12 January 2009 Survival Training and Final Equipment Installations

Every first year person down here has to go through a survival/emergency training that goes from the very basic things to the more advanced blizzard training.  

First is some classroom time where they introduce you to the equipment: tent, shovel, ice pick, snow saw, emergency rations... Things you'll need in the deep field. The class was a combination of survival training and that for camping in Antarctica. Pretty soon the team was in a "Delta" headed down to the sea ice. This vehicle is huge; even the wheels are almost as tall as a man. From the drop off point it is a hike to the I-hut, or information hut, where the team was briefed on what was coming up. The guide/instructor was quite good with a wealth of information. The training was great and taught a lot.  

Thanks to Isaac for this information from his blog. 

Once the team was at McMurdo Station they had to complete the installations on the aircraft.  The racks were first prepared in the lab at McMurdo Station.  Then they were loaded onto the plane and installed.  Finally, everything had to be checked again before taking off to gather information.  The team took a flight over Byrd GlacierA mass of ice that persists for many years and notably deforms and flows under the influence of gravity..  They flew 100 feet over Byrd GlacierA mass of ice that persists for many years and notably deforms and flows under the influence of gravity. at 200 mph. They needed to fly low in order to get the best radar penetration. The depth of this glacier has never been fully determined.