October 26, 1996

Sea Ice Course, near McMurdo Station.

After my in-brief orientation with Dave Bresnahan, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Representative, I received e-mail from Jill Vereyken, the Field Services Manager: "The following people are scheduled for a sea ice course on Saturday. Please report to Field Safety Training Program (FSTP), building 138, at 9:00am. Dress in ECW gear." My name appeared with eight others. After two days of settling in to life at McMurdo Station or MacTown as it is know here, I was anxious to get out and explore the area. I showed up promptly and met my instructor, Vince Langman, along with my fellow classmates: Wendy Citta, a graduate student from the University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana, Gordon McFeters and Diane Edwards from Montana State University at Bozeman, Dave Whitmore and Ken Stephens, both heavy equipment operators here on contract with Antarctic Support Services (ASA). The others were no-shows.

We loaded up our two tracked vehicles, called Sprytes, stopped by the Galley for bagged lunches and moved down the hill to the edge of MacTown. Vince checked out by radio with the Field Center Operations Communications Center, "MacOps, this is Spryte #248, do you copy?"
"Go ahead Spryte 248," came the response.
"We are 5 souls on board and heading out onto the sea ice. Estimated time of return is 1800 hours, over."
"Roger, have a safe trip, MacOps clear."
This was repeated by the group in the other Spryte. We checked that we had Spryte-to-Spryte contact, and moved out into the sound.

Wendy Citta.	Diane Edwards.
Dave Whitmore and Ken Stephens.	Spryte tracked vehicle.

At this time of year, the sea ice is thick enough in some places to accommodate very heavy loads; we landed in a C-141 jet and occasionally the larger Air Force cargo planes, called C-5s, have landed here in McMurdo Sound. The day was clear with a stiff wind blowing and we could see 60 miles across to the Royal Society Mountains. Our first stop was the Instructors' Hut, a few miles from McMurdo, for some class work. We could see Mt. Erebus, an active volcano on Ross Island; it was covered in smooth lenticular clouds, which hinted at the gently rising slopes below. Out of the Sprytes, the wind picked up and we ran a few laps around the hut to keep warm.

"When your hands get cold, run around and do a few windmills with your arms." Inside, Vince, an experienced mountaineer and Outward Bound instructor with a background in wilderness medicine, talked about hypothermia--its diagnosis, prevention and treatment. We then learned how to identify various sea ice cracks and crack systems: tidal cracks, which occur up to 150 yards from the shore; straight-edge cracks are produced as tension is released in an ice sheet; spreading or working cracks, which develop as forces move ice sheets; and pressure ridges, which are dangerous upheaval of broken ice. While ice cracks can appear anywhere in the Sound, a few situations were highlighted--cracks generally form around land features, glaciers and even a grounded iceberg. These tend to generate a radiating pattern or series of cracks, particularly around prominent points of land reaching into the sea.

After lunch, we went outside to pitch a tent and learn how to anchor stakes in snow and ice. In a strong wind, the excercise seemed more like flying a kite and we quickly came to realize the importance of working effeciently together in teams; care and concern for each other emerged as being the most enduring lesson. As the wind died down, we went on foot, searching for ice cracks to profile. This involved a visual assessment of snow and ice distribution, followed by careful probing with a shovel and an ice axe and finally drilling, using a hand ice auger to check the depth of ice across the crack. After doing several of these, it became apparent that every situation was different; the consistency, density and depth varied. Mostly, the thicknesses were in the 6 to 7 foot range--a comforting thought as we bounced along earlier in our Sprytes.

The Instructors' Hut.	Our instructor, Vince.
Sea ice profiling.	Drilling sea ice.

As the afternoon wore on and the course wrapped up, it was such a beautiful day that we hiked along Arrival Heights. A pair of Weddell seals basked in the sun, dusted with snow; they took little note of us as we passed by. Mt. Erebus loomed and its glacial tongue, a frozen cascade, descended into the sea ice. We sat in silence in the lava fields, each unto their own inner peace. What a day...

Mt. Erebus.

Arrival Heights.