Today we got to got out into the field locally and try out our gear. We also got to put into practice our brand new snowmobiling skills that we learned yesterday. We started the day by taking all of our gear to the transits zone and loading it onto sledges, one sledge per two person tent group. After going over the rules of the road, we headed out across the sea ice. We went east about an hour along the southern end of Ross Island, stoping every fifteen minutes or so for sightseeing and status checks. We transitioned from the sea ice to the ice shelf and arrive at our “campsite” into the early afternoon. The first thing we did there was learn how to set up our tents, putting the knot tying sills that we learned yesterday to good use. We then put our gear into our tents and then headed out for more snowmobiling practice on more difficult terrain. After our training was done we climbed Castle Rock for some terrific views. At the end of the day we made our way back to camp and got to enjoy our new homes away from home. The evening’s activities included cooking (not trivial in a tent) and creating this blog entry.

– posted by Devon and Shannon, Dec 6th.