Christmas Hootenanny

So...To begin...I have pictures but this computer is too slow so I will only discuss what happened as more likely then not some of the pictures may be a little more than revealing. Christmas eve rolls around, and everyone takes off from F6 except Chad and I. We hold down the fort, and instead of actually doing something productive, carve a bunch of bamboo poles and post flags all around camp in case Fryxell camp decides to invade. We succeed at that, and then play darts, baseball darts, more cricket, and then split and I play a ton of guitar till my fingers ache. We were bored at this point where THIS may have come in handy. We open up the fridge and inside we find a huge pork tenderloin. Our mouths start watering and we scrounge for more food. We start unthawing chicken, vegetables, berry turnovers, open boxes of brownie mix, and my god if we are going to be here by ourselves, anything else we can find. It is Christmas eve damnit. Our eyes were obviously much more gratuitous to our stomachs than we had anticipated, so we ended up putting all the food away except for the steak and potatoes I think. It was a very good dinner.

The next day we woke up relaxed and ready for anything including the hike to Lake Hoare for christmas dinner and party. I pack a full 40 pound bag, and then being sympathetic to the LAMENO (Limno) team I hack onto my pack their Paco pad which ways in itself around 20 pounds and is bulky as hell. It begins. We cross the moat on our newly aquired Zodiac boat! It is extremely flat however, but we pump it up and paddle to the ice which has melted about 150 feet away by now. We make a cool anchor out of the ice and strap down the boat then prepare for a VERY bumpy ATV ride which I would have preferred riding in a washing machine to. We make our way to Fryxell camp after breaking through thin ice a couple of times and use their boat and talk for some time to them. It is now off to Canada glacier.

The hike is uphill for the first couple of miles and the hills are nothing more than false summits. The worst of which is the Moon dust that kicks up acting as a scree shoot of tiny tiny marbles making you float backward without you actually acknowledging. From this soft powder, we finally hit the glacier. Chad and I split a Bumper bar (Rasberry white chocolate The best) and I fill up my stomach from the stream water melting from the glacier. Very cold...Now for the glacier push

The glacier has turned into a smorgasbord of dirt, rocks, water, and slush, with no ice to be found. Hyperextension of the knees is very likely if not guaranteed. These potholes that form look like normal ice until you step on them and find that they are the width of a foot and about a foot deep. You lose all momentum, almost break your shin, all the while after realizing that you did not lose a limb, you are about to because your foot is soaked. Now walking across this slushy glacier was slow especially with the pad, but we made it after a lot of trudging and path finding between streams on the glacier. (Pictures are awesome and will be posted later)

Lake Hoare

We make it there and unload our gear and head straight for Rae's leftovers. It is our sole job at Lake Hoare to devour Rae's leftover cooking, and I will tell you we are damn good at what we do. We feast on salmon and capers with red onions, and await dinner. A lot of effort went in to the dinner from the Lake Hoare people (Rae and Sandra) Dinner had about 19 people at it, and was completely blacked out from the sun. The first time I have seen night in months! Candles and lit up gingerbread houses allowed us to see, and with this came amazing ham and alaskan crab legs. Much more food that I can't even begin to describe. After living off of rice and mac and cheese anything sounds awesome, but this was EPIC. And I do now throw around that word loosely. Lots of wine was consumed at dinner and wouldn't you know it, greenland coffees followed. A flaming stream of liquid is poured into your cup and you just enjoy. Time to open gifts.
The presents are all anonymous, except for mine which was wrapped in bubble wrap, then a rock bag, then paper, then more bubble wrap, then wrapping paper, then more bubble wrap, then steel wire, then more paper, then I added a rock for weight, then tied it off with a paper bow, added a ripped t shirt somewhere, lots and lots of duct tape, and to finish it off another steel wire. Awesome. So everybody gets a number and the first person picks a present and unwraps it. The next person can either open up their own present, or steal the previous presents that were opened. These shenanigans continue until all the presents have been opened. I am not going to discuss the details because it is late, but, I had one of Rae's famous hats in my possession and there was only one person after me. They stole another gift which in turn had that person steal some socks, which eventually led to the sock holder to steal my kitted hat. (Damn you Becky Ball!) So I stole a Mexican wrestlers facemask and a bottle of Vodka from the Fryxell group! Turns out they were holding it to give to us afterwards...good to know...So I wore the wrestlers mask throughout the rest of the night and only pictures mark the occasion. The vodka is long gone between 19 people and running outside in the bright light and then dancing inside lake hoare commenced. This lasted well until the sun had reached spots in the sky I had never seen before. Turns out you must either wake up early to see it in these positions, or just stay up late which I think is much easier and more sensible. Fell asleep tired as a dog, and woke up around noon the next day.Good times.

I am now heading back to McMurdo for the first time since I left to resupply and take a shower etc. Annamarie did send me some deodorant out here and soap...but hey that is for people who care. Also I had a toast in my honor to wearing deodorant the other day as I was labeled with my initials SC = Stinky Cheese as a radio call sign...Wonderful... I wanted Sugar Cane. Goodnight!

Lonnge Wayt and Longger Hykes

View from atop our mountains

The Ak Chin of the Onyx river. ie. The beginnings of a river. Look below for higher flow in the same spot.

Multi tasking on Crescent with PFD, flowtracker, and leveling rod...Chad = PRO

Chris in front of the headwaters of Canada stream

Reminds me of CBS...CryptoBioticSoil in Utah

Moss or Algae??? It is everywhere at Canada.

Canada Glacier forming waterfalls, ice islands, and eventually Canada stream

Cathedral spires of the glacier

I believe there is a Porsche outside our Kitchen

safety first with Chad!

Chad in the wudder of the Onyx and Chris stepping and tromping in the back

Porsche in the Wright valley

Onyx River after flow...90 cfs

nobody guages streams bettererer

islands of clouds over the glacier to Marble Point

It has been a while, but I have been quite busy. We have to eventually rebuild one of the controls (dams) for the streams and it is all flowing rather heavy and full of silt. Just the other day at a stream called "Lost Seal" The entire pool behind the dam was actually just filled with sand and overflowing the control. Aside from that it has been pretty exciting and I have gotten to new heights and seen new glaciers and foreign mountains.

Been flying around a lot and driving on thin ice with 6-wheelers. I have broken through a couple of times. But luckily it is only top melt and not straight through to the actual lake...ha

Well I thought I figured out how to load videos on here but then it quit on me. Check out the panorama of the top of the mountain HERE.

Who knows where to go from here

Lister...

The hike up and Chad being that small dot. Ferrar glacier to Ross ice shelf to Ross Island and Erebus/McMurdo follows

kickin it exxstream team style on the apex

Tired before Bumper Bar. Full and energetic 10 seconds later.

Bumper Bars = the fuel of Antarctica. 2nd ingredient = butter!!!

Taylor Glacier again carving its way through the valley and abruptly ending at Bonney lake and Blood falls

Mt. L*I$S%T^E@R

Chad checkin out Taylor Valley

EXXSTREAM TEAM

The last few were from the large hill behind us. It rises 4000 feet although it looks like a small rise from the Earth. We also had to hike about 5 miles to get to the base through "Moon dust" that sucks your feet out and makes walking impossible. Notice Mt. Lister in the background at 13,199ft. Named after a British Royal Society Member who more likely than not, ever made his way to the top, let alone even viewed the mountain. Aside from this disregard for names, it is the most featured mountain I have ever witnessed. Rises straight out of nothing like a volcano, yet possess the knife edges and saddles like a newly glacier carved rock.

Santa Fe stream raging and full of ice HERE
More Santa Fe Shenanigans HERE
More videos maybe later when my computer doesn't suck and turn off on me?

Santa Fe stream workin its way through rock mud and ice

This is supposed to be water rushing out of a hole in the ice

Sad Dismal and Dirty Bonney camp

Rockstar on a fitting Helo Pad

Bonney camp

Our flight out of Bonney

This bag of now WORLD FAMOUS Mrs. D and Me Carmel Corn (TM) was empty approximately 10 minutes after this picture was taken

Paco Pad recovery and Fryxell attack at Dawn

Today was rather exciting. Flow was dismal and wet or I guess I found out that my boots aren't waterproof. We started out by flying from Lake Hoare to Bonney lake to guage Priscu and Lawson streams. After being picked up we checked out Bonney camp and noticed that all of their tents had been destroyed in the winds from the last couple of days. Our pilot noticed that one of their sleeping pads was blown across the lake. They had forgot about it while fixing and retrieving their tents. After a brief discussion on proper sleeping pad storage, and how not to lose a Paco Pad (found on the internet here) we landed to grab the pad and return it to them. Oh what a gale must have blown in and taken us back to our F6 base just in time before we could phone the Limno team to let them know about our confiscation of ill kept material. For those who don't know what a paco pad is, all I can say is that it is a 200 dollar cloud of a camping pad. Imagine a crate of baby penguins being smothered by a pallet of baby geese all topped off by a barrel of baby rabbits. Then jump on top and fall asleep. This does not even come close to painting the picture of how comfortable these pads are. This is not the reason however for our commandeering of the pad. It was the wind.

As far as camp Fryxell across the lake from us is concerned. It is all out war. They have stolen our ATV for the last time. We attack at dawn when the sun is at about where it is all day...And they have our juice boxes and beer that was accidentally delivered there....

Is it Chet Atkins outside? Or just windy and warm?

The last 2 days have seen winds known as the Katabatics. These winds are liquid forces to be joked about. 2 nights ago they started at 3am. I did not sleep until early this morning. All through the night they whistle, howl, then scream. Then more screaming. My tent makers also decided it would be a great idea to put subwoofers on the side of my tent. Some sort of foot wide vent on both sides reverberates in a fashion that resembles shooting a gun in a racquetball court. After I tried my hardest all night to hold my tent down and have it not blow away, the wind slowed down about the time I needed to catch a helicopter. In the Helo we went to the Wright valley, and were traveling 60 knots on the ground, but our wind speed was over 120 knots. After we had flown far enough and determined we could not fly any farther, we turned around and made it back to where we started in less than half the time.

We are now at Lake Hoare for a saturday night dance party on the beach. I forgot to mention that these katabatic winds come from the continent. You would think these winds would be cold. They are however extremely warm due to the friction encountered when wind is traveling at that high of a velocity. The streams are raging, and waterfalls...well falling off of glaciers. The temperature outside right now is around 9 degrees C, Or for those metric deficient that is about 50 degrees F. Hotter than most of the US. Suckers! It reminds me of Wyoming in the late spring or early fall where the winds are as constant as Pi, and warm as a fresh egg. This beach however is radiating enough warmth to run around and get a tan, or sunburn as antarctica is lacking in a thing called an ozone layer.

Also just got a call from some people staying at our camp tonight and said last night one of our tents blew away from the 12 steaks, and at least 30 rocks piled on and tied down to it. Joys of tent building...

Let it flow, Let it flow, Let it Flow!!!

Today or rather tonight marked the beginning of Von Guerrard stream flow! We first hiked to lost seal to guage the stream when we had planned on it being at its highest flow. We got to a giant pool overflowing the control and flowing fast! On our way back after breaking through the ice multiple times on the lake (Near the edges the ice is about 1/2" thick and about a foot deep) we came to a VG that was flowing steady! Right next to my tent I now have a rippling stream to place upon my ears a sweet sound of sleep. Goodnight Irene

Blood Falls. Google it

Lawson emptying into Lake Bonney with the EXSTREAM team

The great flood of 2010 of Lawson creek!

Pancakes above the valley

Lost Seal stream overflowing the control!!! We have flow!

Not a bad night of sleep next to a creek in Antarctica

Canada Stream. The Topaz of the valley

Canada glacier with the EXSTREAM team

Canada glacier with little waterfalls flowing into lake Fryxell

Guaging with PFD's...Silly Government

How do you whip eggs in Antarctica? Chad and Drill...

Rain On My Mind

 

 

What I feel Most of the time

Rain on my mind

Been shrouded in wind since I could remember to listen. So far away, yet something always on the mind. Georgia? Alaska? Utah? Delaware??? Today though is different. There are still dogs running around, but this time they are soaking wet. On a break from life, searching for a tunnel through the ice as old as Jesus, a pitter patter appears. Although at first it goes unnoticed by pent up something being let out on freestanding stalactites of icicles. A bright turquoise lake forms to the stern of the glacier. It is rising! Mass balance would explain the rise, but this topic is,  for once put to the hidden depths of my brain where how to solve a Rubik cube and images of my mouth oral surgeries are stored.

It now takes on a form of a slight drizzle before the bulk of the thunderheads. That is when I notice and apprehend my consciousness and steer my attention towards the melting glacier posing as anything far from ostentatious. Succumbing to the drips was easy. Leaving was not.

I sat for what seemed a lifetime and a good one at that, mesmerized and lulled into a tranquil dream that reminded me of my cousins house in Oregon. Looking out the window, feeling warmth from the house. Again taken by the harshness outside yet yearning again for the brute eye to return. This glacier was only audible to those who wished to listen, and sounded like the drips outside that window after the main force of the storm had passed leaving only remnants who were too slow or small to escape that terminal velocity to fall gently but rhythmically onto little puddles created by its predecessors. It is this dream that fills me with ecstasy and warmth as it is now warm enough to dawn the outer epidermis in all its flesh. This peace is then broken on the way back by the stampeding roar of a stream not flowing an hour prior, rushing with all fury of hell past the gauge box. Stream flow has begun.....

I posted a video here of the glacier, but you have to listen closely to hear the drips and stream.

Mt. Falconer

High hills and ventifacts abound in this wind scarred land. Scree on permafrost holds like ball bearings on a glass window. Mt. Falconer is a mid rising giant littered with globular rocks. These melting, oozing, dripping rocks make me wonder if God enjoys fungi of the psilocybin variety, or had bad mexican food the night before.

Icy sand island on Fryxell

The approach

Cave #1887

ventifacts on the side of falconer

looking up at the sun

Cobra Ventifact!!!!

Some Scale

Weather moving in. No lightning however in Antarctica!

Looking West upvalley at Canada glacier

East Fryxell lake with our camp F6 at the bottom of the middle left stream

West Fryxell and Canada glacier

The "Falcon" or chicken as it actually appears.

Some prehistoric bird also known as DRAGON

Leaving the dragons lair

Gods nightmare

My nightmare...the descent...

The Descent from the safe bottom...

Falconer the high point in the middle