Sorry ANSMET fans, but this will be a relatively short and image-free post. The latter is due to the very slow internet connection currently available. My cameras take fairly large image files and I fear that uploading them might take longer than I am willing to wait. (Imagine a skeleton covered in cobwebs sitting in a chair.) One of my cameras allows me to select image quality (and hence file size); I will play with that some tomorrow and see if I can reach a happy compromise and provide you with some stunning images. The former is due to the nature of the work we did today.

Today was a busy, but humdrum, day for the three of us ANSMET folk who are already in McMurdo. We worked hard at pulling gear out of storage, sorting through it, deciding what we need to add, and repacking gear for the field work ahead. Not the kind of exciting stuff you talk to your spouse about over dinner, but necessary work to get the field season underway. We also spent time planning out the sequence of tasks we need to have accomplished by what date in order to be ready to go out to the field on time. Some tasks have long lead times – it takes ten days from when you make your request for skidoo fuel until it is ready to be loaded onto the plane. When dealing with hazardous and environmentally unfriendly cargo, there are a lot of hoops to jump through!

Fortunately, John Schutt has done this many, many times, and Brian Rougeux is already coming up to speed on the process after only a few seasons. Together, they are quite able to plan out the work to get it done as efficiently as possible. This is my first time working this aspect of the ANSMET field season, so other than providing a strong back and another set of hands, I cannot help much. I always knew that John had put in a lot of hard work prior to the main ANSMET team getting to The Ice, but this has been my first peak into what all that entails.

Posted by duck (a.k.a. Dave Mittlefehldt)