| Matthew Staman '92
Storing the Images (and Thoughts of Cold) for Back Home
January 16, 2005 | 12:00
Antarctic Penninsula
We awoke this morning in time to see the passage through the Lemaire Channel. The ship threaded its way through narrow passages, bergs and light pack ice on the way to Paradise Bay. We arrived late morning and crowded into the zodiacs for the trip to shore. We landed at a temporarily unoccupied Argentine scientific station and quickly began a steep climb to the top of a small foothill. From the top of the hill, we had an amazing view of the entire bay. Some of us took a few moments to contemplate the surroundings, storing the images (and thoughts of cold) for back home.
After we finished our time at the top, it was time to head back down the hill - the fast way. A few started sliding down the hill seated, making great use of the snow pants. As more people started sliding the track got faster, and a bit bumpier. Having reached the bottom, we started back up to relive the experience, some of us many times. When we got back to the ship we were tired, WET, and in some cases, a bit sore.
Matthew Staman '92
After 2 Days of Living on a Tilt-a-Whirl
January 13, 2005 | 10:00
Weddell Sea and Gulf of Erebus and Terror
After our first stop on land yesterday, we spent much of last night sailing south through the Antarctic Sound. After 2 days of living on a tilt-a-whirl, the relatively mild rocking motion made for great sleeping. I stopped by the bridge last evening to learn a bit more about the ship and see the iceberg on the radar scope. The officer on watch said that there would be a lot of ice coming toward us out of the Sound, and that our course would be a bit of a slalom.
They say that the best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry, and in the Antarctic this happens a lot. The ship’s crew every night provides a tentative schedule for the next day. By the time we woke up this morning, the plan for the day had changed twice. The course to Devil’s Island was blocked by pack ice. So, we are now heading for Paulet Island, hoping that the wind will be mild enough to allow us to go ashore on the Zodiacs.
The pack ice is an amazing sight. It includes sea ice (frozen sea water) and mammoth ice bergs calved from glaciers. Some of the tabular ice bergs appear almost to be huge frozen tankers or aircraft carriers, and have multiple colors - white, blue and even clear or black. The small ones often have a few penguins hitching a ride along. The wind and water have carved some of the smaller ice chunks into amazing shapes and forms. Identifying shapes is a lot like looking at shapes in clouds.
Matthew Staman '92
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