Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 11/25/2009 - 11:17

Comments From 1st Period Engineering Class Alec Sorensen/Dillon Rak/Kyle Rothschild How is your beard coming? Do you have a heater in your room? How did the plane land in the snow? David Zepeda-Campo/Michael Lindsey Glad to know you are enjoying the trip. How many people can say they have gone to the South Pole? Carlmont misses you. How’s the ice cream coming along? Bertram Su/Ian Supelana Why is the atmosphere at the pole thinner? Is it because of gravity or is it due to the lack of plants? Jose Huerta/Roberto P. Since you are above sea level, and the atmosphere is thin, are you having trouble breathing? Hey Mr. O’ Hara, how’s the weather? I hope you are having a great time. Eric/Andy P. Do you have a heater? Have you seen any penguins? Craig Mason/Mimi Nicholes Have you noticed your chin growing slowly warmer yet? Were the bands playing at the BFC at McMurdo as awesome as PFC? Blake/Sharon/Natalie How long has your beard grown? Has it grown faster or slower? We think that it will grow slower. We hope your body adjusts quickly! Kalvin Hope you’re doing okay. Looks like you’re having a good time! I hope the flight went well. We’re doing well back at Carlmont. I’m glad it’s not -35.6. Hope to hear from you soon. Stay warm. Autumn/Melissa How’s beard coming along? Haha. Oh yea, and was sleeping on the cargo comfortable? What certain scientific activities do the sectors define? Steven You made it! Sounds like your having so far. That plane ride sounds awesome. I look forward to seeing your update.

Katey Shirey

Hi 1st Period Engineering, I'm Ms Shirey a Physics teacher in Arlington, Virginia and I'm going to the South Pole next year.  Mr. Ohaea and I trained together this summer for our trips so while I'm not there right now, I think I can answer one of your questions from home.
 The planes landing at the South Pole do not land on a paved runway, they land on snow and ice.  The planes have skis on their bellies and they use them to land at the South Pole.  You can see the skis and the wheels in Mr. Ohara's pictures of the C-130:
http://www.polartrec.com/gallery/2009/icecube-in-ice-antarctic-telescope... 
 Mr. Ohara is staying in the station itself in a nice dorm room with heat!  He's among the 4,000 people on Antarctica right now, but there's only a few hundered at the South Pole.

Casey OHara

hey first period! things are great down here, good to hear from you!  Thanks Ms. Shirey for answering some of the questions for me, satellite time is very limited and I need to post this quick before we lose our connection.
Beard is a week in (I shaved it clean when I got to the ice...) - got a good scruff going and I'll do the first measurement tomorrow!
Space heaters are NOT ALLOWED! in large part because they use up so much power, which is very critical down here, and also because they pose a big fire hazard. But the station is heated and very comfortable.
There are currently about 250 people at the pole, which is pretty typical for summer. In the winter, only about 50-60 people stick around! so from that maybe you can figure out how many people have been down here, considering there's only been a station here for a few decades.
I will probably try making ice cream this weekend and let you all know!
The atmosphere is thinner than other parts of the planet because of the rotation of the earth... it's hard to explain but it's kind of like putting clay on a pottery wheel, it tries to fling outward, and so it stretches thin at the poles and is thicker at the equator.
Definitely having a hard time breathing - it's easy to get winded. But I took some medicine to help prevent altitude sickness so I'm doing pretty well now!
No penguins - maybe on the way back? or definitely in New Zealand.
The bands were good, but it's tough to beat PFC... The activity room here has a Strat, an SG, some acoustics, a bunch of amps, a drum kit, basses, nice keyboard, and all kinds of other fun stuff.  Maybe I'll take some photos and post them later!
I'll post later about the various sectors - it's pretty interesting the research they're doing down here. OK, gotta post fast before the satellite disappears over the horizon!
Keep reading the journal, and keep posting questions! take care, --Mr. O

Guest

Who's PFC?
-Craig

Casey OHara

some band Blake, Sharon, and Natalie asked about.  I don't think they're as good as PFL though...

Qbert

i hate it here! get me on the next plane home now!!!! jk lol smiley face