Hi all - our last day of training (finally). I learned how to drive a Pisten Bully - these are vehicles that are made in Austria and are mostly used for ski hills - but we will use them to get to the rig. They go a total 15 mph (about 25 km/h) top speed!!! It will take nearly 3 hours to get out to the rig in these.
The other vehicle is a modified 4X4 truck called a Mattrack - it has special tracks instead of wheels. It goes a bit faster (maybe 40 km/h) but it cannot cross very large cracks in the sea ice.
We were supposed to go to the rig today but the weather was too bad. There have been no flights in for some time and all the 'freshies' are long gone! But, the wind has abated and hopefully tommorrow we make it out to the rig to get going!
3 comments:
Hi Doug,
Do you have Remembrance Day or are you too busy? We are glad stanley is staying inside. It looks so cold there! We should have sent him a snowsuit.
thanks,
grade one
Hi All - people do recognize some of the holidays and things may be a bit slower on the weekends when the support personnel may not all be available. However, McMurdo goes 24/7 in general. Many people work the night shift (but no darkness!) and most work the day shift. So, we always have to be very quiet in our dormitory as there is always someone who is asleep.
So, there will likely be some kind of observance for Remembrance Day (but this is a U.S. base so it is called Veterans Day).
The Kiwi base over the hill (Scott Base) had a 'holiday' for the Melbourne Cup which is a big horse race in Australia.
Another interesting thing is that since this is a U.S. base I will get a second Thanksgiving in a few weeks too. The U.S. has their thanksgiving at a different time than we do in Canada.
I will try to keep Flat Stanley warm.
I just learned that we cannot go out today again!!! So, we wait for tommorrow - we want to be safe.
O boy! I've always wanted to drive a tracked vehicle!
Hey, if you see the penguins again, you'd better get a photo!
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