club, and on christmas eve we took our first outing club trip! we
held the trip out at snow mound city, a site out on the sea ice shelf
located on 40 meters of snow, suspended above 80 meters of ocean.
in this first photo was taken from the top of the castle rock loop trail. this steep steep slop is called the "kiwi ski hill" and leads down to snow mound city. the little black spots out in the distance are two huts that mark our camping
spot. i took a piston bully (basically a mini tracked truck) with all
of our group gear and met the campers who came on foot. the weather
was absolutely beautiful, with afternoon temperatures in the mid 20's
and absolutely no wind.
snow mound city is also the training grounds for our "happy camper
school" so in many ways in resembles stumbling upon an ancient site
where primitive antarctians lived! ironically, most of the "primitive
sites" were built within the past month but with harsh winds the snow
block walls get blown away.
the four leaders, which included my
friends matt, erin, richard and i all spent the first hour taking
photos and playing in the snow. i have found the doing head stands in
the snow has to be one of my favorite snow activities.
after all the campers congregated, we checked in with mcmurdo's
firehouse via VMF radios to inform town that we were all accounted
for.
then, we made tea and settled in to our sleeping quarters. i
made a nest in a quinsy (basically a snow formed igloo) shaped like a
large turtle. with looming mt erebus in the background and petrified
snow letters that spelled out "hi mom" and "hi dad" (all of which are
illustrated in the second to last photo)..i thought this was the
perfect place to spend xmas eve and christmas morning!
no need to dream about a white wonderland... *grin* i was in one!
it was a fabulous and magical night. revealing the silence possible
in the world, *grin* and the vast expanse that we rarely experience.
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