29 November, 2001

Today (and tomorrow morning) are taken up with packing and repacking everything that we will need for the two sites on the mountain. First, Fang Camp where we acclimatize. Then we make the final trek with snowmobiles to the Lower Hut. I do not anticipate being able to post another journal entry until we are in place at the hut. I will handwrite them, and submit when I can. I will not be able to answer e-mail for at least three days (beginning tomorrow).

I met two individuals at the survival school that drive a sightseeing tour for people in McMurdo that don't work in field camps. Cooks, janitors, maintenance people, etc. I was invited to go along. I took some pictures, and so I'll leave you with these until we're on the mountain and the research begins in earnest.

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A final view of Erebus on our way home. Up the mountain tomorrw, God willing! _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

Clockwise from top left: 1) Barne Glacier as we approach. 2) A close-up of this magnificent glacier towering over the Ross Ice Shelf 3) Mt. Erebus looms above the low end of the glacier 4) Huge chunks of blue ice litter the ice shelf below the glacier _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

We found this fellow calmly hanging out. It's about midnight. Not seen in this picture are two holes that are available for diving. Without seeing them, it is strange to imagine why this seal is miles from open water, out on the ice. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

The penguin wasn't quite the happy camper that the seal was. We don't know what happened to it. The foot was fascinating. Perfectly adapted for life on a frozen world. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

Many pictures have been taken of the inside of Robert Falcon Scott's hut. I took some too. Everything is as they left it. If you have read the saga of Scott's attempt to reach the South Pole (successful) and return to his hut (unsuccessful) and then enter this place, it is a gripping experience. Clockwise from top left: 1) The main table. There is a famous picture of Scott and his men celebrating his last birthday at this table. My students--find the picture for some legendary "extra credit." 2) Supplies. Note the corked ketchup bottle. 3) A pile of seal blubber. There is no wood in Antarctica, unless you bring it with you. This blubber was used as fuel. It's stacked up like cordwood. 4) A table where scientific research was being carried out. One of the things (in addition to the historical impact) that is difficult to convey regarding this visit was the smell. It still smells a bit like a barn. Scott had experimented with using Siberian ponies to pull his sledges. (It turned out to be a bad idea.) There is also the lingering smell of the blubber, and the smoke that must have pervaded daily life. A fascinating place. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp

This is a gripping little piece of "graffiti" penciled on the inside wall of one of the bunks. It states the crewmember's name, and the loss of life so far. Bleak. _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp