May fly today... maybe

The flight situation is fluid here. Two flights bound for the Australian Casey Station boomeranged yesterday (turned around after deciding the weather was too bad to land). They rescheduled the Casey flights for today because we have a bunch of hungry Australians hanging around with nothing to do (the general consensus was we needed them off base before the bars opened on Tuesday night - otherwise there might not be any booze left for the rest of the season), bumping our flight to WAIS down the road.

This morning one Casey flight was cancelled due to plane trouble (the air mechanics came by the shop asking to borrow some ply wood for the repair - this has not engendered a great deal of confidence in flying today for our team)... (we are grateful they didn't ask for duck tape).... (then again ... if they had ... perhaps the plane would be back up and running!), and the other has been cancelled due to weather at Casey Station. So the remaining operational C130 has now been rescheduled to fly to the South Pole twice today. (Same priority - lots of bored South Pole workers hanging around McMurdo trying to keep busy, eating food, and threatening the liquor supply).

But, if weather forecasts hold up (bad weather is predicted for later in the day at South Pole), they may only get one flight out and the second will be cancelled, then ... if all of these ducks fall in a row, at least one plane is operational, and weather is good here and at WAIS, my team may fly late today.

If that all works out - then do not expect any posts till the 25th of November. That date is extremely fluid so do not worry if I don't pop up then. We may be out till mid December. We may come home sooner. I will do my best to email those concerned when I return.

Best wishes to everyone! I will miss the emails but I may be able to get a handful of calls out. Stress on the 'may' part of that sentence. This harsh environment leaves comfort, luxury, and the best laid plans, at the whim of weather and equipment.

P.S. - Found this link, especially for Caitlin, and it should put a more human face on my destination. The following is a gallery of artwork done by an artist sent to WAIS in 2009/2010 by the National Science Foundation.

http://annamckee.com/blog/galleries/