Stone Aerospace

Pisten Bully Training

Our group climbs back into a Pisten Bully to resume training. Chris prepares to replace me as driver. We had stopped to look at the sea ice access road we’ll eventually be using. (photo Peter Kimball)

We had Pisten Bully training on Monday. “Pisten” translates from German as “slopes” – these beastly little tracked vehicles are commonly used for cat skiing & ski area maintenance. A diesel engine drives a hydraulic motor that actually drives the tracks. Top speed on a “PB” in ideal conditions is about 16 mph, although the speed limit is 5 mph on-station. We each drove a Pisten Bully as part of our training on Monday and unanimously concluded that they’re highly enjoyable to drive.

Our group is assigned two Pisten Bullies for accessing candidate field sites during winfly, so we’ll get to know these machines very well.

Reporting by Peter Kimball

Flying To McMurdo

I am typing this from our lab space at McMurdo Station! The hours leading up to the flight were a sleepless saga of delays, but when we finally flew out at around 5:30 am, THE FLIGHT WAS GLORIOUS. We traveled on a C-17 flown by the US Air Force 109th Airlift Wing, Operation Deep Freeze – a very cool airplane.

We were seated along the sides of the aircraft, with massive pallets of cargo strap-netted down the center.

The aircraft crew were both professional and kind, even allowing us to spend some time individually in the cockpit. The cockpit view as we flew over the sea ice, glaciers, and mountains of Antarctica in morning light was epic.

Views out the troop door windows were excellent as well.

We arrived to a beautiful scene at the Pegasus Airfield, with calm winds, and a temperature just below zero Fahrenheit.

Reporting by Peter Kimball

Nacreous Clouds!

Yesterday evening, Britney came into the office and excitedly asked “have you guys seen what’s going on outside?” Exiting the lab building, we were greeted by a spectacle that I’d heard about, and very much hoped to see during these early weeks: nacreous clouds. Also called polar stratospheric clouds, these clouds are very beautiful and very interesting. From their Wikipedia entry:

Polar stratospheric clouds or PSCs, also known as nacreous clouds (/ˈneɪkriː.əs/, from nacre, or mother of pearl, due to its iridescence), are clouds in the winter polar stratosphere at altitudes of 15,000–25,000 meters (49,000–82,000 ft). They are best observed during civil twilight when the sun is between 1 and 6 degrees below the horizon. They are implicated in the formation of ozone holes.

I had hoped we’d see these at some point before darkness leaves us altogether. I did not expect we’d see them six hours after getting here! Between the epic C-17 flight, our arrival on station, and seeing these clouds, we will remember yesterday for quite some time.

Reporting by Peter Kimball

Walking Christchurch

My collection of flight rescheduling papers. (photo: Peter Kimball)

Our flight was cancelled again yesterday, so we took care of some more trainings and business around the hotel. Everyone’s fingers are crossed for our scheduled flight to McMurdo this evening. John and Josh have been moved onto a different flight for logistical reasons, so we’re also hoping that we all meet up with all our bags as soon as possible in McMurdo.

Reporting by Peter Kimball

Chrome Gnome

There are many great things about Christchurch. The Chrome Gnome is certainly one.

Reporting by Peter Kimball