February 01, 2011

Seriously Sidetracked

I am still in Antarctica, but not for long. My contract ends in less than a week and soon I'll be on a plane, sailing through the clouds towards New Zealand. My anticipation grows. The first day back is always blissful...rain, grass, flowers, warm air, the beach, good fresh food.

This season on the Ice has seriously sidetracked my blogging, but I should be back on track soon. I have knitted a lot of stuff this summer despite being extremely busy in my job. I pretty much knit during most of my spare time, sometimes thinking that maybe, just maybe I'm an addict. I don't think they have a group for knitaholics.

My job this summer in case you were curious, was supporting a remote field camp on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet called Byrd Surface Camp. I was responsible for making sure all the necessary cargo and supplies were loaded on a plane and sent to the camp. It was stressful at times. But the camp staff were so appreciative of my efforts, it was all worth it. Additionally, I supported two traverses from Byrd Camp to Pine Island Glacier on the coast over on that side of Antartica. This project has the worst acronym ever....PIG. The PIG Traverses carried fuel and supplies to set up a camp next summer so that glaciologists can study that glacier, which is showing signs of rapid change. It is a difficult area to access, with weather that is unpredictable a lot of the time.

Now my time is drawing to a close and my thoughts wander to New Zealand and beyond.

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