quality questions

Here are some questions that have come up a time or two in my e-mails:

Q. Are the vehicle heavy for traction, or because they are just that heavy duty?
A. I believe it’s both. They are both made by the Canadian Foremost Company. The TerraBus and the Deltas are super heavy duty and the tires are floatable. They have to be built rugged enough to withstand Antarctica’s weather and the rocky/muddy/slushy/icy terrain. Actually, one of our Deltas stalled on a hill and rolled backward off the road and backed into a fuel line before I got here, and it still work!

Q. Do you worry about eye damage from extra strong UV light from the sun?
A. We are required to always have sunglasses with us. The UV is pretty strong here and we are all issued a pair of glacier glasses to wear at all times, if possible. It’s kind of strange to walk out of a building at 11pm and have to put on sunglasses! I also have my own glasses with multi-colored lenses for lower light and flat white light conditions. Especially later in the season, they will be helpful in distinguishing where the ruts are in the road. However, they do not filter out all the UV rays that the gear-issue ones do, and when it’s sunny and the snow-glare starts smiling up at me, it’s nice to have some sunglasses that match the intensity of the light!

Q. Do you make use of the chapel?
A. I’ve watched a few sunrets from the warmth of the chapel. They also have some binoculars up in the front window which makes it more enticing to spend an hour, or two, there. Beyond the view, there are a variety of chapel services there; mostly on Sunday. I woke up for the one last Sunday (because church is right during the middle of my day-sleeping). The service wasn’t as bad as I thought. The music is played off a computer, but the pastor is a military chaplain and he did alright.

Q. Have you had problems with your camera when the temps dip?
A. Yes, my camera batteries die quickly. Thankfully, they are rechargeable! I knew that coming down. There are occasionally some function issues, but I don’t know if they are from when I dumped my camera in the river last summer, or from the cold. Regarding the batteries: I try to keep a hand over the battery side of the camera to keep it warm. Another trick I learned was to slap a footwarmer on the bottom of the camera. The foot warmers we have are sticky on the back, so it works great! If I’m out taking pictures, I can usually stretch my battery to work for a day and then swap it out with my other one.