24 November, 1999

Helicopters

John L., Barb and I are scheduled to fly out to Lake Bonney today at 3:30. It's a gorgeous, clear, almost balmy day, so we might have some great views from the helicopter. We're bringing out the last of the gear, as John P. and Jack flew out late yesterday afternoon with the bulk of it. Watch for photos! Where we spend Thanksgiving totally depends on the weather. Our plan has been to go to Lake Hoare for a big gathering of Dry Valley researchers. They've got a camp manager there who's preparing a big meal. We might have to walk there. I've heard it can take seven hours one way!

One I'm in the valleys, it might be hard to download photos because our connection won't be very strong. If you don't see any for a while, they'll be coming eventually. I'll post them the next time I come into McMurdo.

Kathy Welch, Peter Amati and Barb Schultz are heading out to the Dry = Valleys for a quick visit. Peter and Barb are former TEAs who have = returned to Antarctica to work with ASA employees. They are assisting them = in doing outreach with schools. Kathy is a geochemist and manager with the = McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research project.

They'll be flying on one of the smaller helicopters called an "A Star".

One of the flight pad workers came by to haul away their gear. She told = them she'd return to pick them up in the next load.

Now, the LTER team is almost ready to fly. They've got their helmets on = and are watching for their ride out to the helicopter.

This man is readying a tractor to bring gear out to the other helicopter = on the pad.

Helicopters are an effective means of travel in Antarctica. They can = easily get into areas that may be inaccessible to small planes. This green = helicopter is probably one from the Kiwi (New Zealand) fleet, judging from = the uniform of the man standing next to it. You have to be incredibly = careful when approaching a helicopter. You must always come to it from the = front, after the pilot signals you to move forward. The top and back = rotors are all but invisible when they're spinning. Imagine the damage = they could do to someone not paying attention...