Moving to a new airfield

Yesterday we switched to the new airfield, Williams Field (known to us as Willy Field or the skiway). This field is created especially for the LC-130 planes the Air National Guard uses, and the Bassler and Twin Otter ski planes that the private company uses. It is basically snow, whereas the Ice Runway (where we were until yesterday) was a thin layer of snow over ice. Only ski-equipped planes can land on the skiway at Willy Field, so any wheeled planes (like the C-17's and the C-130's from the Kiwi's) have to land at Pegasus Field, which is 18 miles away from town. While that may not seem like a far distance, remember that the speed limit down here is 25 mph max, and that's assuming you're in a vehicle that can actually go that fast to begin with.

Willy Field is on the permanent ice shelf, which is basically a glacier that extends over the ocean. The ice there is about 300 ft thick, maybe even thicker, so it is more than enough to support the planes. Right now, the ice at the Ice Runway is only about 6 feet thick in comparison. Still thick enough to land planes, but it melts quickly and it's better to move now than wait till the ice has several inches of water over it. We still have to staff Willy Field 24/7, but Pegasus will only get a crew when there is a wheeled plane due in, since they don't stay overnight.

So yesterday, we got to Station 2 (when it was still on the Ice Runway), did our truck checks, and finished setting up the station to be moved. We took everything off of the counters, and basically put anything that could fall on the floor, taped up the vehicle shore-lines outside, and moved the trucks so the Fleet Ops people could start getting it ready for transport. First they used fork lifts to lift the stairs up and chain them. While they were doing that, the electricians were disconnecting the power and phone lines from the poles and the building. Once that was done, and the electricians were off the building, the fork lift came back and jostled the building till it was free of the ice and snow that had melted in around it and froze it to the ice. Then the big bulldozer that was hooked up to the trailer started pulling, and off it went!

The electricians disconnecting the power.

Station 2 on the move!


We had to hang out in the trucks because there was a C-17 due in, and we had to stay till it left around 2pm. Then we took our trucks up to town to eat lunch, and wait for dinner, when we would take the trucks out to the new Willy Field Station 2 location, and relieve the crew that had been out there all day. When we got out there, the station was there, but there was no power. We hung out in the trucks mostly, keeping warm and listening to music, until it was time to go to bed. For the first time since I've been down here, I needed a comforter and a wool blanket to be warm at night, and that was on top of the sweatpants and sweatshirt I wore to bed. Heck, I even had a hat on! Once the rest of the guys came in to bed, it warmed up...the bunkroom at Station 2 isn't very big, so with 4 people in it, it warms up. But it was still pretty cold in the morning. The biggest issue was that without shore lines for power, we had to keep the trucks idling all night long, which will seriously decrease the time frame for the preventative maintenance on each vehicle. Not to mention all the gas that was wasted with the trucks just sitting there. The sad thing was that the power plant made it over around 10 pm, but there were no electricians to hook it up for us. I did get to walk the flight line though, and get a bunch of pictures of the nose art on the aircraft that was on the ground. I think I'm still missing some, but I have plenty of time to get them all.

Being Sunday, we don't have shift change till 11 am, which was nice, since I got to sleep in a bit. Of course with it being so chilly, once I got up, I headed out to the trucks to listen to music and keep a bit warmer. Our relief came in and as we were leaving we saw the electricians starting to run lines from a few of the buildings. We got back to town and I got some brunch and spent the majority of my afternoon doing laundry and watching movies with my roommate, who was given the day off of work today (Sunday's are pretty full at the station, so they always end up sending people home). She got the day off because Friday was her Kelly day, and she spent the whole day on call and in the station because they thought they would be moving airfields Friday instead of yesterday. So we watched movies and she worked on a paper she has to do for her online class that is due tomorrow. We had Burger Bar tonight cause the options at the galley were less than desirable.

Even with the lack of heat in the trailer, I like Willy Field. It's far enough out from town that you really feel isolated from the rest of the world. Aside from all the buildings around, there is nothing but mountains and whiteness. There are great views of Mt Erebus, Mt Terra Nova, and Mt Terror (which I'll get pictures of later, when it's not so cloudy), and it's just so much more relaxing out there than even the Ice Runway was.

On Friday I was surprised by having to lead a Cape Evans trip (I don't remember signing up for the Friday trip. I also didn't remember signing up for the trip today, which they had me down for, but luckily someone subbed in for me). I wasn't going to go, but I decided to go at the last minute, and boy am I glad I went. The weather was moderately crappy, with snow and some decent winds. We saw some monster-sized seals a good distance out, but the real treat was not long after that, we saw 3 Adelie penguins laying on the side of the road, burrowing down out of the snow and wind. We all got out and got down and for a while they ignored us. I was on my way back to the Delta truck when they started walking towards us. I went back to my spot and kneeled down, and then laid down, and the one came within 4 feet of me! He just kept looking at me, and they all got really close to the group, and then laid down and chilled for a while. I got the best pictures I've gotten down here so far. We spent some time at the hut, which the Heritage Trust people are really getting into now with all the outside stuff taken care of. They stripped several of the shelves in the kitchen area bare, to take back and catalog and such. I'm glad I got out there earlier in the season before they started messing with the inside. I got some pictures of things I want to try to turn into black and white photos. We headed out and got back with no more wildlife sightings. I headed straight to bed. I'm kind of sad, because today was the last Cape Evans trip because the sea ice is starting to go bad. But now we start on the Discovery Hut tours, which isn't quite as good, but it's something.



I'm still waiting to see Emperors. Maybe when we go out to Pegasus...I hear there's some living out there.

So, in response to questions about Happy Camper...I haven't ever heard of quinsey's caving in, though I'm sure it's a possibility. But the snow here is so dry and it's so cold, it really packs down hard. It's even hard to shovel through sometimes once it really gets packed down. But, I did sleep with my head right at the entrance to the tunnel, just to be on the safe side. Our instructor inspected the hut before we even started excavating it, and she said it was safe.

The snow here is too dry to make a good snowman. The only thing it's good for when it packs down is bricks. To make a snowman you'd have to carve it out of a snow drift or something. If I can get someone to take a picture of me, I'll post it. The raccoon eyes and red nose and cheeks are still there, even if the nose and cheeks are peeling like crazy right now. I think I got a little more color yesterday, but I was wearing a ball cap most of the day, so the only sun I would have gotten would be from reflection. I will say that the reflection got the under part of my nose pretty good. I couldn't tell if it was sore from wiping it constantly while I was outside, or from the sun. I think it was a little bit of both.

So that was my weekend. Tomorrow it is back to work, but it's a short week for me, since Friday is my Kelly day. Wednesday I'm out at Willy Field. Woot!