Happy New Year!!!

I hope everyone is having a happy New Year. I know I am. The start of a new year always causes one to think about what they did during the previous year and what they wish to accomplish in the next. My New Years celebration was supposed to be themed around having fun with karma. You see, I have a friend who is particularly fussy about her coffee. It's cute and funny and it gives me a chance to overlook my own peculiarities and make fun of hers. Her, and her boyfriend, were to be working the coffee house for New Year's Eve. The coffee house actually serves more wine and liquor than anything else, but it is "The Coffee House" so, one should expect there to be coffee there. Now, especially on a busy night, coffee drinks (specifically espresso) take a long time to make. Add to that the tendency for people to assert their individuality by ordering a complicated coffee drink and I can have some compassion for somebody who may not want to be bothered with making coffee when it is much quicker to pour a glass of wine. But, since my friend tends to be picky I fantasized about the karmic humour that would be had by ordering copious amounts of coffee on New Year's Eve. The couple decided to have a little fun and post faux newspaper articles about how e.coli had been discovered in the coffee machine and that coffee wouldn't be available on NYE, all the reasonable people who are lacking in sticks up their asses thought it was funny. But that one guy in management who, apparently does have a stick up his ass, failed to find the humour and had all the signs removed and had my friends relieved of their duties as coffee house bar tenders. Yes, things have been so mellow this year that stupid shit like this makes major headlines. Unbelievable.

On another note, I have done some reflecting about the past year. Marsha and I have had an absolutely great year. We've travelled 3 continents, surfed in Mexico, visited no less than 3 world-heritage sites, visited ancient ruins, witnessed the beginning of a revolution and been to Antarctica - TWICE! I've skied in 2 countries, toured 13 (or so) western states with my kids and I've just done some amazing things. I am very grateful for the freedom that I have to be able to do all this stuff. Here's to another amazing year!

Destination Gulmarg

I'm calling it the Global ody-ski for world peace, it's a bit of self-aggrandizement surrounding my vacation plans. But, here's the plan: I will depart the ice sometime on or about 14 February and spend a couple of weeks kicking around in New Zealand. I need enough time there to process an Indian Visa. Marsha and I will be together for this leg of the journey. Our plans are pretty open but I want to give surfing another shot and want to tour around a bit with her. I'll leave on March 3rd for the U.S. I'll only be passing through the states very briefly. I'll make a quick stopover in Vegas to see a friend whom I haven't seen in years and am eager to catch up with. From there to Riverton, WY where I'll pick up my skis and my Suburban, drive to Jackson, see the boys and then drive to Denver from where I'll depart for Kashmir on March 8th. My trip will take me from Denver to D.C. to Munich to Delhi where I'll spend a night then on to Srinigar, the capital city of Kashmir. From there, it's land transportation to Gulmarg the site of a single gondola that has a vertical rise of 1330 metres (~4300 vert. feet!) that's a greater vertical rise than anything in North America! The gondola, in its 2nd year of full operations, only sees about 50 skiers/day. To say that I am excited about this trip is a bit understated. Currently, I have a hotel booked there for 2 weeks but my plane ticket is one-way and I have no obligations to be anywhere else. Ahhh...the benefits of being homeless. So, I'm not sure where I'll be going after Kashmir, but Chamonix (in France) is high on my list. Skiing in Transylvania has an appeal due to its low cost, or possibly St. Anton, Zermatt....the list goes on. I'll just follow the snow. When the skiing peters out, I plan on meeting Marsha somewhere in Europe to tour around a bit, especially eastern Europe. From there I plan on flying directly to Buenos Aires and on to Barlioche in Patagonia for some Austral-skiing before returning to work....either back to Antarctica or somewhere else. Anyhow, that's it. I would enjoy seeing you along the way.

Of course, this is all subject to change :)

Have a great day!

Couple of random notes...

Myself and the guys I work with took a trip to Cape Evans a few weeks ago. It was a great trip out of town as well as a good bonding experience. This time, I drove the newest, most reliable piece of equipment, that's the "Elephant Man" on the right. We also took 3 Pisten Bullys and 2 Tucker snow cats. We were out until almost 1 A.M. We saw seals and toured an historic hut that was built in the early 1900's by one of the first expeditions.




Havin' a BLAST. Yesterday, I witnessed the launch of this season's most impressive baloon payload. It's called BLAST - an acronym for Balloon Borne, Large apeture, Submillimeter Telescope. In a nutshell, its job is to detect star-forming regions.

Why come to Antarctica...?

Recently, some observations from friends of mine who were here under the auspices of the National Science Foundation have been causing me to think. The rhetorical question was asked "Why would you be here if you're confined to town?" To answer that, first, nobody is really confined to town. Even the people who work in the dining facility get out every once in a while. The larger answer though, is that we're here for the experience. Just like you are. My experience won't be less rich because I didn't spend time in a field camp. My experience will be richer though because you have.

What I'm trying to get at is that your success depends on my success and I am emotionally invested in your project before you even hit the ice. Do you think your transportation just happens? Do you think your gear just arrives? Do you think your meals magically appear? To do whatever it is that you came here to do, you need transportation, quarters, food, gear and various other stuff. We make it happen. Maybe you haven't noticed, but there isn't an auto parts store nearby. You probably have noticed that the equipment you are driving around in is used. During a great part of the austral summer, it doesn't seem too cold at McMurdo, but try holding onto a hunk of metal that is 30 degrees farenheit. Believe me, it's cold! Knowing that I have overcome adversity, knowing that I have had to make do without fills me with a sense of pride.

Yes, we envy you. We want to get out and experience Antarctica but please don't pity me for not spending my time here exclusively in a field camp. I take a great deal of pride knowing that I, in the face of great adversity, have contributed to the furtherance of human knowledge. Phrases like "I can't do that without parts" have been replaced by "I'll think of another way to do the job". Thanks to the kitchen staff, the housing staff, logistics, fuels, waste, IT, firehouse, cargo, ATO and all the other departments, without whom I couldn't do my job and without whom my entire experience in Antarctica might not be as rich.

May contain peanuts...

So what's up with everyone's food allergies? I made some crack the other day about seeing signs for "gluten-free" this and that and got a very stern response from a bystander about how people have allergies. There are peanut allergies. You can't send latex balloons to school because of latex allergies. I have a cousin who has a soy allergy - damn good thing she's not lactose intolerant as well. I think that the pussification of America may have gone beyond being politically correct and may now encompass every facet of our being. And on that, what's up with workplace "sensitivity" type training. I'm told that if my actions, words or pictures that I view offend someone in my workplace then I must change my behavior. I have three words for someone who finds my stuff offensive: "Deal with it you moronic, worthless piece of spineless trash"

So....everyone who comes to Antarctica signs an offer letter that states their wages. It is also made very clear to anyone wanting to work here that they will be expected to work 54 hours per week. If you can't be happy working for that amount of pay and for those hours, then don't sign up - simple! Also, there was a question asked at today's "all hands meeting" about televisions and why there isn't a television in every dorm room. Seriously, did you come here to watch fucking tv?


I had a bit of an emotional meltdown a few weeks ago. Some tough questions came up, and in the end, I am a better person and know more about myself for confronting those questions. As a result of this I now know that, as I get closer to my 40th birthday, that my big aspiration in life is to be a ski bum. That's it, I'm not going to be the one to cure cancer or solve world hunger or promote world peace. I simply want to ski.

O.K. enough of my drivel. Have a good one!