18 November 2009 Bratina or Bust!

Monday was a VERY long day and found us out at Bratina Island area for almost 12 hours. I had my doubts upon leaving as it was very windy here at McMurdo and was concerned that we'd freeze to death out there! LOL!! OK...exaggerating, but I knew winds like we were having would make for a very cold, long day outside. But, I was thrilled to be going out in a helo and seeing the area from above and was more thrilled that it was relatively calm out there.

The area around Bratina was quite an odd landscape to say the least. I felt like I was on the moon without going to the moon. If I didn't know that we were on the sea ice-and didn't pay attention to the gorgeous surroundings-I'd swear that we were in a stone/dirt quarry back home with frozen ponds tucked between the piles of dirt and stones.

We were unable to deploy SCINI through the holes that were drilled because once through the initial layer of ice and several feet of water, we realized that we were most likely hitting a second layer of ice of probably about 36 feet. There is currently no way for us to drill at that depth, so we decided to pack it in and enjoy the rest of the day. While we were packing it all in, Koru took advantage of the situation and seemed to enjoy himself as well.

And, it allowed the rest of us to explore the bizarre landscape that sits over the Ross Sea.

While an exhausting day, it was a most fascinating and intriguing day that once again left me with my jaw hanging open many times. What a beautiful, breath taking planet! Even when  in a hole up to your head while your team watches and continues to take pictures of left over mawsoni head...and then takes pics of you...struggling to get your bedraggled body out. Amusing, I'm sure

 And, as an aside, we'll be headed to Heald today for our time in the field if the fog lifts, so my journaling will be a bit sparse. We continue to have problems with the Data kit for the Iridium phones here. So, I will probably be phoning journal entries in as I'm able. Take home message?? Do NOT panic if you don't see anything for a few days. I'm fine!!!