high that the passengers will need oxygen.
It's beautiful landscape with these ugly, old military buildings plopped in the middle. McMurdo looks like an old mining town. We will keep busy while here helping out for a few hours in the kitchen, get caught up on HR paperwork, and go hiking. It's like camp or college. I'm lucky that I'm housed in a dorm right across the way from the main building where all the computers, offices, and galley is located. It's so close that I don't have to gear all up to get there, I only need the ECW jacket.
I found out that the kitchen staff at Pole gets a shower every other day instead of twice a week! I also found out that a "2-minute shower" means simply no continuous running water for 2 minutes but you can take as long as you want. They just want you to start and stop your shower as you soap up.
I'm going to try and get a blog to post pictures and so you all don't have to read these long emails. Until that happens, go to http://www.usap.gov/ and click on South Pole Station web cam for the latest weather conditions.
Cheers!
Steph

Oct 21, 2006 Saturday
Friends & Family,
It's 11:28am, Sat Oct 21 which makes it about 4:30pm on Friday in Chicago & NoDak.
I landed in Christchurch about an hour ago and am getting settled. All the people are wonderful! I am going to have an amazing group to work with in the galley. There are many more women than I thought. Most of us in this group are all first-timers and are at the Pole. It's very comforting to finally talk to others who have been and are going through the same mental and emotional stuff as I am just to come here! It's wonderful to meet so many people from all over the US and we all have very interesting stories on how we got here. I'm also excited that I'm at the Pole as it's definitely the more interesting and exciting place to be (compared to McMurdo.)
We go and get issued our ECW (extreme cold weather) gear tomorrow and then try to fly to McMurdo Station on Monday, Oct 23. (I say try as it all depends on the weather.)
Just wanted to let everyone know I was safe and very tired.
Cheers!
Steph