We are already in an extreme environment, and we are working our way towards being able to enter into an even more remote area. People here want to be as sure as possible that we are well trained to handle the situations that may arise. We also need to be a bit more self-sufficient than folks who stay "in town," so we need to be able to repair our own equipment in the field. In order to be as prepared as possible, we are required to go through many trainings. Some of these trainings include: An outdoor safety lecture, a field training session otherwise known as "Happy Camper School," jiffy drill training, generator/hotsy training, ATV training, a communications briefing, waste management, etc. I will explain a bit about each of these as we go through them.

Today, Maciej and I went to our field-training refresher course. Since Maciej and I have both been through "happy camper school" before, we only needed to take a refresher course. This course lasted 4.5 hours and covered information such as frostbite and hypothermia, safe travel routes, VHF and HF radio use, helicopter safety, setting up tents and making proper anchors for the tents, lighting cook stoves, and sea ice safety. It was a nice review of some of the potential dangers and how to keep us safe!

It is interesting to me that in such an extreme environment, we use the same cook stoves that I use back home on camping trips; a whisperlite! These stoves are simple in function and quite clever. Just about any kind of fuel can be used in these stoves. The gas in camping stoves is in liquid form, but in order for it to burn efficiently, the fuel needs to be in a gaseous state. So, if you look at the stove (see picture below), you will notice a "loop" in the fuel piping. This loop will be heated by the initial "lighting" flame and that hot part of the tubing turns the liquid fuel into a gas state as it gets pushed through the piping.

A Whisperlite fuel stove; notice the "loop" in the fuel line.

Here's how it works: A fuel bottle is attached to the stove and a small amount of fuel is released into the fuel cup that sits under the stove. That fuel in the cup is then lit, causing a yellow flame to burn, thus heating up the loop in the fuel line. When the yellow flame is almost out, the "camper" turns the fuel knob back on which releases more fuel into the tubing. The liquid fuel from the bottle passes through the heated area, turns to gas, and produces a hot and efficient flame to cook on!

The initial flame to heat the fuel tubing. Notice the burning fuel in the cup below the stove.

In between a couple classes, we began gathering our field supplies. McMurdo station has a supply room that is stocked full of equipment and supplies. Each scientist can request to borrow these supplies for their field season. Once the research team gets to the ice, they can "pull" the requested equipment from the shelves. So - we started hunting for supplies!

Maceij inspects some cable.

Maciej checks, and rechecks, the list of needed supplies!

We have lot’s to gather tomorrow!
I always find the doors to the buildings amusing – it’s like walking into a freezer! The doors are always a reminder of just how severe the conditions can be here!

 Freezer door? Nope - just the door to the building!

That's a beefy door!

An Antarctic weather map; notice the purple outline of the continent.

The helo's are trying to take advantage of nice weather. This one is flying out with a sling load!

A busy day!

By the way... I have added a short video clip of the C-17 landing experience in my journal entry from October 16, 2008; check it out if you like!

You can also check out my journals and pictures from previous seasons at:
http://www.ryejrhigh.org/ellwood