Our LC-130 cargo plane performing a flyby after dropping us off for 28 days in Antarctica's Thomas Hills.

Hello from South 84 degrees 21.394 minutes and West 64 degrees 58.013 minutes. We’re in the Thomas Hills, in the Patuxent Range of Antarctica’s Pensacola Mountains. The bottom of the world. I’m at “North Camp”, a satellite site of the Thomas Hills Field Camp, with India-1.5.6, a geo-glaciology science team in the National Science Foundation’s U.S. Antarctic Program.

We are, in fact, the entire field camp: myself, two geologists, two earth science doctoral students, and one undergrad student. We’re age dating glacial erratic rocks, examining exposed terrain for indications of glacial patterns, taking snow core samples and using ground penetrating radar on the remaining glacier features to begin to model the rate at which the glaciers in this part of Antarctica have retreated since the last glacial maximum, approximately 15,000 years ago.

There was a lot of ice here, but now it’s gone. Our camp is at 665m elevation (2,180 ft). The highest point in the Thomas Hills, Martin Peak, rises to 1,043m (3,750 ft). We climbed to that summit yesterday and found glacial scoring on the summit blocks, which means the glaciers were at one point at least 100m (330ft) deep! I looked around on the summit and realized that 15,000 years ago, the entire Pensacola Range was likely buried under about 2,000 feet of  ice.

That’s enough for a lot of Scotch glasses.

We were dropped off on the far south end of the Thomas Hills, and commuting four hours round trip to the north end didn’t make sense. So we moved to this spot, and due to a lack of original thought named it “North Camp”. We each take a day as Camp Manager, responsible for cooking, cleaning and snow-melting. Tomorrow’s Manager is today’s assistant. The Camp Manager also checks in with McMurdo Station every morning via a satellite phone to confirm we’re ok and check for any messages.

How cold is it here? I get asked that a lot. We’re lucky to be living and working between 460-1,070m (1,500-3,500 feet) – fairly low elevation compared to other sites not located right on the coast. Our daytime highs are around -5 degrees Celsius (about 22 degrees F) and our “nighttime” lows are between -15 and -20C (around 0F). It is summer here, after all!

Noting the elevation at which a rock sample has been left. The dating procedure relies on exposure to direct sunlight.

But it doesn’t get dark. Not even close. This far south, the sun stays perpetually above the horizon. Even though our latitude is due south of Greenland and Iceland, the eternal sun enables us to stay in time with South Pole and McMurdo Stations, who operate on New Zealand’s time schedule. It makes it easier when we’re trying to speak to someone about fixing a broken spring on a snowmobile, or planning aircraft operations.

We’ve had remarkably few gear failures so far. Having lots of spare parts and redundant pieces of critical equipment means that if something does break, all we’ve lost is a little time. So far all we’ve lost is one of the GPS units, a spring on a snowmobile, and a control unit for the GPR.

We done all we can here, so we’re leaving in the morning. Back to “South Camp”, our original site. And Seth, Kat and I are getting ready to spend a week back at our site from last year, a spot north in the central Pensacola Mountains called the Neptune Range. To get there, a Twin Otter is flying two and a half hours from the South Pole to “bump” us the 150km north.

Greg and Claire, the two geologists and team leaders, are psyched with the four ridge and moraine areas they’ve been able to collect from so far.

Kat’s excited about her core samples, and Matt is just excited to be here. Seth’s GPR trouble disrupted his data collection at North Camp, so he’s ready to rally for the second half of the trip.

Me? I’m happy that we’re accomplishing all of this without too much craziness. There’s a lot that can go wrong for us out here, and no one can answer quickly if we cry for help. So it’s up to us to stay safe, and to watch out for each other. Hump day is on January 3rd!

——

5 January, 2012

Hello from South 84 degrees, 29.955 minutes and West 65 degrees, 35.409 minutes. That’s on the McNamara Glacier, splitting the Thomas and Anderson Hills in the Patuxent Range of the Pensacola Mountains.

Collecting rock samples in the William Hills.

Low clouds, foul weather and poor visibility have stumped us for the past few days. Kat, Seth and I are ready and waiting for a Twin Otter aircraft to come from the South Pole and “bump” us 150km north to the central Pensacola Mountains to revisit our sites from last year. The sky has cleared this evening, so we’re scheduled to fly tomorrow morning.

The major problem for the flight is visibility and contrast – overhead clouds that block the direct sun create conditions for “flat light”, eliminating any sort of definition for a pilot to recognize the depth as she looks across a monochrome field. Like a snowfield, covered with humps and bumps, and sastrugi, and sagging crevasse bridges… and how steep is that slope ahead, anyways?

It’s hard to argue against rescheduling the flight when conditions are like this.

We took advantage of the down-time to help Greg, Claire and Matt collect erratic rock samples on the “South Mainland” and the “South Island”, the two southernmost points of the Thomas Hills. Only four points are named in the 25km length – Mt. Yarborough, Nance Ridge, Martin Peak and Mt. Warnke. To keep us from getting confused, we’ve added provisional names to help steer us: Jefferson, Train, Aquinas and Channel Glaciers; Monticello, Warnke and Camp Basins; North Mainland, Monticello and South Island Peaks.

In several places in the Thomas Hills the mountain glaciers have been eroded away by the winds, creating a unique landscape.

We found a summit register on Martin Peak from a USAP/USGS team in 1962, and a cairn on top of South Island Peak, presumably from the same time. We know a team from the British Antarctic Survey passed through here two years ago, but they were here only briefly and focused their attention low on the hillsides near the Foundation Ice Stream.

The rock sampling is fantastically simple. Glaciers pick up rocks and carry them downstream, polishing them and rounding off the corners much like a river rock. When the glacier retreats, the rocks are left behind and exposed to direct sunlight for the first time since they were first frozen. A type of radiation dating can determine how long that exposure has been, how long ago the rock was deposited, and therefore what elevation the glacier must have been at to deposit the rock that far up the hillside. Collect enough rocks and include the evidence of glacial movement, and you can start to construct a picture of what the glacier and its movement must have been like in the past.

Still, after establishing that the routes from South Camp to Mt. Yarbrough, South Mainland, and South Island were safe from crevasse hazards, I’m essentially a mule.

Until tomorrow, that is. We’ll be up again at 4:30am to report weather observations to the South Pole and McMurdo. For the last two days they have canceled the flight. But tonight the sky is completely clear, the winds are calm, and I have high hopes for tomorrow!

Hey paddlers, come out and paddle with Outdoor Research for 4 days beginning on August 15th.

The 4 day paddle is put on by the Willamette Riverkeepers and will feature four days of great paddling, great catered meals, outstanding beer and wine, nightly entertainment and speakers.  Camping will feature amenities to ensure a comfortable camping experience.

This will be a great event for paddlers of all ability levels.  For more information, registration, directions and more check out the Paddle Oregon site.

Come join Outdoor Research for the NW Creeking Competition this April 16th and 17th near the East fork of the Lewis river in Lewis County, WA.  Get yourself pre-registered by April 14th or get there early to register day of.

For more info on the event, location and race times check out the NW Creek Comp web site for all the details.

See you on the water!

Come out to James Island County Park and immerse yourself in a full weekend of the history, technique, hands-on experience, and fun of canoeing and kayaking. The East Coast Canoe & Kayak Festival includes lectures, on-water classes, and demonstrations directed to the novice and the experienced paddler.

The heart of the festival is 4 classrooms run simultaneously throughout the 3-day event. Refine your skills in a master class presented by many of the leading experts in the paddling world. Learn new strokes, rescues, or rolls with expert instruction . Meet other knowledgeable paddle sport enthusiasts.

Dozens of commercial exhibitors Including Outdoor Research will be on-hand to give you a chance to try before you buy. At the East Coast Canoe & Kayak Festival, you will be able to test boats, paddles, and accessories on the water at the festival site. You will also have the opportunity to speak with equipment designers and manufacturers throughout the weekend.

For more information please visit:

http://www.ccprc.com/index.aspx?nid=472

NORTH AMERICAN TELEMARK ORGANIZATION
36th annual Telemark Festival
MARCH 12 & 13, 2011

Mad River Glen Ski Area, Waitsfiled, VT

Lift Tickets  *  Information  *  Registration
8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. daily  Top floor of Base Lodge.

PURCHASE OF THE TELEMARK FESTIVAL LIFT TICKTET INCLUDES ACCESS TO ALL FESTIVAL ACTIVITIES.

For more information please visit:

http://www.telemarknato.com/festival.html

The 5th annual Smuggs Ice Bash – the local’s ice climbing festival at the foot of Smuggler’s Notch. We are working out the details of this year’s Bash, be prepared for some great clinics, a wicked slide show by Ian Osteyee, and an indoor drytooling comp at Petra Cliffs on Friday night!!

The main venue this year will be at the Smuggler’s Notch Inn, right in the village of Jeffersonville. There are rooms available upstairs, a great pub downstairs, and all the vendors in the middle. Mention the Ice Bash for a room discount. The Brewski Pub and Grill has again offered FREE CAMPING out back, with showers!

Form more details go to:

http://www.sunriseadventuresports.com/ice_bash_page.html

Join the 13th Annual Catskill Ice Festival, January 21, 22, 23, 24, 2011.

Last year was again great fun. This year again will have multiple clinics on all the skills and techniques you need to get out on ice – from basic skills, to dry-tooling, to glacier travel techniques.

Slide shows on Friday & Saturday evening featuring ice climbing in the Catskills, and a special show by Jim Shimberg on Saturday. Slide shows will be held at Rock and Snow at 8pm.

Get more details at

http://www.alpineendeavors.com/schedule_events/catskill_icefestival.html