changing conditions

Saturday night I came to work and, as usual. Our Shuttles Department was planning a trip out to the hut at Cape Evans. It had already been rescheduled, and when I showed up for my shift, the trip had been canceled due to weather. So, instead, I had to work my shift and we had 2 hours of runs out to the Ice Runway and back into town before our long quiet Saturday night. Before I even got to make my first drive out to the runway, a Condition 2 snowstorm was called for the Ice Runway. Before we can move to a Condition 2 location, we are required to follow a radio checkout procedure that goes something like this:

"Firehouse, this Ice Shuttle Andrea, Van 210, heading out to the Ice Runway. Driver name is Rip, 1 soul on board, point of contact is Shuttle Ops at 2264, and ETA to Ice Town is 17:40."

This weather advisory seemed rather ridiculous in town because McMurdo is situated between a couple of hills which act as a wind shield of sorts and we have been Condition 3 the entire season so far. But, after the procedures, the first picture is what I saw driving on the Ice Runway Road. If you click on the image, you might be able to see a couple of flags which indicate where the road is. Visibility was extremely poor and in a land of white, I can understand how easily a person can become disoriented. Thankfully, I had the flags to follow.

Out at Ice Town, conditions remained blustery. The second picture is of the Ice Runway Tower. A few folks from cargo worked through this weather and storm. They still have pallets and cargo to move around for the next flight day. The treks back and forth were quite exciting. And, on my last run, the Kiwi Cargo folks in front of me stopped for a seal pup wandering along the road.

After we finished those shuttle runs, Michael and I had about 7 hours of our Saturday night shift to find something to do. This is the only shift during the week where only two people are covering the office. We were given permission for an extra-long lunch break and when we came back to the office, we watched a movie without a single interuption. I also worked on getting some letters ready to mail (I just can't sit and watch a movie without something else in my hands)! After that storm things significantly slowed down overnight!

And, my shift will be changing conditions as well. I will be heading into a 05:30 to 17:30 shift. As of Thursday, I have 4 days to transition to days, and celebrate Thanksgiving. Incidentally, Thanksgiving is celebrated here on Saturday and the station takes a two day weekend. I also hope to run the Turkey Trot on Saturday morning. I'll let you know how that goes!