On the Road

Hate these commutes…..don’t you? If people would only brush their teeth! Seems that there are dental problems on the Russian Ice Breaker “Krasin,” “savior of the American Antarctic Program,” according to Russian news releases…… and there’s only one man for the job: The Flying Dentist of Antarctica! Barbara, our PA at McMurdo General Hospital who speaks pretty good Russian, and I don our capes and helmets and team up to save Antarctica from dental decay.

First stop is the American Icebreaker which we land on after taking a tour up the ice cut for 30 minutes.

There are actually five ships in the area with a French Cruise Ship arriving within a day. These aren’t the “Holland America” kind of boats but huge industrial research vessels (usually Russian) that are now taking paying passengers into McMurdo. The Kapitan Klebnikov is such a vessel and is pictured below. Note Castle Rock in the upper right hand corner of the photo–see our climb of that peak in the archives.

After departing the Polar Star and passing the Kapitan Klebnikov, we sight two distant blemishes on the foggy horizon–the fuel ship Paul Buck and our destination the Krasin. We make a smooth landing on the back deck of the Krasin and depart with our dental gear for the Captain’s suite.

We spend about three hours on board and after our patients are taken care of are served a sumptuous lunch of borsch with sour cream, freshly baked bread then chicken and pasta. Now, that’s Russian hospitality!

After lunch, we conduct an unescorted tour of the Krasin and await the helicopter’s arrival. On board with us is Anatoly, who will be the guest of the clinic and then McMurdo in general. He is now excited as we are as we power across the Ross summer ice towards McMurdo Station.

and….

The crushed ice below our spinning blades reminds me of a big daquiri which gives me a great idea when we return to terra firma. I decide that the dental department needs one of these red helicopters for better patient access and maybe Barbie and I could create action figure dolls. We imagine royalties from the new Dental Emergency TV series…..the possibilities are endless. Move over James Bond!

After two weeks of blizzard weather, we finally get a sunny day and it’s time for a hike into a new area–hut point ridge which was recently opened. The hike takes us about two hours since we’re looking for rocks, the baby skua (like a gull), and stop frequently to get out of the wind. We get a very good view of McMurdo Station and Discovery Hut (Scott’s first Hut–see November archives) below us. After the hike, I’ve worked up a powerful thirst which I quench with some of Scotland’s finest nectar. This immediately reminds me of the America vs. New Zealand Rugby Match which is being played out on the ice near Willy Field. We hop in the Delta shuttle and before you can say “Duggan’s Dew” we’re at the Rugby Field where our Caterpillar “Zamboni” prepares the field for battle:

The game is hard fought on rough terrain (ice and snow) with cheering sections on each side of the field. New Zealand has the best bleachers…a mondo-Cat with sofa’s strapped to the flat bed…..

while the Americans have to jump up and down on the top of a Pisten Bully……

The Americans come in second place! Until next week…..

At 28 degrees, we McMurdo-ites put on a rollicking rockfest called “Icestock” complete with chili cook-off and Hoola Hoops. Martina helps out by serving Dave and Tina’s New Mexico-style chili and if you looked around the 20′ steel container, you would find his marguerita maxi-thermos to help wash it down. It was a great way to start the new year.

Joining us at our New Years Day “Icestock Festival” is our annual Coast Guard Ship Polar Star (and on alternate years, Polar Sea) which arrived along with the Adele penguins two days ago. It blasted it’s way through 81 kilometers of 2 meter thick ice in spite of the huge B-15 Jamaica-sized iceberg which has moved north this year. We took a two hour tour through the innards of this massive ship and in return host the crew to our station. The New Zealanders also host a New Years party (now, that’s brave!) for us Yanks however, Martina and I turn in before 10pm. Our phone rings at midnight from our party-going friends. Happy New Year!!!

Tsunami Update: Our Antarctic scientists say the Burma plate moved 66 feet during the recent earthquake which caused the tsunami in Asia. Also, the sea floor rose 16 feet and slid 36 feet horizontally. In some areas the coastline dropped 3 feet, so some areas that were once above water are now below. The rotational axis of the earth moved about 2″ and the days were shortened by 0.1 ms, so we’d have to add a leap second in 10,000 years.