An Average Day

After days of excellent weather (Condition 3), it began to snow lightly this afternoon. I saw patients today and got to do my first x-rays. Our x-ray technologist doesn't arrive until Main Body (in October) so I had to turn on, warm up, and calibrate the equipment. Then I did the x-rays, processed them in the digital x-ray machine, read the images, submitted them to our consultants in Denver for review and reset the image cartridges for the next use. This was all new stuff to me.

Tomorrow we have a conference call with our medical director. Still plenty cold here. No complaining about the food, though. It is excellent and much better than anticipated.

For Mrs. Shuwarger's fifth grade class: What species of seals can be found in Antarctica? How many can you name? How are they different? Hint: there are at least 4 different varieties. There may be a book in Mrs. Shuwarger's room to help.

Christchurch to the Ice

Got up at 4 am Monday (local time) in Christchurch and was downstairs with all my luggage at 4:20 am. Boarded the shuttle to the CDC and donned my ECW clothing. Checked in all my baggage for the flight and went across the street for breakfast at the Antarctica Center. After breakfast, we watched a briefing on safety, caring for the Antarctic environment, handwashing, and the trip. At about 7 am we went through the x-ray screening of carry on bags and walked through the metal detectors. Everyone set off the metal detectors due to the hardware on our ECW. We had to be individually examined with the wand. We were then shuttled to the military transport section of the airport where a New York Air National Guard C-17 was waiting for us. This is a four jet-engine plane built to carry cargo on palettes. The forward-most palette was a palette of airplane seats. Most of us sat on those. Others sat in webbing seats along the sides. We were given a sack lunch during the boarding process. We wore or carried our ECW. The rest of the plane was filled with palettes containing scientific instruments, replacement parts, and other materials needed both at McMurdo and South Pole stations.

We took off at 8 am for a five hour flight. We landed exactly at 1 pm at Pegasus airstrip. This airstrip is make from compacted snow over ice. Prior to disembarking we had to dress in our complete ECW. We disembarked and it was cold and windy! I was prepared physically but not mentally for the impressive cold. We boarded "Ivan the TerraBus". This vehicle is a large bus on enormous tires. These tires seem larger than the ones on the monster trucks. We rode another 30 minutes to McMurdo Station. We went inside the main building (155) and waited a few minutes before receiving another briefing on, what else, safety, respect for the environment, handwashing, etc. Then the station doctor, Colin Muir, took the dentist and me on a tour of the medical facility. It is small and compact but very functional.

You might be interested in the reason behind the emphasis on handwashing. As Mrs. Shuwarger's fifth grade class at Forest Elementary School can tell you, it is because bacteria and viruses that make us sick are transmitted primarily by way of the hands. We must wash our hands before entering the dining hall, before touching patients, after touching patients, after coughing, sneezing or just because it has been a while since we washed last. This is a closed community and the "Antarctic Crud" can pass quickly through the station if we are not vigilant about handwashing. We even have to sanitize our hands with something like Purell before and after touching community keyboards/mice.

Next, we got keys to our dorm rooms. I went to my room (room 219 in Dorm 209) and checked it out. It was a bit smaller than Meris's freshman dorm room, there is a sink in the room and two lockable wardrobes, a TV (old 21" model), a telephone, small refrigerator, and a shower/commode room shared with the room next door. After retrieving my luggage, I unpacked and found a place for everything purchased in Christchurch. I made my twin bed with the linens they provide. I don't have a roommate right now, but am sure to get one when the rest of the group (called Main Body) flies down in early October.

Then, it was off to dinner. Dinner here is from 5:00 - 7:30 pm. The food was very tasty and there were plenty of choices between entree (meat & vegetarian), salad, breads, vegetables, a wide variety of juices and drinks, and desserts.

The sunset at about 6:15 pm was gorgeous. The air clarity here is unbelievable. Seeing the mountains 70 - 100 miles away is effortless and they seem so close that one is tricked into thinking that they are much closer than they are. Another observation: facial hair on men is much more common here than back home. I think this is partly because of the cold and partly cultural. There are about twice as many men as women on station.

I've got a question for Mrs. Shuwarger's fifth grade class: On what continent can you not find any frogs?

I hit the sack early this first night. The wind howled all night long and it got down to about -25 degrees Celcius with a wind chill temperature of -40 degrees Celcius. I was comfortable in my bed.

I've put together a collection of photos from my last day in Christchurch and the trip down to the ice. Unlike prior photos, I am actually shown in some of these.

Leaving for the Ice

The trip to the Ice is taken in two parts: first is the travel from Denver, CO to Christchurch, NZ; next is the trip from Christchurch to the Ice. I'm covering the former in this posting. We left Raytheon's headquarters in Denver a bit past 12 noon on Thursday, September 4th. The plane left DIA about 5:45 pm (MDT) to LAX. The plane from LAX left about 9 pm (PDT) and arrived in Auckland, NZ shortly after 5 am on Saturday, September 6th. Note the date change.

This is the current date and time for Christchurch, NZ:




The flight from Auckland to Christchurch got us in just before 9 am. A quick shuttle to the hotel where we found our rooms....were not ready. We stored our luggage and went exploring. Got back to the hotel and our rooms were ready. The rooms at Hotel So are very small by any standard, but contain a bed and shower. Right now, that's all I want. Here are some pictures from our travels.

Going Away Party at Benjamin's Restaurant

Briana hosted a fabulous Going Away Party for me at Benjamin's Restaurant in Forest. Guests were greeted by "Chilly McMurdo" the inflatable penguin. Meris wrote on the message board her hopes for a great voyage.



Friends from all over came to see me off in style. There was barbecue chicken, pork, baked beans and cole slaw. Drinks of all kinds flowed. People enjoyed conversation indoors or sun and music outdoors on the deck. A number of cigar aficionados were present.

People enjoyed the late afternoon and early evening weather.

Tim tried to teach a penguin a new vice.

Benjamin's put a penguin with my name on it on their back bar until I return from the ice.

Everybody said they had a great time. There were over seventy people who came to help us celebrate and send me off in style. Many thanks to Briana for organizing and decorating this fabulous party, to Meris for driving in for the weekend, and to all our friends and family who joined us. I can now say that I'm ready to go.

Ready, Set, ...

The green duffel bag is packed with 48 lbs. of clothing and gear. The backpack is loaded with computer, camera, iPod, chargers, cables and Passport. I've double checked the packing list.

One doesn't get too upset if something is forgotten when traveling domestically. Usually it can be replaced at the destination. That does not work for this trip. If it is needed and it was not packed, too bad.

Next stop: Denver, Colorado for two days of training. During that time, the IT department will check my computer for viruses and be sure that I have a functioning anti-viral software installed. I'll update this site with more details as they are known, but as of now my anticipated itinerary is as follows:

• 02 Sep – Lynchburg to Denver
• 03 Sep – Training
  
• 04 Sep – Training in the morning. Depart for airport in afternoon.
  
• 04 Sep – Denver to LA to Auckland to Christchurch. Arrive in the evening of the same day!
• 05 Sep – Report to the CDC to be issued ECW gear
• 06 Sep – Possibly leave for McMurdo Station

According to other writers and official sources, the flight from Christchurch to Antarctica is weather-dependent. If the weather cooperates, we will report to the Antarctica Terminal on a specified date and time. Our bags will be loaded, not to be returned to us until we arrive in Antarctica. We are to wear much of our ECW gear aboard the plane. We will be allowed a small carry on bag. In this bag should be a change of clothes....more on that in a moment.

When the plane is in-flight, the weather at McMurdo will be evaluated. If it remains favorable then we continue on. If by the point-of-no-return the weather has become unfavorable, then the plane "boomerangs" and returns to Christchurch and we deplane with just the small carry on bag mentioned above. We will stay in Christchurch until the weather permits another flight. That's why we need the change of clothes. The process repeats itself until we arrive at McMurdo.

My Going Away Cake

Cheri Bing at Forest Women's Center baked a cake and decorated it with glacial white icing, an igloo, and penguins in honor of my upcoming deployment. Thanks, Cheri!

Deployment Date Moved Up

My original contract had a deployment date of approximately 04 October. I was ready to take off the month of September, get the supplies I need, finalize financial and family details, and wing out of Lynchburg for training toward the end of September. Well, as you can already tell from the title of this post, that plan was changed.

In an email from my medical director, he mentioned getting together with me for dinner when I'm training in Denver on 02 September. That was the first time I had heard that date, but it wasn't to be the last.

After some phone calls, it became apparent last Thursday that 02 September is the day I depart Lynchburg. After a couple of days in Denver, I depart Denver for Christchurch, New Zealand on 05 September. There I will be outfitted with Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) Gear at the Clothing Distribution Center (CDC).



As you might imagine, this kicks me into high gear. My posts between now and deployment may be sparse. I'm out buying polypropylene long underwear and other required items.

Thanks to everyone who wrote with their words of encouragement and support. I hope you follow along with the blog and take a moment of your precious time to leave comments when the mood strikes you.