Today's C-17 flight was cancelled due to weather here. Spitting snow and wind, the usual suspects. It is, after all, Antarctica. The McMurdo radio was buzzing a lot as weather conditions changed frequently. A friend in shuttles, feisty Kim from Sandpoint, Idaho, and returnee Jen from western Montana were on the road to pickup a crew of survival school people at Happy Campers out on the Ice. Conditions were Condition 2 for Scott Base and Scott Base Road, meaning that they could go out after checking in with the Fire House dispatcher. Condition 2 is pretty harsh by any standards anywhere else besides Antarctica, but they're fairly common here. Past Scott Base conditions out by the LDB site (Long Duration Balloon) were Condition 1, meaning no vehicles go anywhere and everyone must stay in whatever building they're in at the time. Where was the dividing line? Good question and something that got talked about a lot as this was coming down.
Kim stopped and they both naturally had their ECW bags, so they were going to be OK. The Happy Campers would be uncomfortable after one night out camping already, but they would survive. But to get them out, there were a lot of phone calls and radio traffic so that eventually permission was granted from the highest levels of McMurdo to proceed and get them. Visibility deteriorated and at points they were unable to see any flags ahead. These are placed every 50 feet, like clockwork. The rule is that you can proceed if you can see 2 flags out ahead of you. So seeing 2 flags is 100 foot visibility, something that is extremely common here, I gather. They were facing a whiteout. When things would temporarily get better, they would go ahead a bit and then be forced to stop. This went on numerous times and they went past the pickup point in the snow and had to turn around. The roads by this point were drifted and no recent road work had been done. Luckily, they found the Happy Campers, who were now doubly happy. What a day!
I got my first training on Ivan the Terra Bus during this time. It's 54 feet long and weighs something like 67,000 pounds. Has a turning radius like a battleship. Anticipate, anticipate, anticipate those turns! Never get yourself into anything requiring backing up! What a behemoth! We were driving through town as those same conditions were hitting Kim and Jen. We, too, had to just stop and wait a few moments until things thinned a bit and we could proceed. This one will be a fun challenge to drive, but perhaps not as much fun as a Delta.
Kim stopped and they both naturally had their ECW bags, so they were going to be OK. The Happy Campers would be uncomfortable after one night out camping already, but they would survive. But to get them out, there were a lot of phone calls and radio traffic so that eventually permission was granted from the highest levels of McMurdo to proceed and get them. Visibility deteriorated and at points they were unable to see any flags ahead. These are placed every 50 feet, like clockwork. The rule is that you can proceed if you can see 2 flags out ahead of you. So seeing 2 flags is 100 foot visibility, something that is extremely common here, I gather. They were facing a whiteout. When things would temporarily get better, they would go ahead a bit and then be forced to stop. This went on numerous times and they went past the pickup point in the snow and had to turn around. The roads by this point were drifted and no recent road work had been done. Luckily, they found the Happy Campers, who were now doubly happy. What a day!
I got my first training on Ivan the Terra Bus during this time. It's 54 feet long and weighs something like 67,000 pounds. Has a turning radius like a battleship. Anticipate, anticipate, anticipate those turns! Never get yourself into anything requiring backing up! What a behemoth! We were driving through town as those same conditions were hitting Kim and Jen. We, too, had to just stop and wait a few moments until things thinned a bit and we could proceed. This one will be a fun challenge to drive, but perhaps not as much fun as a Delta.
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