Srinagar

I remained jovial and high spirited during the twelve days of Murphyisms in Gulmarg. By the 13th day, I had had enough and I wanted to get out of Kashmir - out of India and on to something more "normal". The airline had lost my booking for the flight to Srinagar, it was reasonable to think that they had lost the booking for the return as well. My package included two nights lodging in Srinagar, I couldn't imagine wanting to stay more than one, in fact, if the timing had been right, I wouldn't have stayed one night. My feelings of wanting to leave were furthered by being off-loaded at a Kashmiri carpet factory and subjected to high-pressure salesmanship. The Cliff's Notes on India: Everyone is a hustler - A cab driver will tell you your hotel is booked, burned down, closed...whatever to try to convince you to stay at a hotel where he gets commission. At the train station you will be told that the ticket office is closed so that you can be sold high price tickets where someone gets a commission. In this case, our Sr. ski guide was looking for a commission from the sale of a Kashmiri carpet. I had no interest in carpets..what the hell would I do with it? Every second I spent in the carpet factory intensified my disdain for being in India.

To my surprise, the proprietor of the Butts-Clermont house boats on Dal Lake gave me the warmest welcome I have ever received. Mr. Butts is overjoyed to see tourism returning to Kashmir. The houseboats themselves are well known amongst the world's elite. Senators, ambassadors and royalty have stayed there. Even George Harrison has stayed aboard the houseboats.

The Houseboats on Dal Lake

The water heaters are wood-fired, so your shower has to be scheduled.

Wood-fired water heater

One of the men that hangs around the houseboats is Lhasa. Lhasa operates a shikara service and take tourists to the floating market and elsewhere on Dal Lake. He also took me to the phone so I could reserve a plane ticket and to a wood carving studio so I could purchase souvenirs. Lhasa is a wonderful human being.

Lhasa's shikara

on the shikara

In the morning, Tim and I took the shikara ride to the floating market. Due to the time of year, not much was happening, but it was a peaceful ride. When we got back to the houseboat, we were served a delicious breakfast. I packed my bags and realized that I was saddened to leave this tranquil setting. These people did such a wonderful job of putting me at ease I can't imagine why I ever thought Kashmir might be dangerous or sketchy. The kindness and friendliness of the Kashmiri people is wonderful.

A bridge on the lake

A fishing village

paying the rent

A fortnight in Gulmarg, Kashmir

The sheer magnitude of the avalanche which I was looking at validated my earlier fears. Four days earlier I had been skiing where this behemoth had cut its swath of destruction. It's proportions were epic. It appeared to me that the northern 1/3 of the Pir Panjal range had slid. I had arrived in Gulmarg 12 days earlier. I had been ensnared into booking a ski trip to Kashmir by the tag line "Where decent snowfall means it is measured in meters". The Gulmarg gondola also boasts being the world's highest gondola and the world's longest continuous vertical rise. All seemed like good reasons to do something unique.

The Kashmir region of India has only recently seen a return of tourist traffic. Violence has ebbed significantly since a cease-fire in 2003. My impression is that it has come a long way since, in 1999, Bill Clinton called Kashmir the most dangerous place on earth. The resentment of the Kashmiri people towards the occupying Indian army became apparent to me when my guide, Shabeer, corrected an Aussie snowboarder as he issued the customary Kashmiri greeting to some army troops. Shabeer told him "No, no it's namaste...namaste(a Hindi greeting)". There are many competing agendas in the region but currently peace prevails and many of the people I spoke to seem to concur that every tourist rupee spent is a vote for peace.

The airport in Srinagar reminded me of landing at King Fahd airport in Saudi Arabia at the start of Desert Shield. It was definitely a military airfield, commercial air traffic is the lowest priority. Security checks departing from Delhi were exhaustive. I found it peculiar that the more security I face, the less secure I feel. In New Zealand, for example, one hasn't got to take off their shoes to clear security. The outward appearance is almost lackadaisical compared to that in the U.S. But flying in New Zealand I feel unthreatened. From Delhi to Srinagar, however, the checks, searches, re-checks, frisking and hand-searching left me ill at ease.

On the ground in Kashmir, the first thing I noticed were guns and troops. Guns are everywhere. I was overjoyed when a young Kashmiri man greeted me by name and helped me through the bureaucracy of departing the airport and got me to the vehicle that would whisk me the 60Km to Gulmarg. As the vehicle departed the airport a light rain was falling. Further up the road, in Tangmarg, the rain surrendered to the lower temperature and higher altitude and became snow.

Three deep on a scooter on the way down..trying to beat the storm

By the time we reached Gulmarg, it was "bucketing" as the two Aussies who had booked the same package as I said. That was on Sunday. By Monday, nearly a meter of new snow had fallen at the base area. Ironically the windfall snow would prevent it's being skied on, at least from the top of the gondola. There are two reasons for this: One, the avalanche danger would be too high, and two, the snow storm had knocked out the electricity so we adjusted ourselves to the customs of people who don't live by the clock, we waited. When it became apparent that even if the power came back on it would be some time before we would be able to ride the gondola, even to mid-station, we decided to hike Monkey Hill which was the only option available to us under the circumstances. It was a tough hike for me despite the fact that a boot pack was well-established. The altitude of 8800 feet caused my lungs quite a bit of trouble on the relatively short hike. The short ski down made it all worth it. By that afternoon we were finally able to board the gondola for a ride to mid-station. We got three runs in before closing time. The weather at this point was clear and still.

Welcome indeed!

Clear up to my armpits and still snowing. The electricity went out again. By Tuesday morning there was so much snow that the roads to Gulmarg were closed and completely impassable and restoration of electricity was hopeless. Every couple of hours tons of snow would slide down the roofs or the hotel and nearby buildings. These "eave-alanches" appeared that they could be treacherous to any passers-by.

On Wednesday the snow had, at last, stopped falling. At least 2 meters had accumulated at the base area and estimates of nearly 3 meters at the top of the gondola. Even with electricity, and even with western-style avalanche control, it wouldn't be skiable today. The Aussies and I commiserated over a breakfast of eggs with no yellow color to them. Apparently chickens in India don't eat very well. The road was cleared which opened up the option for skiing to Tangmarg and being shuttled back to Gulmarg in a truck. We were happy to be out of the unlit hotel and enjoyed the day thoroughly.

Thursday morning was foggy, but power had been restored. We remained optimistic for an opening of the upper part of the gondola. We yo-yo'ed the lower section about three times, and then, magic happened. The upper section opened. We boarded with all the enthusiasm of....well...of skiers after a snow storm. The view from the top was like looking through a milkshake. Nothing was visible except for whiteness. A lack of visibility coupled with the reality of turning on my avalanche beacon while on an unfamiliar mountain allowed terror to posses me. This was real. I could die doing this, or worse end up paralyzed or something. The sudden, unfamiliar fear in me hampered my skiing. My technique was suddenly like that of a beginner. I couldn't see, I didn't know where the hell I was and, one of my bindings was not working properly. The snow was excellent, but I was not. On our third run, due to a continued lack of visibility, I fell, sideways, off of a 10 foot cornice. I can't recall ever being so scared in my life. I was sliding headfirst, downhill with no idea what was below me; rocks? cliffs? I was terrified! I managed to get my feet under me and arrest my descent. In the effort to get my skis back on, the binding which wasn't working failed to work again at the most critical moment. The ski took off straight down the hill without me. I'm sure that I cursed mildly. One of the Kashmiri guides insisted that I take his skis, he would take my one remaining ski and ski down on it while the other guides searched for my runaway ski. They found it, we all made it down, and I called it a day.

The gondola, in all its glory

Friday and Saturday were perfect blue-sky days. I felt like I had the mountain all to myself. For the most part, I did. There were less than 25 people skiing. Seems like a constant threat of war and the world's most unreliable gondola keep 'em away. We made fresh tracks all day, both days. I have never skied runs like this in my life. This must be what heli-skiing is like. My legs were burning, and at 13,000+ feet, my lungs weren't that happy either, but the smile on my face and the feeling of exhilaration overruled the legs and lungs. It was all worth it. Sunday would prove to be the last of my days on the gondola. Power outages, another three-day snow storm, the brobdingnagian 'lanche and mechanical problems would keep me skiing to Tangmarg or not skiing at all for the remainder of my stay in Gulmarg.

Marble floors and ski boots don't work so well together...introducing the world's first "no fall" restroom

Elsewhere in Kashmir rainfall had caused a mudslide which closed the highway from Jammu to Srinagar. Jammu is where all the food comes from. The closure lasted nearly the entire time I was in Kashmir. The restaurant was already out of mutton the first day I was there. Near the end of my stay, after being told by the hotel staff that there were no eggs, I joked to Tim (one of the Aussies) that we must have eaten all the chickens. That evening, when I ordered a chicken dish...well, you can figure out what I was told. The electricity was out more than it was on. My accomodation was, in essence, a rodent-infested freeze-box and the only thing reliable about the gondola was that it would be closed at 3:15 PM sharp. It was running less than 40% of when it should have been. In addition to the standard skiing hazards and obstacles, Gulmarg has concertina wire, downed electrical wire, rabid dogs and poo-slinging monkeys.

Poo-slinger!

The phones don't work. There is an internet connection, but it relies on electricity and a phone line...oh, and the space bar on the computer is broken. There's just no end to the hilarity that can be found in such an environment. I will always remember Kashmir with great fondness and look forward to returning.

the last few weeks

The last few weeks have been a hoot! Here's a little recap of what we've been up to:
Feb 14:
bad weather delayed our flight out of McMurdo until...I don't remember, it was late. I think we finally arrived at our hotel in Christchurch (CHC) at 4 AM.
2/15:
got up at 7. got a few things ready to mail home, ate breakfast, booked a flight to Wellington. Caught a ride to the post office and picked up mail and shipped stuff home. Wandered around downtown CHC for a while. Went back to the motel, had a power nap. Went to Lytlleton for a beer and a sunset, back to the hotel where we slept very well
2/16:
flew to Wellington. Caught the bus..we were supposed to get off at the train station and catch a cab from there to the Indian embassy...missed our stop...rode the bus back, got off at the train station, hailed a cab asked to go to the embassy and were told by the cabbie that it was just up the hill, so we walked it. Got to the embassy at 1:05 or so..noticed that the sign said open "9:00 - 1:00" I was super bummed, it was Friday and now I would have to wait until Monday...we went up the elevator anyhow only to find a closed door, the feeling of despair only got worse. Marsha went to the door and pushed on it. It opened! Behind the door we saw a little Indian lady behind a cardboard sign that said "Closed", ignoring it, I asked her if I could apply for a visa. She said yes, gave me the application and told me to go eat something, fill it out, and bring it back. I was..uh...the opposite of despair. Later that day, we met George, who we would be staying with while in Wellington. He was a janitor on the ice in 04/05. He has a great place on top of Mount Victoria. We went with him that evening to experience a movie in luxury. We bought the first class seats for "The Last King of Scotland" The chairs were luxurious...that's the way to see a movie!

2/17, 2/18, 2/19 we explored around Wellington. Saw Te Papa (or something) museum..I wasn't in the right frame of mind for museuming, but while we were there, we met Dave, who worked there. He told us about some neat things to do on the north island. He told us about Taupo, Rotorua and the thing he really sold me on was the hot salt water baths near Mount Monganui (sp?), He made these pools sound like an absolute paradise. I was convinced, we were going to go. We spent a fair bit of time in the tourist information center (i-site) looking for something to do. We looked through brochures for a goodly amount of time before deciding on a segway tour. Then we spent more time waiting in line to book it, only to find out that they don't run on mondays..we were opposed to going through the decision making process again so we left with our brochures in hand. One of them was for the wellington cable car. It sounded interesting so we opted to go check it out. We got there and found out that a round trip ticket was only $4.50...we were in! We looked at where the cable car went, but we could only see to the top of a hill about 100 yards away, we waited in anticipation until it finally got to the end of the line. We boarded and then rode to the top of that hill we couldn't see past...and got out. That was it, a 100 yard cable car ride to a botanical garden. We wandered around the garden for a bit. Eventually meeting a toothpaste-sandwich, see god now crazy lady. She told us about the conspiracies that the pharmaceutical companies are involved in. Marsha admired her hat, she swapped hats with Marsha. We made up an excuse to leave and ran the hell away.

2/20
I have been trying to not be so anal about writing down confirmation numbers and things like that. After this day, I'm going back to writing that stuff down. We went to the airport to pick up our rental car. I had rented a car from National, but didn't see their desk. I looked in the phone book to try to figure out where they were. Turns out, they're the same as Europcar...who did have a desk. I walked up to the desk to announce that I was there to pick up my car. They didn't see my name on the list and asked for my confirmation number, which of course, I didn't have. I asked if there were any way I could use there computer to check my email and get it from there. This would be impossible I was told. I asked if there was anywhere in the airport that I could use a computer, again I was told no. I had the number for the company I had used to make the reservation, so I went to the pay phone and called them. They were totally useless and my frustration level skyrocketed. Marsha had been milling about, and somehow found out that there were, indeed, public computers on the second floor. We promptly went upstairs and found them. We also found out that the cards that you need to purchase to be able to use the computers were all sold out. Finally, I left the luggage and Marsha in the airport, caught a bus downtown, checked my email and came back with a confirmation number from,....AVIS..that's right, I had remembered the wrong rental company. Anyhow, we got the car and hit the road. In the town of Featherstown, there is a fell locomotive display, we stopped and checked it out. A fell locomotive uses a second steam piston to drive a horizontally mounted set of wheels that grip a horizontal rail to help pull it up hills. Neat stuff. George told us about an area called the pinnacles, about 2 hours from Wellington, so we went that way hoping to find a quaint place to call home for the night. We were dissapointed. Our map showed a couple of little towns further down the road, so we decided to go have a look around. in the town of Ngawi we saw the most impressive assortment of antique bulldozers.





They use them to put their boats in the water. We tried to find a room at the only "motel" in town, but the people who run it were out so we decided we would backtrack to someplace where we had seen lodging. We stopped by the tractor collection again to take some pictures. While there we talked to a couple who said they'd been at the seal colony. We were intrigued, so we went back to the seal colony.






It was really neat to see seals moving. We found a B & B (more of a homestay) in Featherstown. It was run by an older couple, Judy & Neel, and boasted a "Kiwi style breakfast" They had a cat named georgie. Neel called georgie an asshole, I don't remember why, but it was funny at the time. We got some excellent sleep and woke up to find out that a Kiwi style breakfast is apparently cereal and fruit. I think I know why they can't beat Australia in rugby. Nancies.

2/21
Drove to a town called Patea. It's pronounced like Philadelphia or something...everytime we would tell someone that we had stayed in..well, pronounce it like it looks, and they'd look at us like we were growing a 2nd evil head or something and correct us with..well, Philadelphia. The friggin' Maori alphabet only has about 15 letters and I'm supposed to know how the hell to pronounce everything. Anyhow, Philadelphia has some spectacular black sand beaches and cliffs. The beach was all but deserted. We caught a sunset there. Also, there is an old freezing works, which is Kiwi for meat packing plant. It's huge, but in complete shambles, the story is that the support timbers have been stolen from the buildings so they have all collapsed, but nobody has cleaned the sight up because it has asbestos and would be too costly. Wood thieves are sentenced to lung cancer in New Zealand. I like it! We stayed the night in a camper trailer which Marsha really liked, but I'm not going to be one to say she has bad taste so...the camper was great.

2/22
Long drive through beautiful rainforest on a narrow, winding road. The speed limit in NZ is 100. Everywhere, even on narrow winding roads. We got to Taupo, which sits on a beautiful caldera lake. The clarity of the water in the lake was stunning. We saw Huka Falls which is very beautiful. The water there is turquoise.

2/23 & 24
We went to Rotorua which is part Yellowstone (thermal features) and part South Dakota (tourist attractions). We went sprint car racing, lugeing (alpine slide) and best of all Zorbing (get insided a big ball full of water and roll down hill, kind of like being inside a washing machine) We stayed in a magnificent old hotel with a wonderful view and a kooky lady running it. We also drove to Mount Monganui (remember our 'friend' dave, from the wellington museum) to go to the salt water baths. Turns out, it is some indoor, pay to go thing. My Wyoming readers....think star plunge in Thermopolis. Not what I was expecting, alas it didn't turn out to be a total bust though, we went for a sunset hike up the mountain and a pitch black walk back down. It was quite beautiful.

2/25
Went to Napier with surfing in mind. Surf shops weren't easily accesible so I blew it off. We found a neat old building to stay in. We rented bikes and went for a beachside ride. Marsha had a blast!

2/26

We found out that NZ must not have ordinances preventing the remodeling of a building at 6AM. Ya, really, right across from where we were staying a construction crew started at 6 in the morning with full on sledge hammers and skil saws banging and whirring. Didn't fell like sleeping in anyhow. Drove to Paraparaumu, I think it's pronounced like Philadelphia...I dunno, I give up. On the way there, we made a toilet stop in Dannevirke. They have high tech, singing toilets. It was the craziest thing. You go inside, push a button labled "lock door" and then a voice comes on to say "You have 10 minutes" then some canned music "what the world needs now, is love, sweet love" crazy. So, when you're done, and you push the button to open the door, the toilet flushes. Those crazy Kiwis.

2/27
went to the embassy in wellington, got my visa, dropped off the rental car and got on the interislander ferry for a three hour ride across the cook strait and through the Marlborough sound to Picton. Picked up a car and drove to westport.

2/28 - 3/1
Stayed at the Hairy Lemon in Greymouth, ate Kiwi BBQ...it was cheap and filling, can't say much more for it. Went to Hokitika which is touted as a destination for some reason or another....I couldn't see much appeal. We went to Hokitika Gorge and I did find it appealing. More beautiful turquoise colored water through a gorge with a swinging bridge.







3/2
drove back to CHC
3/3
the day that never ended, after getting on an airplane at 2:30, flying an hour to Aukland, then waiting around till 7:30 then getting on an 11 hour flight to L.A., because of the int'l date line, it's only 10:00 on the morning of the 3rd. There were several int'l flights in at the same time with only one baggage carousel. Pandemonium would be an understatement. This was my reintroduction to being back in the states. After all that, Marsha and I said goodbye and I got on yet another plane to Las Vegas. In Vegas, I visited with my buddy Troy and me his family. He had to go home so I went out. Some guy started flipping me shit about my shaggy beard...calling me Jesus. We struck up a conversation. His name was Dustin and he was in Vegas with his friends Marshall and Ricky celebrating Ricky's 21st birthday. They invited me to hang out with them so I did..until 4 AM when I finally had to get some sleep.

3/4
flew to Riverton, visited with my uncle, cousin and grandmother.
3/5,6
drove to Jackson, saw my kids, skied
3/7
drove to Denver and wrote all this stuff. Man I'm tired. Sorry about the lack of proper grammar/spelling/capitilization, etc. My editor is out for the week. I left alot out, but you're probably tired of reading it anyhow.

Tomorrow I leave for Gulmarg. I'm stoked.

link

this guy has time...I don't...that is all. I'll update before August (maybe)

At the end of the world's longest logistical chain..

...that's a phrase from my resume. In the context that I use it in, it sounds very impressive, but the truth of the matter is, it can also be very comical.

Every year a re-supply vessel brings all the supplies down that will be needed during the next year's science season. Food, construction materials, machinery, parts, science equipment, liquor...basically everything that one can imagine. Due to the beauracracy of getting items down here, it takes approximately two years from the time an item is ordered until it actually gets here. During that two years, the order is heavily scrutinized and tough questions are asked which establish whether the item is actually needed, can the item be substituted, is there already something on station that could be used instead...The idea is a sound one and the procurement process is designed to maximize your tax dollars. Sounds great right? Well...in some cases it isn't great. Someone's job is to ensure there is enough bedding on station to support the approximately 1100 people that the station can hold. This person apparently decided to order new comforters. Through the process of scrutinization, a less expensive alternative was found to the comforters that were ordered, so they were purchased and shipped instead.....so after two years a container full of comforters finally arrived and was promptly put back on the ship to be sent back. Why do you suppose they won't work? Because they are 'dry clean only', and we haven't got any one-hour martinizers.

Napkins were ordered from New Zealand, but they don't fit our USA napkin dispensers

Nasty old mattresses were replaced with new ones, but they were 'single' mattresses and the bed frames on station are 'twin' so they slide around while you're trying to sleep....the comedy of errors goes on an on.

Pics from Pole

The South Pole

South Pole Station

The only way out is north

Since man has been coming to Antarctica, the ultimate destination has always been the south pole. Early explorers endured the most extreme hardships. Some lost everything along the way. They endured frost-bite, unbearably cold temperatures, some of the fiercest winds on the planet. My hardship, the crust on my sandwich was a tad bit hard. I probably won't go down in history books for my efforts in conquering stale sandwiches, but I am at the South Pole. When I first started thinking about coming to Antarctica, I fantasized about getting an opportunity to visit “Pole” as it's called by the locals. It was unreasonable to think that I would get to come my first season, but the opportunity arose this season and I jumped at the chance. I only found out a few days ago that I would be coming, I had to tie up some loose ends before departing McMurdo so I really didn't have too much time to get excited about the whole affair. I first started to feel the excitement the night before I came. I woke at about 3A.M and wasn't able to go back to sleep due to the excitement. The flight down was an uneventful 3 hours on a ski-equipped C-130. On the way down, I took an opportunity to look out the window. I was reminded the vastness of this continent. It's amazing how easy it is to forget about the rest of the continent when you're at McMurdo. The feeling I got when I stepped off the plane at Pole was on of exhilaration. I feel extremely honored and privileged to be in this otherworldly place. I received a very warm welcome from the operations manager here. I spent the rest of the day settling into my room and trying to learn my way around the 60,000 sq. foot elevated station.

I intend on getting some pics posted on the blog over the course of the next few days. Until then, here are some tidbits of information:

The current station was completed during the 2005/2006 austral summer.

Conservation is for real here. All water comes from melting snow, which burns a great deal of fuel (at about $16/gallon by the time it gets here). Only 2 showers, lasting 2 minutes each are allowed.

T-shirt design

I couldn't bear the fact that my life is so empty that my "Happy New Year" post was STILL the most recent post clear up until the middle of January. That is akin to leaving the Christmas lights up until Valentine's day. In light of that, I felt obligated to post something..anything so here it is. In November I designed a T-shirt for my work center. I was pretty proud of my wit. I took orders from the guys at work and placed the order. They turned out really good and I was amazed at the satisfaction derived from seeing something that I had designed being worn by residents of the community. Here are some pics of the design.

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!

Pointless Babbling

After the disaster of the Black Island traverse, I've been kept on a short leash so I haven't got any new adventures to report on but out of an overwhelming feeling of obligation to my readers (mom) I feel the need to write about something so here goes... Tucked in the many nooks and crannies of McMurdo you can find lots of things that you wouldn't normally see outside of a mental institution. For example, insane people, boxes upon boxes of paper products and powdered bleach. I guess they try to save on weight when they ship it down but it's really a drag when washing your whites because there aren't instructions on how to mix it for a non-institutional load of laundry. Such is life here.

Last Saturday I was privileged to attend the annual 70's disco themed party. Marsha commented that it was strange that this is part of our lifestyle. She's right, along with world travel and eating dinner amongst some of the best and brightest that the world has to offer, we go to parties where people put on some sort of wig and dance to awful music. Disco music is something that most of us tried to forget, why are we memoralizing it here? Why not a 70's Lynrd Skynrd party or something? I've also come to accept the fact that guys here, especially those who work at the fire department, love to dress up in drag. Didn't Salman Rushdie or someone say that in a society that hasn't got enough females that the males will assume the role? I dunno...I find it disturbing yet humorous. Here are a couple of pics. A big thanks to Sylvestre Guidi for immortalizing these precious moments.


Marsha gets jiggy!


I can dance if I want to




This guy'll be sorry when his senate campaign is derailed by this picture


Lip service is still being paid to safety here. We've all worked places where that happens, but here's how it works here. In the coffee house, there's a space where they show movies from time to time. Last season this space was lit with Christmas lights. They're just about perfect for when you want to go to the restroom without stepping all over the bodies strewn about. Well, this year they have been removed because they are a fire hazard. I now have to feel my way through a maze of sweaty rednecks (well...only on Dolly Parton marathon days) to get to the restroom because Cletus and Lerlean wrapped three tons of conductive material around a tree that nobody has bothered to water since Halloween and they done burnt up the trailer park one Christmas. Meanwhile, my employer is perfectly o.k. with taking someone with two or three year's worth of experience driving their mother's escort and putting them behind the wheel of a ten ton articulated cargo truck and driving up and down an icy 12% grade all day. I feel safer already.

I have a long-standing philosophy about picking up girls at the gym. I have always felt that women who go to the gym may very well be interested in being picked up but it ain't by any man who's there. However, my mind may have been changed. First, you have to consider what some of these girls wear. A baggy pair of shorts and T-shirt are adequate workout wear but when some girl wears a form fitting tight outfit it becomes difficult to not ogle. Lately, the girls who are lacking the form to have form-fitting clothing seem to be trying to compensate by veiling themselves in a cloud of toxic gas smelling perfume. I guess if my eyes are burning from this haze that emanates from you, I can't possibly be disgusted by your haggard looks. I can't help but wonder if we've received a plane load of Eau du Seahag.

Well, that's about all I have for now. I must excuse myself to go snort some powdered bleach to try to rid my nostrils of this stench.

Will goes blonde...

All waste generated by the United States Antarctic Program must be shipped back to the U.S. 60% of all waste from here gets recycled. Last year 100% of the plastic that was used here was recycled. Personal items and clothing that people bring down and then decide they don't want for whatever reason can be discarded in what is called Skua (named for a scavenger bird that comes here in the summer). I stopped into Skua last week and found a blonde hair dye kit. I was pretty apprehensive but decided to give it a shot. I really like it. What do you think?

Fun at mealtime...

...One of the neater things about the culture at McMurdo is the mealtime conversation. Marsha and myself have been trying to break from our safe routine of sitting with the same people every day. We have been branching out and meeting some new people at mealtime. It has been very rewarding. Today however, we sat with our normal group of people. The conversation was rich in talk of world travel. We compared notes with our friend Holly on travel in Australia. We discussed travel in Europe with the group. It's not every day or in every place that you can have conversations such as that with your co-workers. The conversation took a turn for the worse. Somehow or another we got on the subject of Dan Savage. Dan Savage writes a syndicated sex-advice column. As a reaction to Senator Rick Santorum's condemnation of homosexuality, Mr. Savage challenged his listners to come up with a sex-related definition of the word "santorum" as a satirical form of political protest for the express purpose of "memorializ[ing] the Santorum scandal […] by attaching his name to a sex act that would make his big, white teeth fall out of his big, empty head". I won't print the winning word and definition here, it is certainly not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach nor is it safe for minors. If you insist, you can find it here. Lunch turned out to be a wonderfully fun experience with my friends!

vomit

Life in Antarctica has its ugly side too...the following is a cut 'n paste from an email from the station manager:

Current station policy holds all individuals responsible for their actions with regard to alcohol consumption. This includes those who consume too much alcohol and vomit in the common areas of living quarters. This has occurred on three separate occasions this past week in the second floor men's bathroom [both galley and lounge side] of Building 155. Regrettably, the persons responsible for these actions did not clean up after themselves.

Let me be clear, if you vomit inside of a building, you are responsible for cleaning up after yourself. In the dorm areas, on each floor there are buckets, mops, etc. in the janitor's closet. There is hot water from the sink and cleaning products available to help you with this task.

More importantly, each individual needs to assess their alcohol tolerance and learn to moderate their consumption accordingly. If you are going to consume alcohol, pay attention to factors such as rest, when you last ate, and if you are recovering from a cold or flu. These factors may reduce your body's ability to process the alcohol in your system. If you believe your consumption habits are out of control, their are resources on station to help you.

Please join me in promoting responsible alcohol use. If you make a poor decision, step forward and take responsibility for correcting that decision.

Richard's take on the Black Island traverse

Richard's take on the trip

18,600 pounds of pure joy...

...Properly called a Nodwell. It's a 1982 model of a tracked vehicle manufactured my Canadian Foremost. I am to drive this calamitous contraption 60 miles across the Ross Ice Shelf from McMurdo Station to Black Island Antarctica. I'm a heavy equipment mechanic tasked with repairing the two generators at Black Island that are down. There are other problems with other systems on the station also. Six other people will be going on the traverse (any overland trip here is referred to as a traverse) with me. We are taking a total of four vehicles. Three of them being Pisten Bullys and the fourth being the aforementioned Nodwell. The Nodwell was brought into the United States Antarctic Program back in the days when each piece of equipment had a unique name. The Nodwell's name is T-Rex. Pisten Bully is a German made ski groomer type of vehicle. It's name is a reference to the French/Italian term “piste”. The Pisten Bully is a great vehicle for its intended purpose but that purpose wasn't to transport scientists and equipment across Antarctica. Despite the snow and ice, this place isn't Squaw Valley.











A Pisten Bully

Black Island gets its name because it is mostly snow and ice free. The katabolic winds here are treacherous and Black Island bears the brunt of their force, scrubbing the island clean of any accumulated snow and ice. The plan was to leave on Monday at 7:15 AM. But high winds in the forecast caused a 24 hour delay to our trip. This worked in my favor as I have a great deal of tasking on my plate and really need to get it done. During the delay our manifest increased by three people as a film crew wishes to go along for the ride. On Tuesday I checked my email at 6:15 to see if we were a go. An email outage prevented anyone from being notified so everyone prepared for going. For my part, this involves starting T-Rex which is no small task considering there isn't indoor parking for vehicles. Think about how hard it is to start your car when it's cold outside and multiply that by ten. The temperatures are colder, the wind is fiercer and the equipment is older. I also had to load a few “do not freeze” items on T-Rex and gather my personal belongings for the trip. After the preparation I went to the dining facility for breakfast. It was there that I eventually found out that the traverse was postponed another 24 hours. I wondered how Shackleton, Scott and Amundsen were able to do what the did without the benefit of weather forecasters and email.

By Tuesday evening our manifest had grown by another person. This time a cook and friend of mine from former trips into the Antarctic hinterlands. It was a relief to know that I wouldn't have to rely on boil-in-the-bag type backpacker food. As the day went on, I realized that my luggage for the trip was getting heavier as I kept thinking of items that might be good to have along. As time would soon tell, this was a good thing.

Wednesday morning I received notice that the traverse was a go. I went to the shop, started T-Rex, loaded some last minute items then went to the galley to meet the rest of the traverse crew. We did some last minute planning, gathered the last of the gear that we would need and departed. I feel it necessary to mention at this point that T-Rex is somewhat of an underdog. The traverse leader commented that the machine probably wouldn't make it as far as “KOA” (a shelter about half way between McMurdo and Black Island). When we got to KOA we made a point of radioing back to McMurdo to let everyone know that we had, indeed, made it that far. Very soon after passing KOA we entered what is called the dead zone, so-called because there is no radio communication back to McMurdo from anywhere in the dead zone. It's really pretty ominous. If anything happens while you're there, you're on your own until somebody at McMurdo decides to do something about it. The trip through the dead zone is about an hour long and went by uneventfully. On the other side of it, we promptly checked back in with McMurdo. Soon after our scheduled radio check in, something went horribly awry with T-Rex. I felt something give and heard an atrocious noise from the undercarriage. I brought the machine to a stop and opened my door. Dave, my supervisor and passenger, asked me “What's wrong? Do you smell something hot?”

As I was looking down at the ice, I replied “That thing that I step on to get in and out is gone” The thing that I was referring to was the left side track. It had broken and was laying about 50 feet behind us. “What do we do now?” I thought to myself hopelessly.










Self Laying Track Vehicle Photo: Anthony "Antz" Powell



Dave and I were under great pressure to get this right. It didn't take long for the film crew to get set up and start filming.

The decision making process went into full swing with Dave and myself not wasting any time conferring about what to do or how to do it but rather fiercely attacking the problem at hand. I was able to back T-Rex up mostly straight onto its own track. We used one of the Pisten Bullys to pull the track sideways ever so slightly as I backed T-Rex up. Next, we had to get the other half of the track over top of the drive assembly. We put a few of the grousers over the drive sprocket and engaged the transmission of the machine and it pulled its own track over. That maneuver concluded the easy part. In order to complete the repairs, we would have to come up with material to mend the break and we would need to get enough slack in the track to bolt the two ends together. Fortunately for us, the break had happened in a previous patch. We could simply remove both halves of the patch and use the longer piece to go back in place and bolt less of it to the existing track. T-Rex has an air compressor and I was well equipped to deal with any situation. I got an air impact wrench and an air hose from my tool kit and spent a good bit of time unbolting six track grousers. That done, we only had to figure out how best to re-use the old section of track patch and get slack in the track. The track is tensioned by a cylinder packed with grease. Dave and I are both experienced mechanics. By experienced, I mean that we both know the consequences of removing a fitting that has grease under pressure behind it and neither of us was willing to take a face-full of frozen, pressurized grease. We also had no way of putting grease back in the cylinder once the pressure was off. It was getting late and dark and the decision was made for us to ride in the Pisten Bully back to camp, get some rest and come up with a plan to finish the repairs to T-Rex.

That night, I slept in the bunkhouse at Black Island. The bunkhouse is a building that I would come to know, like many before me, as “the night train”When the wind starts blowing the bunkhouse creaks and sways. The low rumbling and gentle rocking resemble the feeling and sound of being aboard a train. When the winds are calm, the night train is unbearably hot, especially in the top bunk that I was in. When the wind picks up to about 40 knots the temperature drops to comfortable when the wind is harder than that, the bottom bunks are, apparently, unbearably frigid.

After a night of insufficient sleep I woke to the howling of winds in excess of 40 knots. The short 50 yard walk to the main building was grueling. There was no chance of going out to complete the repairs on T-Rex in weather such as this so I opted to work on what I was here for, the generators. The first generator that I worked on proved to be a relatively easy fix. Engine vibration had shaken a wire loose on the starter and I was able to fix it by crimping the wire on tighter. The other generator is a victim of being near the end of the earth's longest logistical chain. Absent proper parts to repair things, equipment gets cobbled together by whatever means available to make them work. This is just a fact of life in Antarctica. Unfortunately when these types of repairs are made they make little, if any, sense to the next person to come along. After a series of such repairs it becomes impossible to make the equipment work like it's supposed to again. In the end, the second generator was not repaired and will have to be completed on another trip.

The next day I woke in a puddle of sweat. A calm night in the night train was indicative of calm winds. Dave and I spent a few hours cleaning snow out of Pisten Bullys and getting two of them started. We needed one to venture back to T-Rex and wanted a second one running in case something happened and we needed help. Due to all of this, we got a late start. We arrived at T-Rex at 12:30 PM and made a decision to return to camp no later than 4:30 so that we wouldn't have to try to find our way back in the dark. The road is marked by bamboo poles that are supposed to have flags on them, but the flags have all been violently ripped off by the high winds. Trying to navigate this route in the dark, under whiteout conditions would be extremely difficult as we would later find out. Soon after we arrived at T-Rex the wind picked up. Ambient temperatures were a brisk -22 F. Wind chills were off the chart. Dave commented “I have been this cold before, but never so quickly”.

We took frequent breaks and kept an eye on one another to avoid cold-weather injuries such as frostbite. The work was painfully slow. Fine motor skills become severely diminished when all one thinks about is how cold they are. Skills are further diminished by the necessity of wearing gloves. Touching frozen metal with bare hands in these temperatures instantly produces a sensation much like a burn. As 4:30 approached and then passed we hadn't accomplished much. By 5:30 we were close enough to having the track back together that it was extremely difficult to quit now, but in the interest of our survival we stopped and headed back to camp. The drive back took twice as long as normal due to the inferior visibility. By the time we returned to camp, our stress levels were elevated and a drink was in order.

Saturday proved to be another calm day. Temperatures were considerably warmer and the wind hadn't blown overnight. Pisten Bullys started with ease and didn't require any shoveling out. We arrived at T-Rex at 9:30 AM and had it back together by 11:00 AM. I drove it back towards camp and parked it about 20 minutes away to avoid driving the fragile track across the abrasive volcanic rock of Black Island. By the time we got back to camp, the wind was starting to pick up. Before this night was up, the winds would peak at 97mph. I slept on the floor of the main building that night as getting to the bunkhouse was impossible due to the high winds.

T-Rex was in need of fuel if we were to drive it home. By noon on Sunday the winds had subsided enough to facilitate taking some fuel to T-Rex. We made two trips with six 5-gallon cans. We filled the machine with fuel and pumped the tensioning cylinder up with grease. After the second trip we crossed our fingers and hoped for all to go well the next day so that we could return to McMurdo.

Monday morning was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. The sky was displaying a magnificent array of colors that are only possible here. The air was silent, crisp and clean. The weather forecast was favorable so the decision was made for seven of us to return to McMurdo in two vehicles. T-Rex and a Pisten Bully. We departed at about 10 AM drove for an uneventful five hours back to McMurdo.

Every moment that I spent on the ice-shelf was pure misery. The constant drone of T-Rex's engine, the bitter cold, the stinging of ice crystals and volcanic pebbles hitting my face, my eyeballs freezing shut, every moment of it was agonizing and grueling. Sharing this with another person formed a bond that can't be formed anywhere else. This is why I am here. This is the Antarctica that I came here to experience. We completed the traverse without help from anyone. We proved to be completely self-sufficient under impossible circumstances. I was able to take great pride in the smallest of victories such as getting a bolt through a hole in T-Rex's track. Such accomplishments are taken for granted in normal circumstances but Antarctica is far from normal and accomplishments here are always grandiose.

Upon my return to McMurdo I took my first shower in six days and was welcomed back by my peers in much the same fashion that celebrities are welcomed. For the second time in less than a month I have returned to McMurdo and felt at home.

Oh..and sometimes just like in the movies, the underdog wins!

Snotsickle: A Self-Portrait

Trip to Black Island...the prep..

So..there's a generator (or three) at Black Island that is in need of repair. I am gearing up to go take care of it. Today, I got to hear someone whine about how they don't get to go because they haven't had happy camper. I'm thinking the guy could have fulfilled the obligations of his contract last year, rather than leaving after six weeks and he could have gotten happy camper then and would be ready to go this year. Also, all these fuckers who complain about not getting to go out can pound sand in their ass. Where are they all at when I'm working on Sunday? Where are they while I'm working past quitting time out in the cold, working through break and eating sack lunch or sometimes not getting lunch at all? Cease the whining boys and take some initiative to do something.

Anyhow, I'll report more on the trip as it progresses