September 1, 2008
This is the end…
My wind chapped and sun cracked nose has finally healed. Family barbeques and fresh garden vegetables are helping me pack the 15 lost pounds back onto my frame. The heat of summer continues to remind me of cool nights at Summit Camp.
It took a while for me to ease back into life “in the real world”. The 90 degree difference between Summit Camp, and the heat wave that has engulfed Billings, MT this summer has proved to be the hardest adjustment. With time (and air conditioning) I am learning to cope with the scorching temperatures.
But…let me take a step back…
I arrived at the Billings airport late on the night of July 12th. My wife called me while I was waiting for my baggage at the carrousel to tell me she had to move the car away from...
July 14, 2008 – Monday – Finding my way home
There’s no place like home…
Packing up equipment and long travels have left me weak and worn, but I after 2 nights sleep in a MY BED, I am refreshed once again, and I wanted to take time to fill you in on the trip home!
So, settle in, this is fixin’ to be a short novel instead of a journal entry!!
July 10, 2008
We were scheduled to leave Summit Camp at 7am, we were all ready to go when we heard that the plane was having mechanical problems in Kanger and wasn’t able to leave on time. Finally, several hours later, the Herc arrived to drag us off the ice.
The flight was much more eventful that it should have been! First of all, we tried to take off one time with no success, the snow had already warmed too much. So, we taxied back to Summit so...
July 12, 2008 - Saturday - Homebound
Sorry there has been no communication from me in several days.
I have made it from Summit to Kangerlussuaq to Scotia, NY and now I am finally in the airport in Albany, NY...waiting for the next plane to take me to Minneapolis...then...finally to Billings!
I didn't have internet because I was stayng at the Hotel Umimmak in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland instead of the KISS building (Kangerlussuaq International Science Support operated by the US National Science Foundation) to post updates so I will make a short one now from the airport and tomorrow I will have a FULL update.
I should be home in 7 hours!!! I am getting anxious to see Christi and Danger (my dog) as well as all the friends and family I left behind 6 weeks ago...
July 9, 2008 - Wednesday - Saying my Goodbyes
We have been breaking down and moving equipment for 17 hours!
In 4 hours, I will be up and readying my gear to leave the ice sheet. I would write more, but I am worn to the bone.
Tomorrow afternoon we should arrive in Kangerlussuaq, I will give a full report of our departure and adventures in Kanger at that time...
I can't believe I am actually leaving after 37 days!!! And, I'll be home in 3 more!
Stay Warm!!
July 8, 2008 – Tuesday -Teachers at Summit
The next few journals might be a little shorter than usual. We are feverishly tearing down equipment in order to have everything packed and ready by Wednesday evening.
Today we were lucky enough to welcome several teachers and students from the US, Greenland, and Norway! They flew in early this morning and were immediately rushed out to Sat Camp so we could give them a tour of all the research projects. They will stay here for two nights and will leave with us and our equipment on Thursday.
As we were giving tours at Sat Camp we noticed the Hercules had made a few passes on the skiway and was unable to take off! Apparently the snow was a little too “sticky” to allow for takeoff. So, the Hercules came back...
July 7, 2008 – Monday - Short-timer
As this day comes to a close, I am finding it hard to believe that I will be leaving Summit Camp in 3 days. With the Hercules leaving here early on Thursday, I actually only have 2 full days left! Then, off to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland for two days before hopping flights home on the 12th.
The short amount of time remaining is sure to fly by. Tomorrow morning we are expecting a dozen teachers from Denmark, Greenland and the US as well as a few students! We will spend the morning showing them around the camp and introducing them to our instruments at Sat Camp. At noon, when we have showed them all of our research, we will begin the long process of tearing all of the equipment down and packing it up for the trip home.
On Wednesday, a NASA plane is...
July 6, 2008 – Sunday – Parade Update
Update from yesterday:
While preparing to work on my journal last night, Christine radioed in from Balloon Island to say that the tethersonde winch wasn’t working. The wind had picked up suddenly and the motor couldn’t handle the pull from Nemo on the line. Sadly, it is still not working today. Tomorrow the mechanic, Willow, is going to see if the motor burned up. So, ironically, our $100,000 instrument that is used to measure wind speed has been grounded by…of all things…THE WIND!
When was the last time you went to a Fourth of July Parade when it was 10 deg. F, blowing 10 mph, and snowing sideways? “Last night”, would be my answer!
The parade kicked off at 4:00pm with all the fanfare one would expect at a parade…
With drums (metal...
July 5, 2008 – Saturday - Celebrate Independence Day!
So, there I was, trying to write my journal entry and all the sudden…I hear over the radio, “THE WINCH IS BROKE!…THE WINCH IS BROKE!…NEMO ISN’T COMING BACK IN!”. And, so, I left this computer and tomorrow…
Sorry, flash is not available.
July 4, 2008 – Friday – 4th of July!
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!
I am sure that most of you are out enjoying the sunshine and eating freshly cut vegetables with barbequed meat and watching fireworks light up the night sky. Here at Summit, we are working hard because the weather is finally cooperating (plus, we have no night sky to light up with fireworks). Don’t get too worried though, we have a full day of celebration planned for tomorrow (July 5th). Our parade will kick off around 4:00 in the afternoon, and it will be followed by a BIG barbeque with all the fixins. Myself, Christine (University of Houston) and Neil (British Antarctic Survey) have volunteered to run the barbeque to give the staff a little time to relax!
Although we worked through the day, this...
July 3, 2008 – Thursday – Freshies
If you haven’t yet noticed, I am continually impressed with the food the cooks are able to deliver to us in camp. We have had shrimp curry, lobster tail, filet mignon, Greek gyros…you name it…we’ve had it!
One might wonder how the cooks are able to get such good food to the table in the middle of nowhere. It all starts when the flight schedule is finalized at the beginning of the season. The cooks look at each C-130 cargo flight coming in and have to order enough food to last until the next flight (sometimes it can be a month in between flights). The order goes out to SYSCO in New York; they deliver the food to Stratton Air Force Base in Scotia, NY. The Air National Guard palletizes the food and loads it onto a Herc. The load is taken off the...
July 2, 2008 – Wednesday – Small World
How CRAZY is this…
If you have been following along on this little adventure of mine, you already know that the first ever overland traverse from Thule, Greenland (NW coast) to Summit Camp was completed by four men and two large pieces of machinery about a week ago. If you haven’t been following along you might be interested to know that they left the Greenland coast more than 30 days before they arrived here and they averaged 5 miles per hour! The goal of the traverse was to find a route up here to Summit Camp where supplies could be shuttled from the coast because the cost of flying materials here is proving to be astronomically expensive.
When Kathy, the Summit Camp manager, heard that I was from Billings, MT, she mentioned that there...
July 1, 2008- Monday – Canada Day
HAPPY CANADA DAY….eh…(Sorry that was SO cliché).
We’ve been celebrating Canada Day all day long. We only have one Canadian (Tara from Univ. of Toronto) on the crew so I don’t quite understand how it turned into such a celebration, but I guess it gives us something to rally around.
From Wikipedia:
Canada Day, formerly Dominion Day, is Canada's national day, a federal statutory holiday, celebrated on July 1 annually by Canadians. Canada Day observances take place not only throughout the nation, but also internationally.
Walking on the path to Sat camp, all passersby waved and cheered, “Happy Canada Day!”. For lunch, Will the cook, made a Canadian staple: poutine. Poutine is a pile of French fries smothered with brown gravy and topped with cheese...
June 30, 2008 – Monday - Declination
We were able to get a few hours of work in yesterday and the night crew took over last night until the wind picked up and shut down camp…again. It is hard to explain the incessant wind. You get used to it, but only to a point. If you are walking with your back to the wind it can be a welcome walking aide, if you are walking to the wind…you grit your teeth and hope your clothing and your skin are still intact when you arrive at your destination. I decided to turn the camera onto movie mode and shoot a short clip to share what life is like with our friend (and foe)…the wind.
(Once again…it may take a while to load the video…but if you are patient, you will be transported to an alien world where ice and wind rule and humans beg for mercy at...
June 29, 2008 – Sunday – Fore!
The final round of the Summit Open Golf Challenge was played last night under the nighttime sun. The course proved to be tough for the competitors, with soft snow “sand” traps, bumpy “greens” and a constant breeze that brought the temperature down to -1 F with steady snow dusting the course.
Adverse conditions couldn’t stop the determined Summit Campers who set out at night to build the only 6 hole “Championship” golf course on the Greenland Ice sheet (as far as we know). Each person got a soup can (or 55 gallon oil drum…their choice) to use as the pin for their individually designed “hole”.
When the tournament was finished, a British golfer named Louisa, stood proud as the winner of the Summit Open Golf Challenge!...
July 28, 2008 – Saturday – Emergency at Summit Camp!
The call crackled over the camp radio at two minutes past eight this morning. “We have an unconscious man at the Balloon Barn, it appears he has been struck in the head with a block of falling ice!” called Chris the Medic.
The staff sprung from their breakfast meeting and immediately went into action. Upon arriving at the scene, Ben and Steve assessed the situation and jumped in to administer first aid.
“C-Collar for his neck…check his vitals” Ben barked.
“Careful with his back! Are you alright…can you hear me…do you know your name….” The questioning went on as they checked for signs of injury.
After bracing the victim’s neck and taping his stocking hat to the gaping wound on his head, they...
June 27, 2008 – Friday – Water of Life
Wind, wind, go away…
We spent the day huddled inside Sat Camp, hiding from the wind. We have had sustained 15 – 20 mph winds from the north, so, no blimp flying and very few measurements.
I have had numerous emails about the water situation up here. Questions like, “Where does your drinking water come from”, or “How do you get water for shower”, etc. So, I would like to take this opportunity to explain how we get our water.
It just so happens we are in luck when it comes to fresh water. We are sitting on top of 2 ½ miles of fresh clean ice. In fact, the Greenland Ice sheet is the largest body of ice (solid water) in the Northern Hemisphere! So, all we have to do is turn all that ice and snow into liquid water…right?
Well,...
June 26, 2008 – Thursday – Phase 1 Out
The last plane out for two weeks plucked 20 people from Summit Camp this morning. Most were very eager to get to Kangerlussuaq, where they will stay for two nights before heading back to New York, then off to “Home Sweet Home”!
Barry Lefer and Craig Clements of our small group took off, leaving Christine Haman and I to fend for ourselves.
After the plane roared off the Skiway, those of us who remained went to the Big House for a hot cup of coffee. Then, off to work again.
We are still fighting a 25 mile per hour North wind (wrong direction for good measurements) which means no balloon launches today. I moved helium and nitrogen cylinders (130 lbs each) from the Balloon barn to Sat Camp, a distance of 1km…each way! I...
June 25, 2008 – Wednesday – Danish Parliament
At 7:00am the Hercules buzzed Tent City; right on schedule to deliver its special cargo.
Summit was looking prim and proper. The Big House was vacuumed, the dishes were clean, and the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafted through camp.
As the New York Air National Guard powered down the engines of the C-130, the ground crew opened the hatch to welcome 12 members of Denmark’s Parliament, the press corps, and a few Air Force officers and crew. They were quickly whisked off to camp on snowmobiles and broken up into tour groups.
An hour later each group had raced through the science projects of Sat Camp and the Flux facility, toured Tent City and had fresh rolls in the Big House. Then, as fast as...
June 24, 2008 – Tuesday – Traverse
Ever so slowly they crept into view on the edge of the horizon. They have been making history for 33 days now… at 5 miles per hour…
…Queue dramatic music…
Four men, a “Tucker” snow groomer and a CASE tractor, set out from Thule on the west coast of Greenland, to see if an overland traverse to Summit Camp was possible. Today, as they rumbled slowly into camp, they became the first ever to slink their way across the ice to this remote place.
They carried everything they needed to survive for more than a month: fuel, toilet paper, sleeping quarters, kitchen, and food; all the necessities. A harrowing experience filled with trial and tribulation…and not a single shower!
Everything at Summit Camp has been transported by Air Force...
June 23, 2008 – Monday – Summit Staff
It has been about 20 days since the last Air Force cargo plane flew out of Summit. In the next three days we are expecting three flights! You know what they say, when it rains…it pours! A few of the Summit Camp staffers are leaving us tomorrow on the first flight out and 7 members of the research team are leaving as well.
The Summit staff is a hard working bunch who loves to endure the extreme. Many of them spend the northern hemisphere’s summer working atop the ice sheet in Greenland and then chase the sun south for the southern hemisphere’s summer in Antarctica. They are an eclectic group with diverse talents and are able to sustain a research facility in one of the most extreme environments on Earth. Many of the staff arrived here...
June 22, 2008 – Sunday – Halfway Point
Today marks the midway point of my journey at Summit Camp. I left home on June 1st and will be home July 12th.
Today has been a quiet day around camp. The wind is blowing from the North which means that all of the pollution from the generators is blowing toward Sat Camp where are instruments are located. So, most of the data collected today would be unusable because of contamination. So, most of us are huddled inside working on laptops, crunching data or reading books.
A quick note about the wind; it never stops blowing up here. There are no trees, hills, or structures to slow the wind down. Outside my window at sat camp is a row of flags (and one shirt on a pole!). I was noticing the other day that they are constantly...
June 21, 2008 – Summer Solstice
Happy First Day of SUMMER!
I know what you are thinking; you thought yesterday was the first day of summer. Well, I suppose you are technically right. Usually the summer solstice is on June 21st (today) but because it is a leap year, the actual day was yesterday June 20th at 9:40pm!
Things were busy around here so today is our day to celebrate!
For those of you who don’t want to admit that you don’t know what the summer solstice is, I will attempt to explain. You remember from 9th grade Earth Science that the Earth is tilted on its axis 23.5 degrees. The tilt never changes with respect to the sun, which means that the North Pole is always pointed off into one imaginary spot in space. You also (hopefully) remember that the Earth revolves around the...
June 21, 2008 – Finding Nemo
Let me apologize now. This is a long journal. I don’t know what happened, my fingers just kept typing…sorry. Anyway, for those of you who just look at the pictures (you know who you are), you won’t have to worry about all the words. For those of you who actually read these things, get comfortable. Pull up a cozy chair, start a fire, throw a blanket over your lap and get ready to spend the next few minutes of your life learning about research in the Arctic…
The atmospheric group (our team) has entered our IOP (Intense Operational Period). The wind has calmed down and the conditions are ripe for analyzing the properties of the atmosphere, and this team is well equipped to study the atmosphere.
Our primary tool is the Tethersonde. The...
June 19, 2008 – Game On
This fight had been brewing for weeks. Aggression had been fuelling the fire for way too long. Tonight it all came to a head…it was time for The Summit Camp Summer Soccer Match. The bull dozer leveled the snowy playing field two days ago in anticipation of the big game. The Olde Pirates (all Summit Campers 29 and older) were to take on the Snow Bunnies (19-28 year olds) in a head to head match of high altitude ice soccer.
Old and young began drinking Gatorade early this morning, trying to hydrate for the intense game. The elders barely conversed with young ones as the rift between the two teams grew even wider. After dinner the oil drums were rolled onto the field to act as goals and slowly Summit Campers began to flood the field. One could feel the...
June 18, 2008 – Meet Big House
The Big House gets its name from its relative size compared to the other structures of Summit Camp. It is the hub of the hive, the nerve center, the coffee shop, the dining room, the washroom, the kitchen, the hangout, and refuge from the cold. Without the Big House, Summit camp would lose its identity. With its polar blue color, stilt legs, weather tower and satellite dome, it is the defining structure of camp.
The Big House is buzzing 24 hours a day. As I sit here at 10pm and write this there is a group at one table listening to music quietly playing on the stereo as they ponder the weather and plot tomorrow’s experiments. Three others are hunkered over laptops checking to see if loved ones have sent them an email from home. One intently...
June 17, 2008 – Cloud Cam
Tonight as I write I have Jimmy Buffet piping through my headphones, singing me off to somewhere warm. If I squint at the snow real hard it kind of looks like the ocean and the bamboo poles might be palm trees. Then again…maybe not.
Another great day at Summit Camp is slowly coming to a close. We had nice weather for most of the day and did atmospheric studies through the night last night. During the 6:00am tethersonde launch the tail of the sensor fell off when it was at about 500 meters up in the air! We thought it was gone forever until I spotted something off in the horizon during the 12:00 launch. I decided to gather my XC skis to have a look. Half a mile from Balloon Island I ran into the tail section, sticking straight up out of the snow. I smiled...
June 16, 2008 – House Mouse
Talk about a change of pace. Today I spent the day in sweatpants and fluffy slippers at 65 deg. in the climate controlled Big House. Today was House Mouse day!
Everybody who spends time at Summit Camp signs up for a day to be the House Mouse. Craig Clements and I held the esteemed position today. The House Mouse (or Mice in our case) is responsible for all of the dishes, scrubbing the floors, vacuuming, assisting the cook, etc. One would think that cleaning all day would sound dreadful, but Craig and I were actually pretty excited. It is nice to have a change of pace. Anything new is something to look forward to.
Speaking of looking forward to things, Camp was all abuzz again today because a small "Twin Otter" plane was flying in...
June 15, 2008 – Happy Fathers Day
Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers out there and a special happy father’s day to one dad in particular…my dad!
The wind lashed at my tent throughout the night as the fabric popped and cracked under the strain. When I finally got up the nerves to leave the relative comfort of my tent, I found myself struggling to breathe as the 30 mile/hour winds stole my breath and froze my nostrils.
We haven’t yet received much snow from this weather system but blowing snow has drifted on all of the structures and paths. Walking in this -30 C wind chill presents its own problems. Exposed skin wants to freeze in an instant. Soft drifts of snow require much effort to plow through as ones boots fight to gain traction. But…isn’t this...
June 14, 2008 – Flag Day
The predicted storm found its way nearer to us this morning. Snow has been blowing and drifts building all day. The temperature has remained relatively warm but the wind continues to increase. According to our amateur meteorologist Tony, we should have 35 knot winds by 3:00 am (40 miles per hour). Might have to dig myself out of my tent in the morning!
Because of the weather we haven’t been able to take atmospheric readings. Instead we spent the day looking over data and creating graphs and watching the wind build snow sculptures out the window.
Flag Day? Today was the day of flags. Not for any particular reason, probably just because we had a little down time to take care of the “important” things. I put up a new curtain at my workspace in Sat Camp, a...
June 13, 2008 – Snow Pit Chicks
HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13th!
As I sit here looking out the window of the Sat Camp shack, the clouds are creeping across the horizon toward us. The meteorologist folks in the group have examined many weather models and have concluded that we have a weather system moving our way. Winds could be in the 40 mile per hour range…or they might not. Temps will probably drop…or they might not. Visibility should diminish…or it may not. So, we’ve decided to prepare for the worst even though we don’t really know what will happen. Bonnie and Tony spent the afternoon bracing supplies with straps and moving objects on the ground to a higher location so they won’t become buried. A person takes weather forecasts at home for granted. You can watch the evening news...
June 12, 2008 – Welcome to Balloon Island
I think I am finally settling into the cold tent life. I enjoy the fresh cool air when I crawl into the sleeping bag and as long as everything is covered except my nose, it warms rather quickly. In the morning when I wake, it feels hot! At 7:00am it is about 22 deg F inside my tent, which feels nice and balmy!
The team is starting to settle in. Most of the equipment is up and functioning with some occasional hiccups that need attending. We are doing shift work with the tethersonde (“blimp” on a rope with instruments), so Craig Clements is working through the night and Barry and I will relieve him during the day. We are in “data collection” mode and that is where we should be at this point.
We spent the day getting a special...
June 11, 2008 – Data Processing Day 1
Hard to believe I have been gone for 10 days now. I seems like I just left home!
Today was data processing day. Not much instrument work or setup, just plotting and graphing data, so we huddled inside the warmth of Sat Camp and stared at laptops all day. The data and graphs were needed for a team science meeting at 4:00pm this afternoon. All of the members of the “Halogen” team talked about how their experiments are working and talked about interesting things that people are finding. The Mercury folks on the team (Steve Brooks and Chris Moore) were the most excited as they may have found something previously unobserved: a correlation between Mercury levels above the snow and air temperature!
Because it is data processing day, I...
June 10, 2008 – Live from IPY day
Each morning Barry Lefer and I take turns walking to Sat Camp to fill air canisters for Katrine Gorham’s experiment. She works through the night so we try to help her out so she can get a little sleep in the morning. On my way down I spotted a BIRD! Yeah, a BIRD! I didn’t expect to see any wildlife while at Summit Camp. There were actually two birds and I chased them all around Sat Camp with my camera so I would have proof. I was finally able to snap a few pictures from far off. Because there are two birds, one might assume that they are a breeding pair. However, I am guessing it is two male birds because a female bird would have stopped and asked for directions long before she ended up at Summit Camp! According to those folks who have spend time...
June 9, 2008 – Skiing to Work
Ate a large breakfast this morning so I would have energy for a 10 km (6.2 mile) Cross Country skiing trip to work on a piece of equipment. One of the researchers, Jochen Stutz (UCLA), is studying gasses that escape out of the snow (it is much more technical than that but he will explain his research in a later journal). He does this by shining a specialized light at reflectors (called Retroreflectors) far in the distance. One of the reflectors wasn’t “reflecting” properly so we formed a team to move it to a new location.
Craig Clements has been working hard to get temperature sensors built and put up on the Swiss Tower. Today, he strung his cables and sensors up the 50 meter (165 ft) tower. The sensors will show the difference in temperature between air...
June 8, 2008 – Foggy Sunday
Ahh, Sunday, the day of rest. The Summit Camp staffers get one day off per week, and today was that day. So, it was leftovers for lunch and dinner and the whole camp moved at a little slower pace. Everybody has been working for 16 or more hours per day. Rest was well received.
Fog rolled into camp around noon today. It gave everything an eerie glow and large ice crystals started to collect on instruments, air tubes and slow walkers. All of the pathways to various research projects are lined with bamboo poles and small flags, I now know why. I left Sat Camp for dinner at the Big House and had to follow bamboo poles all the way home! Visibility is very low!
I spent most of the day today working on “Live from IPY”, a webinar...
June 7, 2008 – Meet “Sat Camp”
We spend our days setting up research equipment and analyzing data at a place called Sat Camp (Satellite Camp). It is named because of its distance from the main camp (~1 km or .6 miles) and is located in the “clean air sector” of Summit Camp (which means no gas vehicles allowed…walking is the mode of transport). The clean air sector is downwind (south) from the generators and heavy equipment and offers unaltered air and clean snow for analysis.
Five research teams all work together in this small space as they perform various experiments to help answer questions about the atmosphere and snow. The main focus is to see how sunlight changes the compounds in the snow. This data will be analyzed to help understand pollution, climate, and weather, among other...
June 6, 2008 – First Plane Back to Civilization
Big day today!
Camp rose early as a plane was coming in to take 18 people back to civilization. Many of the people leaving were construction workers who were here to get ready for the science teams to show up. Many of the structures and the power “lines” you will see throughout this journal were constructed by them just for summer research and will be torn down come fall. They worked long hard days in extreme conditions to make our work here possible. Now there are 30 that remain in camp. No planes out until June 23!
Today is the day of balloons! The science techs launched a radiosonde balloon at about 4:00pm. The balloon rises high into the atmosphere and sends back information about atmospheric pressure, temperature, ozone, etc via...
June 5, 2008 – Setup Day 2
First things first: While I was writing this journal at 10:30pm, we looked out the window and saw an amazing sight. It was a “halo” with Sun Dogs (see pic description for more info). Barry Lefer and I ran out to get this picture.
Sleep was a little more abundant last night. I am optimistic that tonight will be even better! I borrowed a sleeping mask (a beauty mask) from Tony Cummings and I think it is going to change my life (at least the amount of sleep I will get)!
It has been another whirlwind day. We got the “sky cam" installed and operational. It takes a picture of the whole sky once every minute. You can then take the pictures and turn them into a time lapse video of how the sky is changing. Pretty cool if you are a science nerd! I hope to...
June 4, 2008 – Setup Day 1
Sleep was all but non-existent last night. It was -17 F when I got in my sleeping bag and the wind was making the tent crackle and creek like an eerie haunted house. It is so bright in the tent that it looks like someone turned on sun tanning lamps inside and there is no way to shut them off. I cinched my -40 degree sleeping bag up tight and pulled my stocking hat down over my eyes. I checked my watch at 5:15am and finally fell asleep a few minutes later! I slept until 9:00 and found it to be the most enjoyable 4 hours of sleep I have ever had!
I arose to a beautiful day atop the ice sheet. The sun was shining (as always!) and there was only a slight breeze. Throughout the day I tried to find some way to compare this weather to something back home in...
June 3, 2008 – Arrival at Summit
WE MADE IT TO THE SUMMIT OF GREENLAND'S ICE SHEET TODAY!
The New York Air National Guard flew picked us up this morning in Kanger and we took to the skies for a 2.5 hour flight to the top of the ice sheet. As we left Kanger and headed north, the ice edge slowly started to emerge in the distance. The place where solid ice meets the solid bedrock of Greenland and the melting ice pours water across the landscape.
We softly landed on the “ski way” (ice runway) at Summit Camp and were greeted by smiles and heavy equipment to unload our gear. Stepping off the plane was like entering a foreign world! Ice and snow as far as the eye could see. No grass, no trees, no critters. The camp has a few buildings, several tents, and many pieces of scientific...
June 2, 2008 – Welcome to Greenland…
Flying today was an experience! We were herded onto a C-130 cargo plane as pieces of “Live Cargo”, at Stratton Air Force Base early this morning. Our gear was piled into large pallets and was carefully loaded into the back. We were all issued ear plugs and a nice cargo net seat!
It was sometimes cold, sometimes warm, and always loud. We were able to get up and crawl through the cargo to look out a few small windows as we watched the terrain morph from rolling hills, to water laced tundra to ocean and finally Greenland appeared; rising out of the ocean as solid rock and ice, towering into jagged peaks. It was BREATHTAKING! Pictures don’t do it justice!
Tonight I will sleep at the K.I.S.S. (Kangerlussuaq International Science Station) facility...
June 1, 2008 – Bon Voyage
I have already logged 2,060 miles and I am only halfway to Summit Camp!
I left Billings, MT this morning at 7:40 and traveled to Denver, CO; then to Chicago, IL; then to Albany, NY. I am now in Schenectady, NY where I met up with the team for introductions and a little grocery shopping.
We leave here for Stratton Air Base in Scotia, NY at 5:00am. We will fly to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland where I will pick my ECW gear (Extreme Cold Weather)!
I will check back in from “Kanger”.
Stay Warm!!
May 29, 2008 - What Am I Forgetting?
I'M LEAVING IN TWO DAYS!!!
I have been packing feverishly for the past few days and there is one reoccurring question: "What am I forgetting?"
I think I've got it all: one case of Orbit gum, cross country skis, pillow, wool socks and a pair of flip flops. Hopefully that is all I need!
The agenda:
June 1: Fly from Billings to Denver to Albany, New York (12 hours of flying!)
June 2: Arrive at Stratton Air Base where the New York Air National Guard (NYANG 109th) is stationed. Fly from Stratton to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland (6 hour flight) aboard a LC-130. -Pick up Extreme Cold Weather Gear in "Kanger" Greenland
June 3: Fly to Summit Camp at the "Summit" of the Greenland Ice sheet aboard a LC-130 equipped with skis for...
March 23, 2008 – Farewell to Fairbanks
I’ve had a little time to recover after the training in Fairbanks and thought I would share a few more sights and sounds from the “Last Frontier”!
During a lunch break, the group went to a nearby Dog Mushing club to watch skiers race behind dogs. At the end of this journal is a “sound byte” of the mass of barking dogs!
On our very last day in Alaska, Cameo, Jeff and I chartered a plane to survey the countryside from above. It was more beautiful and you could imagine. We flew north over the Alyeska Pipeline and the White Mountains. Then we turned southeast and flew over a NASA rocket launch facility and then over the Fort Knox gold mine.
Stay warm!
PS. Don’t forget to listen to the sounds of dozens of Alaska mushing dogs as they...
March 7, 2008 - Fairbanks: Day 7
Here is a little background information:
Where is Greenland?
Greenland is located between the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. It is the largest island in the world and over 80% is covered by ice. The island holds one-quarter of the world's surface ice!
Where is Summit Station?
According to CH2MHILL Polar Resources, the company supplying the expedition equipment, "Summit Station (72.5 N, 35.5 W), a National Science Foundation research platform at the Summit of the Greenland ice sheet, has been in operation since 1988. It has long been a challenge to meet the living needs of a human population at this station located at 72.5o N latitude, at an altitude of 10,600 feet with a mean annual air temperature of -31o C."www.vecopolar.com
Get...
I hung out with reindeer last night...oh...and I slinked deep inside the earth in a permafrost tunnel...oh...and I touched the Great Alaskan Pipeline...
The excitement never ends here in Fairbanks. Yesterday afternoon the PolarTREC folks arranged for us to visit a reindeer research farm. Our guide (the lead researcher) informed us that it was his job to take the joy out of Christmas (jokingly). Reindeer were been domesticated (that means they are like cattle, no longer wild animals) thousands of years ago. They were selectively bred for by early people for their red meat and their warm hides. There continue to be large ranches of reindeer in western Alaska, "Similar to the old wild west as it would have been in Montana with cowboys and rustlers and land wars......
March 3, 2008 - Fairbanks, AK: Day 3
Since my last entry things have been a whirlwind of activity. The team at PolarTREC managed to arrange travel for all 12 2008-09 participants from their hometowns to Fairbanks, Alaska for training.
I left Billings, MT on Saturday March 1 at 6:00 am on Horizon Air. Flying into Seattle I experienced one of the most amazing sights I have ever seen. The stratus clouds stretched as far as the eye could see but they poofed up on the top like a sea of popped corn. It seemed that there were valleys and mountains of clouds stretching off into nowhere. I wish I had a picture, I guess you'll just have to imagine. Arriving at Anchorage, Alaska was a big deal for me as well. It has been a long time dream of mine to go to Alaska and as the mountains pierced...
March 5, 2008 - Fairbanks: Day 5
I cannot believe all of the new technology I am learning to use. I was issued a laptop computer filled with software I didn't know existed, a waterproof digital camera, a voice recorder, etc.
Went to dinner at the Thai House on Monday night, it was amazing! I am in the process of uploading a podcast with some commentary presented at dinner (so be sure to subscribe to the PolarTREC podcasts on iTunes).
After dinner we took in the International Ice Carving Championships. There were ice sculptures, buildings of ice, and teams currently working on more projects. The things they were able to do with ice are unreal!
Last night (Tuesday) we went for a walk in downtown Fairbanks. Jeff Peneston (another PolarTREC teacher) had found a fossil shop earlier in...
Originally written: Feb 16, Saturday
I got the call on the 8th of February. I was chosen to go to Greenland!
Starting in September of '07, Rick Jones, a colleague and mentor, mentioned that I needed to start an application to go on a polar expedition. He had gone to Antarctica in '99 as a teacher researcher to help with core drilling and atmospheric sampling at McMurdo and the South Pole.
I got the application material together with much help from my wonderful wife who proof read everything 2, 3 sometimes 4 times. I had convinced myself several times that I wouldn't be a candidate to be a PolarTREC teacher because of age, experience, etc. but decided that the experience I would gain from the process of applying would be invaluable. Much to my astonishment, I...