April 3, 1993
Hello,
I made it safely back to America, and Colorado. I am back at work in the office getting ready for next season. After an extensive search I have found a new place to live for another six months. I am rooming with two guys from work in a three bedroom apartment. It is much cheaper that way, and it's for any six months. I can survive anything for six months. My new address is:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Englewood, CO
You might notice that it is very close to my old address in Colorado, that is because I am in the apartment complex right next to the condominium complex I was in before. Still a quick five minute drive to work.
Now to the update for the last couple of months. I went down to the South Pole again. This time I went for ten days to fill in for a guy who had to make a trip up to Christchurch to get a flaw prescription for his glasses before he spends the winter at the Pole. I filed in as a radio operator, which means I talked on the radio. Mostly was passing weather information back to McMurdo and talking to the airplanes as they flew to and from the Pole. I had a good time. I also worked on their computers while I was there. This time I stayed out in summer camp, which is the group or Quonset hut shaped tents about a quarter mile from the dome. It was a little bit cold at right, but the worst part was that the bathroorms were in another building. If you had to go in the middle of the night you had to get dressed warm enough to dash about fifty yards -60F temperatures (this in is with the windchill.) The temperature was a little bit warmer than the last time I was at the Pole. Having to go to the bathroom quite often was a normal thing there since you had to drink so much water to stay hydrated in the less than 2% humidity there. I had a good time at the South Pole again. There was some real adventure this time, too. The day before I got there a Norwegian man arrived after skiing the entire way by himself with no aid at all. It was a first, and it took him a record time of only fifty days. Later that day a man parachuted from 1000 feet down to the pole. A few days later four women showed up in the middle of their trek across the continent, but they were too tar behind their schedule so they decided to not continue on. Then two Britts passed through very briefly on their trek across the continent. They were typical Britts and not wise enough to stop. They had to be rescued a few weeks later when they were forced to quit by the oncoming Winter and frostbite. Lastly two Japanese showed up. They were "just" skiing to the Pole. All the people who concluded their trips at the Pole were flown out by a company called "Adventure Network" which specializes in this kind of stuff. Since the USAPs business is not running hotels all of these visitors had to fend for themselves during their stay at the Pole. We let them have food and a shower, which they desperately needed (or should I say that we desperately needed them to take.) They slept in their tents as they had for the previous two months of their treks. I also got to witness the new mark for the South Pole be pounded into the snow. I mentioned in my last letter how the ice is moving, so every year they have to put a new mark down. One last bizarre item from the pole. It you breathe out of your mouth it, of course, fogs up from the moisture in your breath freezing. Well, some of this moisture freezes on your hair, the most unusual location being on your eyelashes. You get these little chunks of ice attached to your lashes, and it looks most unusual.
The Coast Guard Ice Breaker arrived at McMurdo the day before I went to the Pole, but they did not clear enough ice away to pull up to the Ice Pier until a couple of days before I returned from the Pole. I completed reading "The Brothers Karamazov" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky while I was at the Pole. It was quite a challenge to finish it, but I am glad I did. Then I read "Islands in the Stream" by Ernest Hemingway, which took no time at all. I then started on "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift, which I did not finish until just a couple of weeks ago. A Russian research ice breaker, named the Akademic Federov, showed up and we suddenly had Russians all over town. They set up a flea market and were trying to sell anything they could to us Americans. They would be out there all day long trying to sell their trinkets. I went on a tour of the Russian ship one afternoon. It looked pretty much like any other ship. A day after the Russian ship arrived a tour ship showed up. They hung around for a couple of days we had all kinds of tourists and Russians roaming about for one day. About a week later the cargo ship which brings our large supplies showed up. It took about a week to unload it and load it back up with the cargo to be sent back. Much of the retro-cargo is trash.
I finally left the Ice on February 10th, much later than any at the planned dates. I worked in Christchurch, New Zealand for two weeks. I had much more fun during this two weeks in Christchurch than I did during the two weeks prior to going down to the Ice. I am not sure why. For my two weeks of vacation I decided to visit two friends who I had not seen in a while. First was to visit a person I had met in Hong Kong when I had been there two and a half years ago, then onto Hawaii to visit a guy I roomed with for three years at the Naval Academy and who I had not seen since graduation seven and a half years ago. I had a few problems arranging transport on the airlines. As a result I was forced to take a detour to Sydney. So I stayed an extra day to see some sights. I was there just long enough to tour the waterfront and some of the nightlife. The Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) and the USS Ranger battle group were in port. Then I spent a week in Hong Kong. It was quite cool there, and was overcast the entire time. I had fun visiting and shopping. The USS Nimitz battle group was in port there. To get to Hawaii I had to go through Guam, but for only an hour or so. I spent four days in Hawaii, and had a great visit. We got all caught up.
I then spent a fast and furious two days in Southern California. My parents just happened to be passing through town, so we got to see each other. Then it was back to Denver, and work. Well, here concludes this adventure, until next year. Yes, I plan on going back next year, but it looks like it will not be for as long a time. A new programmer was hired, so we are most likely going to split the time on the Ice. But, at this company you never know until it has already happened.
