13 October, 2004

Yahoo! I'm in Antarctica!

It's 11:45 p.m. on Wednesday. At 10:30 we went out to Hut Point to watch the sun set over the mountains across McMurdo Sound. Thompson students may remember seeing Scott's hut in the video we watched. Hut Point is so named because that's where Scott's hut is. It really looks quite modern and new. We did not go inside, but did see a mummified seal from Scott's day outside the hut.

It has been a long trip getting here, and I will write about that in more detail soon. But right now, being here is just amazing. It was -9 C when we arrived and it's now -14 C. 7C1, check out page 119 in your agendas to find out what that is in Fahrenheit! Believe it or not, that temperature felt really good when we got off the plane. I had expected the plane to be cold, but it wasn't at all. In fact, I got quite warm and the cool air was a refreshing change. Later, when we loaded our bags to take them to the dorm, I actually felt hot! The weather right now is condition 3: the best. In condition 2, people must take extra precautions because of the weather, and in condition 1, people have to stay where they are, for instance in lab, if that's where they happen to be when the really bad weather hits.

So we're very lucky so far. We spoke to a man who was going to study seals and he said that there were none to be seen at all, but within a few days, they are expected to show up and "pup," - have their babies on the ice.

Questions for Thompson students: How would you like living in a place where it was daylight for six months and dark for six months? Which would you prefer? How would you use your time differently than you now do in summer and winter?

1. Arrival on the ice!

2. Ivan the Terra Bus takes us from the airfield to McMurdo Station.

3. THE ICE

4. Sunset at Hut Point

5. Scott's Hut

6. Living history (the hut, not me!)

7. Mummified seal, over 100 years old, at Scott's hut

8. Vince's cross