Bombs Away!

The air drop finally occurred last night!

Yesterday afternoon the entire air drop crew assembled at Cargo for a safety brief – this included the entire Cargo department, plus the seven of us winter-overs that make up the winter air drop team. It was a full house! During the meeting, Paddy briefed us on what to expect, the sequence of events, and what was expected of us. Our C-17 crew, Mike and Scott, also gave us an inside perspective to the air drop – what we would see if we were in the air, and what we should see from the ground. We then waited for the plan to depart from McMurdo, but in the meantime the crew enjoyed a hearty plate of nachos. Those Cargo folks don’t mess around.

Finally, we got word that the plane had left. We departed soon after to make our way to the drop zone. The C-17’s commute from MCM to NPX (McMurdo to South Pole) is much shorter than the C-130. It takes a Herc approximately 3 hours for the transit, but the C-17 accomplished the trip in less than two hours last night. Since we are super-slow in our tracked vehicles on the ground, we must leave at least an hour before the scheduled drop. This gives us half an hour to travel to the site, and then half and hour on the ground to prepare. Once the convoy consisting of the LMC, Pisten Bully, and snowmobiles arrived at the drop zone, our preparations consisted of hanging around, staying warm, playing in the snow, and enjoying the spectacular sun dog show that the blow snow and ice crystals provided.

Finally the plane made it near the station… and then a Twin Otter squeezed in ahead of the C-17 to land. This delayed us by a few minutes. When the Twin Otter was safely on the ground, the C-17 made its first pass. Since they weren’t authorized to actually drop a package in the winter drop zone (on the skiway!), they practiced a fly-by instead. Of course, at this point in the evening, the visibility had dropped significantly. From where we were about two miles from the station, not even the farthest buildings from the station were visible. Our view of the flyby wasn’t great. They came through fast and low to simulate the drop – the pilots were telling us that they would approach the station at about 800 ft, even in the winter without the same visuals. It was quite impressive.

Then it was our turn. We waited for them to turn around and line up on the summer drop zone. And we waited. And waited. How long does it take to turn a plane around? It turns out they had some sort of mechanical issue on the plane that delayed the drop for a while. Finally we heard that they were ‘go’ and were headed our way. Authorization to drop was given from the ground crew, and the drop proceeded. Because of the direction and speed of the wind (it was picking up!), it felt like the plane dropped the packages right on top of us! Really, they were offset a little bit, but it was still quite exciting. They came through at an altitude of approximately 1000ft, opened the back, and slid out 8 pallets at a time. On the first deployment, two parachutes got caught in eachother, so the packages fell connected at a very fast rate. It was quite the explosion of snow when they reached the ground! On the second pass, one pallet’s chute didn’t deploy at all. That was another spectacular finale for that package! Once the packages were dropped at the plane was ‘Winchester’ (nothing left to drop), the C-17 did a few more flybys of the station before departing. Then it was our turn to go to work.

The crew jumped back in our vehicles and proceeded into the drop zone once it was declared safe by the C-17 crew. There were a total of 16 boxes to recover. Last night we only recovered the parachutes. There was no DNF (do not freeze) cargo dropped, so there wasn’t too much emphasis or urgency with the recovery. To recover the chutes, we broke up into teams. First, the chute must be detached from the package. This entails removing a shackle. Then the parachute is ‘cigar-rolled’ to control its huge mass. The parachute lines are bound together and daisy-chained to contain them as well. From there, the whole thing is rolled up and put in a box dragged on a sled for transport. On one of the parachutes Grace and I picked up to take to the box, it unraveled halfway across – I ended up tangled in the parachute and lying in the snow once we arrived. It was hilarious. We also recovered some other items from the drop – the crew sent a large stuffed penguin down with the first package my team recovered (he was later named ‘Winchester’), and we also found a set of ski goggles that one of the C-17 engineers lost by accident. The recovered goggles were sent back with our C-17 ground crew back to their owner.

Recovering the failed parachutes was a little more interesting. On the two that tangled together, the crew had to dig down about four feet to free the parachutes. On the chute that didn’t deploy, the box obviously did some crazy aerobatics and crashed upside-down in the snow. We dug down through the crater to the box, but there was no way we could remove the parachute. Instead, we marked the location for someone to later return with heavy machinery to pull it out. Yikes. All the packages will be recovered this weekend with loads of help – and big bulldozers!

All-in-all, the air drop was a fantastic experience. Not only was it amazing to see the accuracy of the Air Force with their air drops, but it was also important to get a feel for what to expect in the winter if we need an air drop. Winter air drops are strictly used for emergencies, so we really hope we don’t need one. Plus, although yesterday’s drop was a blast, we had perfect conditions. -17 F, sun, and about 17 kts of wind is much different from winter conditions where it will be -80 to -100 F in the dark. Keeping ourselves warm will be difficult, finding the packages will be difficult, and recovering the packages will be difficult. A fun maneuver in the summer is quite dangerous in the winter.

Although its not officially the weekend, it feels like it. With the air drop over, that’s a lot less stress on everyone. Our mass casualty drill was also postponed until next week, taking a large load off my shoulders. We have a busy flight schedule for the next two days, and we need at least 2 hours between flights, since we’ll be on the skiway. Add in the nasty weather that’s bearing down on us, and its not a good time for a drill.

This weekend is going to be fun – tonight there will be a rousing game of paper telephone, quite possibly the most amazing and hilarious game in the world. Tomorrow is Round 2 of James Brown Bingo (a crazy event not to be missed), and then a screening of ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ in the gym – costumes included. I’m excited to wear the wig I brought down. I was told a good wig is an essential item to pack for the South Pole. Good stuff.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

December Happenings

Ahhhh!  Again I slack at the blogging.  I apologize!  Things have been quite busy here since Thanksgiving – the Pole is definitely in the full swing of the summer season!

Things have been good at work – all of our instruments have been running well (knock on wood!), we are starting to receive cargo, and we’re also starting to ship out cargo.  Life is good.  Andy left two weeks ago to spend the holidays at home.  Patrick has replaced him, but leaves next week.  Its been really nice having friends rotate through – not only is it great to see various people, but its also wonderful to pick their brains for useful information.  Over the last few weeks we have also an increase in visitors.  There have been several people who have come out to see what we do at ARO from the station.  Additionally, we have had several groups of distinguished visitors (DV’s) on station.  The US Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa came out to ARO for a tour.  The National Science Board also paid a visit to the Pole, but unfortunately they weren’t able to make it out to see us; instead we brought a mini presentation and clean air samples to them.  Most recently, we had an Air Force C-17 pilot and load master check out ARO.  More on them later…

The weather has been BEAUTIFUL, so we have gotten a lot of work done outside.  Andy and I raised all of the 2-meter meteorology instruments on our tower.  After several years the snow accumulates, burying buildings, towers, and instruments.  Every so often the instruments must be raised to maintain the 2-meter distance off the snow.  Yesterday Patrick and I raised our albedo rack.  This is a T-shaped stand stuck in the snow that holds 3 solar instruments which look at the albedo, or reflectivity, of the snow.  It was easy to raise our instruments on the tower – that only required wrenches.  The albedo rack was a little more fun.  Patrick and I (ok mostly Patrick) dug a huge 8-foot hole in the snow in order to expose the bottom of the rack post.  It was quite the job.  Once we were at the bottom, we were lucky to have Marco and Joselyn assist us in lifting the entire rack.  We shoveled and packed snow under the post until it was at the correct height.  Then we filled it all back in.  This whole project took from about 10:00am to 3:00pm (including a lunch break).  We were blessed with sun and little wind, so working outside was easy.  During the shoveling I stripped down to liner gloves, a hat, and no jacket.  I never thought I would be so hot outside at the South Pole in -20 degree weather!   After all that shoveling yesterday, I’m a little sore!

On this past Monday the Air Force was supposed to conduct two air drops: a winter and a summer drop.  The main differences between the summer and winter drops are the air drop locations, how the packages are dropped, and out of which hatch they are dropped.  In the summer, we send packages grid South of the station, but in the winter we would direct a plane to send the package over the skiway.  The summer drops are routine because the C-17 is able to open its rear cargo bay hatch and send out the packages by gravity on their sliding mechanisms.  This procedure is well-practiced and is fairly easy for the crew.  The winter is a little more complicated.  The hydraulics don’t work well in the temperatures we are talking about here in the dead of winter (-100F), so the cargo bay hatch cannot be opened.  Instead, cargo is physically pushed out of the paratroop door (the door on the side of the plane parachutists jump out) on the side.  There is no gravity assistance, and its COLD!  To matters more interesting, a winter air drop is done in the darkness.  This is not a problem for the C-17 crew – they are used to this stuff!  It’s a little more difficult for us, the crew who has to pick up the crashed cargo.  Last week we had several meetings to discuss how we would run a winter air drop, how we would set up, and how we would recover the cargo.  In preparation for this week’s drop, the air drop crew learned how to light the burn barrels that will illuminate the winter drop zone.  We also planted flags at the surveyed locations which indicate where our burn barrels would be located.  It was a lovely boondoggle in a pisten bully out about 2 miles away from the station. 

Well, Monday rolled around and the air drop was scheduled for 1800 (6:00pm).  During the day the drop was put on delay, then mechanical delay, then indefinite mechanical delay before being cancelled all together.  Today was their next opportunity, but it turns out the C-17 needs a part shipped in from the US and there is no way that part will arrive today.  Tomorrow perhaps?  In the meantime, the C-17 air crew (pilot and load master) who came to assist on our side of the air drop are loving their mini vacation at the South Pole!  They are a great group of guys, and we are very glad to have them!

The ERT team (emergency response team) is in full prep mode this week.  On Friday we are scheduled to have our annual mass casualty drill.  I can’t speak too much about the prospective incident, but I know it will involve a mock plane and several people down.  It is going to be a real test of the system we have set up.  I’m nervous for the event, but I’m also pretty excited for it.  We’ve put in a lot of hours hashing out how we would handle several serious injuries at once, including initial response and transportation, so I’m looking forward to see how everyone handles it.

Other than work and emergencies, I’ve continued to have a lot of fun down here.  The weekend after Thanksgiving there was an Open Mic night at Summercamp.  It seems half the station crammed into the Summercamp lounge to see our fellow Polies show off their musical talents.  And a talented group we are (myself not included!).  I was completely blown away by my co-workers, friends, and peers!  I was very much inspired to continue my goal of learning at least a little of the guitar this winter.  We had extremely talented guitarists, a keyboard player, a banjo player, and a few other types of instruments.  There were soloists and groups that performed.  It was wonderful.  The music ranged from folk to bluegrass, to classic rock, soft rock, you name it.  I had a moment of “Whoa.  Here I am.  In a tent.  Its -40 degrees outside.  I’m listening to awesome music with my friends.  I’m at the South Pole!”  I have those moments every so often where I have to take a step back, assess my situation, and remind myself I’m at the bottom of the world! 

I’ve also kept up with my swing and salsa dancing.  We’ve been learning more and more advanced moves, but we are also gaining attendance during class.  I think a lot of people think dance lessons would be silly or stupid – but that’s until they try it.  I was able to convince several friends to attend a class, and now they are hooked.  Or at least they are having fun and don’t feel so silly.  It was awesome the other night at the Carp Shop party – a rock song was playing (I forget, but something on the hard side of rock), and my buddy and I were able to salsa dance to it – and I think we looked pretty good!  I was impressed with our ability to make the salsa fit into that situation and not completely screw it up.  Dancing is definitely a good skill to have.

Christmas, although it doesn’t feel like it down here, is right around the corner!  Some people have done a little decorating: the galley dish pit is very festive, and Comms went all out on their side of the building!  Its nice that Christmas is on a weekend this year so we can actually celebrate it on a weekend.  Like Thanksgiving, there is a feast and a party.  But before all this happens on Christmas Day, there is the Race Around the World, a race around the station and grounds.  This is a crazy race: you can either walk, run, ski, bike, board, ride, or whatever you can think of.  I am trying to convince the fire fighters to let me ride on their rig for the race.  The fire ‘truck’ is named ‘Elephant Man’, so we’re going to decorate it like an elephant.  I think I know what I’m doing Sunday.  A little sewing, anyone?  I want to make a big trunk to strap to the front!  Plus ears and eyes.  And probably a tail.  Nice!  Christmas, although not at home, is going to be a blast, I think!

Tonight is ARO movie night and we are showing a modern New Zealand classic:  Black Sheep.  This is not the 1996 Chris Farley Black Sheep.  Oh noooo… this is the 2007 zombie sheep flick.  Basically, New Zealand has more sheep than it has people.  Imagine the sheep becoming infected or genetically changed, and craving human flesh.  It is going to be fantastic!  I’m secretly glad the C-17 is still missing parts, so the film can be shown tonight!

That’s about all that is currently going on around here.  We’re free from the Christmas buzz at the South Pole.  There are no radio or tv commercials, no ridiculous holiday displays at stores, and so far no real Christmas music.  I hope you’re all enjoying it back home!