A healthy addiction to ice
Winter is coming, and with winter comes ice, all kinds of it.
The ocean is beginning to freeze here at Casey and that means kicking off our training that enables us to travel over the sea ice on foot and by quad bike. We use quad bikes to travel to specific spots on the sea ice to take measurements of the thickness and quality of the ice weekly, this data is then used to monitor factors such as climate change.
But before we can jump on a quad bike and ride off into the Antarctic sunset, we must be trained in their use by our trusty FTO (field training officer) Arno. This involves using GPS and maps to navigate to set waypoints, how to safely traverse uneven ice and snow and using radios to stay in contact with the station. After checking over our noble steeds to ensure they were fit for use, we filled our fuel tanks and our belly tanks (because food is our first layer of defence against hypothermia) and headed out on the Mitchell Peninsula.
As each day nudges further into winter we are losing 8-12 minutes of sunlight per day, meaning each week the daytime shortens by 1.5 hours. So what better use of our dwindling daylight than Ice climbing on the Robinson Ridge overlooking the frozen ocean in Penney Bay, and a night spent at 'Robbo’s' hut with friends.
Once again, we filled our belly tanks and jumped in “Combat Wombat” (Casey station’s newest Hagglunds) and headed off to the hut. A night filled with card games and the obligatory Antarctic field hut feast, the mighty Fray Bentos tinned pie, was just what the Doctor (James) ordered.
We awoke to some light snow and a balmy −12°C, checked in with station and geared up for our climb. Again, our trusty FTO Arno set up the climb and showed us the ropes (literally). We grabbed our ice axes and put on our crampons (boot spikes) and were ready to learn how to safely climb the Antarctic ice wall.
What an absolute treat to be able to experience this and huge thanks must be given to Arno for making it happen.
Happy birthday to my son Hamish who turned 6 this week and Hello to Charlotte, Oscar and Belinda.
That’s it from me,
Danny Littlejohn
Boilermaker/Welder – Casey Station
Oh and Mitch says his mum enjoys reading these weekly updates so hi Vanessa.
