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 Here is a BIG BEAR HUG to all my friends back in Denver!- Sandy Singer Click to go to Sandy's Air Plane Ride |
This is a picture of me at the pole with the dome
in the background. It is very sunny and hovering at about -42 degrees F. With
all the clothes that we're issued it really isn't that bad. It's common to go from
building to building with no coat. You just do it. Actually I have felt colder
back in Wisconsin!
The food is very good here, the cooks are quite creative and work very hard. For
instance last night we had fresh salad, seafood bisque with shrimp, scallops and lobster,
baked potatoes, venison chili, homemade bread, pasta salad, fresh fruit and three kinds of
dessert!
The station is housing about 160 people at this time and everyone
is real friendly. The station will be closing for the season on Feb. 12th. At that time
only 25 people will remain to "winter over" and maintain the facility. It will
stay light until about mid April and then the long winter night begins. All flights cease
and the winter overs are on their own.
The South Pole is a real center for astronomical and astrophysics research, also the study
of the Ozone is very important. There are a number of construction projects winding down
for the season. Several new buildings were completed this season and numerous upgrades to
various facilities were accomplished. The craft people deserve a lot of credit for working
outside six days a week.
What is there to do? Well there are about 2000 videos to watch and a large library is available. There is a pool table and a bar as well.The galley is a favorite place to hang out as there are always goodies siting out and coffee/tea is always available.
That's all for now. See ya back in Denver in April. I'll be going to McMurdo Station and then spending some time in New Zealand. - Sandy
I had an interesting return from the Pole. We were about an hour into the flight and then we heard a loud bang. The crew started running around and putting oxygen masks on. Apparently a seam in the back cargo door blew and left a hole about 3' long by 4" wide. We were cruising at 28,000 feet and lost all cabin pressure in 30 seconds. The pilot put the plane into a nose dive and we dropped to 12,000 feet in less than 2 minutes. I thought we were going to land on the Polar Plateau! I wasn't scared at all but I was concerned that I didn't have the right ECW gear on, that is Extremely Cold Weather clothes. They give you two big orange bags full of stuff that is really bulky. You're supposed to hand carry one of them with you at all times but I decided to check both of them instead because I didn't want to carry it. I always have my computer bag to carry which seems to weigh 20 pounds and I just didn't want an extra thing to "bag drag" as they say.
Anyhow, once we got to 12,000' we took a big turn to the left and the crew said we were going back to Pole. Those planes are so loud that it's impossible to hear anything so we just had to read their lips. As a result of the loss of pressure the heating system went out and there was cold air howling through the plane. It was really cold. Everyone got as bundled up as they could. Since I didn't have my stuff handy the girl next to me gave me a pair of socks which I wore on my hands.
We made it back to Pole and when we were all gathered in the galley the pilot told us what really happened. The doctor was there also because they were concerned about the fast decompression. The crew all had oxygen but we didn't. My ears popped a few times but that was about it.
Independently of the pressure problem, the #1 engine generator blew and there was a burning electrical smell in the cabin. Good thing we had a lot of fresh air blowing through. Also unrelated, the strut that pushes the front landing ski down, broke. The front ski was vertical as we were approaching to land. They landed on the back skis and the wind pressure and vibration knocked the ski so that it righted itself. Whew... we had no idea all this had happened.We had to wait four hours for a new plane to come and we did arrive in McMurdo at about one in the morning on Sunday. Slept in until 9:00 and had a long brunch in the galley. It was a beautiful day and I went hiking for 7 hours and took 50 pictures. The coast line is absolutely stunning! I need to go, bye for now.- Sandy Singer
Send a note to Sandy at [email protected]
If you would like find out more about what Sandy is up to, follow these links:
National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs
ICAIR-Intn'l Centre for Antarctic Information & Research
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