Snowy Adelies . These Penguins are some of the first to return for summer. A snowy blowy day greeted Pete and I while visisting Shirley Island.

There will be a bit of a lull in updates here , as of tommorow at 0830 its off 70 km inland to the Ice runway construction site.
The runway crew is here and ready to go and Im heading up as the mechanic on site. Its going to be busy 3 weeks and I think it will go fast.
Its 7 days a week , up to 12 hours a day work so there wont be a dull moment.
After the last few weeks of brilliant weather , its been blowing snow for the last 2 days. Up at Wilkins its usually 3 times as bad , so I can see a bit of deblizzing ahead of us.
I will update if I come down to station for fuel.
Until then ,Carpe Diem.
Shane

Heli ops in full swing

Well, welcome to summer. The hordes are upon us . We lost 7 winterers and gained 63 summerers !! What a dymanic change. Its so bizzare , after sharing this special place with such a small number , to have helicopters dropping off what seemed to be hundreds of people. I do know they are all internet hogs ,as the server is sooooo slow!! I cant even download a photo of heli operations on to the blog :-( . I will wait until meal time tommorow and do it then.
I got drafted to heli ops again this voyage. We sling loaded 15.7 tonnes of cargo with 3 helo's in two days . That didnt include expeditioners baggage. So it was a busy couple of days.
We were getting sit rep's daily , on the posistion of the ship , so I spent a few days prior to arrival clearing the heli pads of acculated winter snow and setting up the wind-sock , fire extinishers and fuel.
Sling loading is quite a buzz , this heli hovers above your head and we hook up slings to the base and off she goes.
The ship left , and didnt get very far , shes stuck in ice 60nm offshore. Having the helo's on board enables them to do Ice reccies. The helo flys up , and tries to find a crack in the ice , a lead to to speak. It directs the ship to the break in the ice and she trys to ice break its way out of the Peterson ice bank.
Im off to the Wilkins runway again this weekend , so its back into the icy wilderness.
TRy to put more photos on in the AM.

A fine day to remind myself how not to fall off a bike.Im sure this old girl is heritiage listed !! And yes , both wheels are as buckled as they look !! 

These are the Casa 212's that will fill fly from Hobart in Tasmania, to Casey station in Antarctica. They remove all the seats and fit longrange fuel tanks inside the plane .Once this is done , there is only room for the 2 pilots and a pee drum. Its a 12-13 hour flight and they take off overloaded with fuel.Hense perfect weather conditions are needed before flying.

 

With the upcomming influx of summer personal, it was time to put on the crane operators hat again and posistion this ITASE van in place at the end of the Red Shed.We used this van on the sled pictured, for an accomadation module on the various traverse we undertook though out the winter. ( ITASE stands for International Trans Antarctic Scientific Expedition.)

Another mode of transport at the Wilkes. 

The Wilkes Hilton. A great field hut to visit for a few reasons .1. Its just across the bay from station 2. Its huge inside 3. It has a fire place............ The loo with a view!! This thunderbox has a very nice view over Powell Cove , and on out to the ice bank. In the rear of the picture is the Specially Protected Area , Whitney Point.
Our human waste is returned from all field huts in rubbish bags (triple bagged !) and incinerated.We use Talcum powder to nullify the odour.I'll never be able to smell baby powder again with out thinking of a field shitter.
 

Sometimes you just have to slide !!!This is a 70ft high ice bank , witha covering of snow.Great fun

 

Not every one returns from this place . This is a reminder that Antarctica is a dangerous place. These guys passed away at the old Wilkes station . Nowdays its policy to repatriate any deceased back to Australia. 

A night at the Hilton 

Me Pete and Paul , just prior to sliding down an ice bank . Great fun.
We took a weekend off station to the closest field hut , the Wilkes Hilton. Its part of the old Wilkes station that was set up by the Americans . Most of their gear is still here , all covered in ice and destroyed by age.

The final cut is made with these beams towed behind the workhorse that is a Hagglund.

Grooming a skiway. With limited snow I have been dragging these beams up and down a 1.9 km stretch of ice and snow to make a graded strip that 2 Casa 212 planes can land on.

Look at what 5 days of of Mother seals milk will do do a new born pup !!

Check this girl out , She was tired and couldnt quite muster the strength to get out of her hole in the ice. After a few goes , she managed , with much grunting and groaning.

Another berg , this time with evidence of our mode of transport for the day. 

Another new born pup. This Weddel pup was the most active of the 5 we came across. His mother was calling to her pup , and the response was so human sounding I looked around at the other expeditioners that were there to see if they had spoken.  

Spring is here and so are the Weddell pups.A trip along the sea ice provided us with new born pups.

Its heading into summer and we are de-winterizing all our machines. Some have fared better than others over the wild winds and snow storms of winter. This light truck had its rear window smashed by a flying rock during a blizzard and the result is a very full cabin of snow and ice !! 

A stunning day with no wind allowed our slushie for the day to set up Alfresco dining for lunch. It was a pleasing -11.8 with zero wind.The million dollar views made up for the slight chill in the air . 

Nice day to do a bit of rock climbing , and practicing using the Jumars 

Dusk over Odbert Island , Robinson Ridge. 

Some beautiful spring weather has revealed some of our ice lakes. Up a 4m thick , and frozen solid.