Sitrep 8.11.06, 2203hrs AEDT

Greetings Sitrep Subscribers,

Dear readers, I could be struggling for material here today. For a second straight day, we’ve been virtually hut-bound because of 100kmph roaring winds.

There's only one thing to do when confined indoors in a blizzard - step outside into the blizz for a few seconds for comedy value.

Honestly, it’s relentless, except for when we get the brief lulls.  Just like turning on a tap or flicking off a light switch, a 100kmph wind has the ability to stop dead.  Funnily, you’d think you’d always be aware of the howling gale, but it’s when it stops suddenly and completely that makes you stop dead in your tracks.  It’s very eerie.  Literally, like the calm before the storm.

So another day of mild frustration and semi-boredom stuck in the Sorensen Hut trying to occupy oneself without getting in each others’ way or losing the plot altogether.

Mrs Mop here spent most of the morning cleaning, baking bread and making pizzas but Marty and Chris also indulged in a little matronly activity, namely sewing (sewing sponsor labels on our jackets, though I stopped short of asking if they’d darn some of my socks, partly because that would just be cruel given current hygiene practices – and besides, I’m wearing three pairs so a small hole in toe doesn’t matter much – and partly because they’d probably take me outside and beat me up, regardless of the sub-zero temps.  Remember?  Psycho?  Deliverance?  Chainsaws?  Remoteness?  Oh, c’mon keep up!)

Darkness descends on the Sorensen Hut seconds before the latest blizzard.

To wit, today’s achievements amounted to aforementioned household chores, though for a short 48-minute hour late this afternoon, the wind did it’s eerie-stop-in-an-instant thing and in doing so, lulled us into a false sense of belief that it had ACTUALLY STOPPED.

So the team buzzed over to Doug’s on the quads, with the exception of Ian who walked across via where Magnetograph House and Absolute Magnetic Hut are located (somewhere beneath one’s feet buried in 12 trillion cubic metres of ice and snow).  The lads got as far as unpacking their tools and gear before the wind came a-roarin’ down off the plateau.  That was the end of that idea.  So back they came, trudging home to the Sorensen.  The same weather is forecast to continue until tomorrow (Thursday) evening, but we’ve also been advised that a rather big area of low pressure is due for a visit, so quite how long it is until we can get back to Mawson’s Hut to do some decent work is anyone’s guess.

The weather is here – wish you were beautiful.

Kool and the Gang

(all words and pix Copyright 2011)

Sitrep Monday 6.11.06, 1235hrs AEDT

Greetings Sitrep Subscribers,

And first, an apology for a lack of a sitrep on Sunday. Yours Truly developed a mild case of sitrepitis after a heavy day’s slog in the field documenting an equally heavy day’s slog by the team as they excavated a stack of snow and ice from the Main Hut.

Anyways, Psycho Chris produced some heavy duty drugs today as part of his daily medical briefing and the very sight was enough to cure aforementioned ailment.

Well, another day, another bleedin’ marvellous dose of decent weather.  As I write, Ted, Marty and Chris are already over at the hut continuing the good work of clearing the snow.  Currently, it’s a sunny -5C, -12C with wind chill, the home of the blizzard is failing to deliver with wind speeds of just 7 knots from the south-east and relative humidity (measuring just how dry ’tis round these parts) is at 70%.

So what mischief from yesterday?  Well, a balmy day allowed all planned activities to be achieved. The millpond calm conditions allowed a significant dent to be made in the amount of snow covering the Main Hut. All snow was removed from the northern roof plane and from the upper reaches of the western and eastern roof planes.  The lads pulled out all stops to shift approximately 15 cubic metres of snow from the ridges and southern roof plane and Psycho (a.k.a. Chris) chainsawed out igloo-sized bricks of ice, which had the dual goal of further digging a trench to access the roof and also build a protective igloo-like wall in the hope of minimising the filling of excavated holes and trenches with further drift snow.

Psycho chainsaws igloo bricks from the ice (note how I'm maintaining my distance)

And here, I must digress.  Here we are stuck in the middle of nowhere (albeit a picturesque nowhere), a million miles from the nearest cop shop with a guy nicknamed Psycho whose weapon of choice is a chainsaw.  Not only that, he plays banjo (no kidding).  Should I be worried?  Bloody oath, I should.  Do the words Deliverance, Texas, Chainsaw, or Massacre mean anything to you?  They mean a great deal to me.  Think I’ll be sleeping WITH a satphone and the cops on speed dial tonight, for all the good it’ll do.

Anyways, moving on (quickly), today’s main Plan ‘A’ is the organisation of work equipment, tools and infrastructure at the Main Hut with a view to commencing over-cladding of the exposed northern roof plane of the Main Hut (weather dependent) and the continuation of snow removal from the southern roof plane (the extent of this work will be dependent on roof-overcladding activities).

And finally, our colleagues and countrymen over at Casey, the next nearest Australian base (approx. 1,5000kms to our west) have agreed to provide us with regular weather forecasts for the duration of our stay.  That’ll significantly enhance our operational planning, allowing contingencies to be made in the event of predicted unfavourable weather conditions.

So, there you have it for today.  Now, what’s that freecall CrimeStoppers telephone number again. . .

Simon

(All text and images Copyright Simon Mossman 2011)

Sitrep Saturday, November 4, 2006, 1449hrs AEDT

Greetings Sitrep Subscribers,

Well, if it’s Saturday then it must be bath day! Ha ha, I’ll spare you the grimier details, but suffice to say we’re all now into various routines, personal and professional, and our little house on the prairie (friends, www-watchers, I’ll take a pic and send it over later) is in great shape.

The weather today has also been astonishingly kind, compared to the mid-week blizz and white-out. At midday, the wind was blowing at a breezy 20 knots; it was just minus 7C; minus 17C with wind chill; 55% relative humidity, and the sun was fighting through an overcast sky with patches of blue, a battle it was gradually winning!

It has also afforded us the opportunity to get outside and get stuff done. Once we’d all materialised for breakfast, Psycho (aka Chris) ran us through the second of now-regular medical and safety briefings, specifically the basic DR. ABC (Danger, Response, Airways, Breathing, Circulation) should we run into grief anywhere.

Outdoors, the lads have moved a cage pallet and large generator from the Sorensen to Mawson’s Hut and unloaded other cage pallets at Mawson’s Hut; we’ve moved tools and other equipment from the Granholm to Mawson’s and also begun ‘tooling up’ for the commencement of work at the hut; Chris, Ted and Marty have been trying to sort out one of the quad bikes which is playing up, while Chris ran Ian and Simon through a lesson on operating the quads and riding them safely over the rough sastrugi (the rough, uneven potholed snow surface that’s been sculpted by the wind); and work has also been carried out on the blizz boxes so the power generators can be safely stowed to minimise the ‘in-creep’ of fine drift snow.

Little house on the prairie - our digs for the duration.

Ted also advises that if the good weather continues tomorrow then work can begin on excavating the huge build-up of ice on and around the roof of Doug’s Shack.  We can only hope and pray that the sun continues to shine from here on in.

Watch this space.

Simon