Sunday 13 March 2011

Catch Up 2: It's not all work, work, work

With the summer build season underway everyone was busy. The 2010 Halley winterer's were busy with their tasks and were handing over the reigns to the 2011 winterer's who were just flinging themselves into their tasks. For me, the science handover from Richard was ongoing as were the daily met tasks. For others like Brett the wintering vehicle mechanic the work volume was consistently high due to the amount of vehicles in action around the base which varied from little ski-do's to the mobile cranes that were required by the Halley VI project. Everyone was in the same boat and with everyone up to their eyes in it it gave no time for the new winterer's to spend some time together and to bond as a team.

2011 started with a couple of days at the seaside for this years Halley winterer's. We didn't go far, after all it was only a wee jaunt down to Creek 3 (about 10 kilometres away).

On our way to Creek 3: Ben, Brett, Jenny and Emma

Once there we were welcomed by some beautiful weather and some beautiful skies.

Crepuscular Rays bursting through the Stratocumulus clouds

The objectives were three fold: Learn some Antarctic field and camp craft from our top Field Assistant's, Ian McNab and Kirk Watson, bring the wintering team together for, what was essentially, the very first time and to have a nice wee break away from the madness at Halley V (a change is as good as a rest etc).

The trip was arranged to bring us up to speed on Antarctic survival equipment and techniques. Instruction was given on camping craft which included erecting the pyramid tents, assembling stoves and generally becoming better acquainted with the camping gear.

Setting up a pyramid tent as demonstrated by Kirk and Ian

The night ended with a barbecue Antarctic style followed by some tall tales and a bit of team bonding.

Jenny demonstrating what an Antarctic barby is really for

The following day was all about traversing the crevasse riddled Antarctic terrain with an introduction to the equipment and techniques utilised if a situation took a turn for the worse. Our field assistants, Ian and Kirk, are an experienced pair so the instruction was both concise and informative.

Traversing the ice. Crevasses are the biggest hidden danger. Luckily Ian can smell them

We will take the skills we learned on our trip to Creek 3 away with us on our winter trip and I am sure that we will take our burgeoning friendships with us well into the future.

With the expedition over it was time to head back to Halley V

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