Scott Base: A drinking base with a science problem...

Well, today was significantly colder than the past few days, mainly owing to the wind. At one point in time today, I had to back someone up, and it was a tough job backing up this tracked vehicle in such a small space. At any rate, I nearly froze. I was so cold I had to go spend about 5 minutes sitting in the sauna just to get feeling back in my earlobes and nose and finger tips. I was on Tanker today, and we did some practice work for the new drivers in pumping, so we got to flow some water. That was this morning, before the winds picked up. The only problem is that Tanker is a very old truck, and is open back cab, which means it gets very cold and very windy back there. Good thing our turnout gear is relatively warm. Just before lunch, we had a quick class on environmental health and safety (safety is a HUGE thing down here), and then after lunch (which was really good…meatball subs) we had a familiarization class for our SCBA’s, which are a type some of us haven’t used all that much. Then we did a drill on who could mask up and be breathing air the fastest. I wasn’t the fastest, but I certainly wasn’t the slowest either. I was right in with most of the group. Good to know I can still keep up, right? We also did a familiarization on the EMS equipment and how to help out the medics (ie, spike an IV bag, set up the monitor, etc). All stuff I knew, but it was good to get a refresher. Then we did station chores, and I was told to go home, get out of uniform, and be back at the station before 6pm for our trip to Scott Base.

Scott Base is the New Zealand base that is about 2 miles or so from our station. They are basically on the other side of the ridge from us. There are only about 60 or so people there, so they do really well at cooking. If you get an invitation to go to Scott Base for dinner, you NEVER turn it down. Anyway, we had been given an invitation for about 8 people, and they drew names from a hat, and I got on the list. So I got the night off again. You know, it is really hard to fall into a routine when I am getting sent home every other shift. That should end next week, since we’ll have several planes on the ground and the need to fully staff Station 2 will keep everyone busy.

Anyway, I changed out of my uniform and we headed over at 6pm. First of all, their base is MUCH nicer than ours. When you think of a base in Antarctica, Scott Base is probably what you think of. A bunch of small buildings, all the same color, all interconnected, with lots of snow all over the place. Not at all like the mining town that is McMurdo. Anyway, because they are so small and have so few people, the food is really good. Tonight was corned beef with scalloped potatoes, corn, and some other stuff I wasn’t interested in (cabbage, sweet potato stuff, etc). WOW!! So much better than the stuff we get here. Dessert was good as well, though a bit too sweet for me. Walnut crumble with caramel sauce and ‘hokey pokey’ ice cream. I finally got a straight answer on what ‘hokey pokey’ ice cream was…evidently the hokey pokey part is little toffee pieces. It was good, but very very sweet. After dinner, everyone washes their own plates and stuff, and puts them in a tray to go through the sanitizer (which is basically a giant steamer).

I went to the store and got a t-shirt and a patch from Scott Base, and then followed everyone to the lounge, which is basically their bar. They have a nice pool table though, but with all the Americans there, it was kind of crowded. I did meet up with the Kiwi AF girl I met the other day, and asked her about patches. I think she caught on to what I was talking about, so Rachel, send me those patches! She works supply, and so doesn’t have a unit patch, but she said she’d talk to some of the other guys to see if she could trade.

It was getting a bit crowded for me, and as I don’t really drink, I decided to head home. I did see a neat sign I need to get a picture of the next time I’m there. It says “Scott Base…a drinking base with a science problem.” I thought it was really funny. I went outside to wait for the shuttle and took some pictures.

First of all here's a picture of the sunset from the other night. It was about 10pm.

And this is a picture of part of Scott Base, with the NZ flag.

Here is me in front of the Scott Base sign.

This is what it looks like when the annual sea ice, which moves slightly, meets the permanent sea ice, which doesn't move as much. Kind of like tectonic plates in action.