C-GCKB departs SHG on runway 15 for Mt. Cecily with Team A onboard.

Final full group photo before deployment. It appears James is off pondering the nuances of geology. Ioannis took a video of this photo-taking process and it was hilarious to see afterwards Jim hold that exact pose through several photos including the time in between where I’d run back to reset the timer on the camera. Karnstar is always ready and leading by example!

Happy Thursday!
Team A (Jim, Brian, Barb, Juliane) have been deployed! They boarded on their fifth and final Twin Otter flight (third today), making their way to Mt. Cecily where they’ll spend the next six weeks. We thought they might have needed a sixth flight, but, in addition to being an exceptional Twin Otter pilot, Phil (a fellow Canuck and Nova Scotia native), is also a Tetris master. This came in handy and ultimately freed up the final flight of the evening to get a skidoo and gear out for Team B (John, James, Ioannis, Scott) at Mt. Wisting.
The crew at Shackleton have been amazing – getting us in and out in record time. What down time we did have here we took advantage of as a group by either hiking the skiway/runway after hours or playing cards. On the bright side, if we play cards tonight I’ll finish no lower than fourth. We won’t talk about last night’s epic game of Nert (sp?), a Jim Karner special and most-simply explained as multiplayer solitare. There were many cards from several decks flying around and it was only after the game that they told me it wasn’t like golf in the sense that low score doesn’t win. Barb and I were at a bit of a disadvantage anyway, our T-rex arms were not made for large table card games. It was good fun and a great way to spend the final evening with all eight of us together.
The weather has been fantastic in Shackleton our two days here. With low-to-no wind and the strong sun, it feels almost warm (word is it is warmer than back home right now ). We’ve asked Ioannis to pack some warmth in one of his many fancy Osprey bags. It is all but Canadian law that anyone who heads south in winter has to at least attempt this for the return home. Results are pending.
Tomorrow, if the weather remains fair, we should be able to get most, if not all, of the rest of our gear and supplies into the field. In any case, look for another update tomorrow.
For ease of following each team, Juliane and I have decided to label each post with A or B in the title to help anyone reading follow along with each team more easily.

-Posted by Scott from Shackleton Tent City (population: 38) on 2017-12-14 at 07:30Z (20:30 local).