Dogs run free...

Waiting to go to camp

Hello all. I am waiting. Waiting for my clothes to dry. Waiting for the last minute plans to gel. Waiting to go to Beardmore camp. The last will take place on Friday around 09:30 (around 3:30 Thursday morning EST). We will pile onto a C-130 cargo plane for the 500 mile flight to Beardmore Glacier camp. We may be the only party there at the time. The camp is manned by a husband and wife who will do cooking - for themselves. We will have to do our own cooking and the like. We are scheduled to do a recon flight to the Alfie's Elbow locality on the following day (Saturday to us). If that goes well (we find the spot we want to collect), then we will put in a camp there at about 8,900 ft. We will be there for 4-5 days, then drop back to Beardmore camp at about 6,000ft.

Tomorrow (Thursday for us) we may go see Emporer penguins at a research site called the Penguin Ranch. There they have a plastic tube that sticks down into the water below the ice where you can watch the peguins go swimming/flying past. If we can get in, it should be fantastic to watch.

So, off to the laundry room, then up to the room to help Dave put the crampons on our boots. I think we will need them soon.

We are on the ice.

Just a short note to let you all know that we are at McMurdo and all is well. Have had a fine dinner ( a recurring theme as you will see when I get my laptop set up here and can load some posts that have been languishing), had a little stroll around and now thinking of sleep.

We have our in-brief at 9:30 tomorrow morning. Later Tom and I will hike up to Look-out Peak and survey the area. This is a small city , which has about 1300 people in it at the moment. Pictures to follow.

Who are these guys (and gal)?

It occurs to me that not evryone knows the members of the expedition. All Are paleobotanists, save Dave Buchanan who is our expert outdoorsman. He will keep us alive. I did a postodoctoral fellowship with Tom Taylor years ago in Colunbus, Ohio, when Tom was chair of Botany. Josh was just a small boy at the time (1977-78) At that time, Edie was a graduate student in the lab. Tom and Edie, who years later got married, have been great friends ever since. Jeff Osborne was a student with Tom at Ohio after I left. He is now at Truman State University in Missouri. Pablo is at the museum in Argentina (I'll look up the specifics tomorrow). I have not met him, but he is rumored to be a good guy. While we are all friends, or soon will be, I am sure we will be glad to get back into the company of other folks after six weeks.

Tentative Schedule

Here is the tentative schedule for the trip to the ice. The members of the expedition are me, Tom Taylor, Edie Taylor (leader), Jeff Osborne, Pablo Puerta (Argentina), and Dave Buchanan (mountaineer and nurse/PA). Ruben Cuneo from Argentina was to go with us, but he cannot make the trip. Osborne is going in his place.

November
8 - Burlington to Chicago to LA. Leave LA with Tom andd Edie to Aukland, then Christchurch, NZ.
9 - Day lost in travel (international date line).
10 - Arrive in Christchurch
11 - Clothing warehouse to get Extreme Cold Clothing (ECC). 12 - To McMurdo via LC-130 transport. ECC must be worn, not just in hand
13, 14 - Check out radios and the like, label rock boxes, etc.
15 - Sat. morning briefing in Chalet, afternoon in the food room selecting food for the field.
16 - Finish packing all equipment.
17 - All cargo must be in shipping que for transport to Breardmore camp.
18, 19 -- Chuck goes to snow school.
20 - Flight to Beardmore Glacier camp.
21 - Recon and put-in to Collinson Ridge via Twin Otter.
22, 23 -- At Collinson Ridge camping in the cold.
24 - Martha's birthday - Happy Birthday, Martha! Recon and put-in to Alfie's Elbow.
25-27 - At Alfie's Elbow.
28 - Camp pull out via Twin Otter back to Beardmore.
29 - Pack fossils. Rearrange gear for helo work.
30 - More packing and rearranging. Rest.
December
1 - Helos arrive and recon area before going out to collect.
2 - 13 - Day trips or over nighters to Golden Cap, Mt. Ropar, Graphite Peak, Skaar Ridge and Fremow Peak.
14 - Fremow and then move to and close support base.
15 - from here out it is a bit unclear. We will leave Beardmore, spend a couple of days in McMurdo packing boxes and then on 19 or 20 we will leave for Christchurch and return. Should be back Dec. 20 or so.

Of course, one good storm and the whole schedule is going to have to be changed. Not long now!