Comments on: Views of Hut Point Ridge http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/antarctica/blog-archive/?p=384 Conservation of the explorers huts in Antarctica; winter at Scott Base, treating artefacts from Shackleton's abandoned hut Tue, 21 May 2013 21:54:39 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Mindy http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/antarctica/blog-archive/?p=384#comment-28254 Mindy Fri, 14 May 2010 02:40:00 +0000 http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/antarctica/blog/?p=384#comment-28254 Rae: I just read a little bit about your great-grandfather - what a lucky man to make it back safely! Hopefully our outdoor skills won’t be tested like that over the winter! It’s hard to imagine getting lost that close to safety, but we’ve learned in our training that you can get turned around quite easily in white-out conditions – even if just metres from a building. So, no chances taken – that’s for sure! SHDHS: Hello! Here are some quick answers to your questions – great to hear from you! -Brandon: The Easter Bunny did visit us, and we did have an Easter egg hunt. The Easter Bunny is very tricky - we may be finding Easter eggs around the base for a while! - Kaitlin: I did bring the mug – I’ll get back to you on that! -Sam: We did see a lot of animals earlier in the season. There were Emperor and Adelie penguins, Weddell seals, skuas, and I even saw a whale (but far in the distance – it might have been a mink whale). The animals have gone to their winter homes now, so we don’t see them anymore. -Katie: Most of the water right around here is frozen now, as far as I know. We go by the rule that ice needs to be at least 75 cm to walk on. The shoreline by McMurdo was recently measured to be 80 cm thick – but it’s pretty new ice, and can have cracks and be slushy, and not really hard enough to support large vehicles. So, we aren’t allowed out on the sea ice right now for general travel. We’ll let the ice get thicker and harder over the winter as the temperatures drop – it’s better to be safe than sorry! -Brandon: I guess if you were allowed and the ice was thick enough you could skate on it (might not be very good for your blades though). I don’t think anyone has this season (and I suspect not many people brought skates!) -I did have a fun birthday, thanks! It’s really special to be able to celebrate in the Antarctic! -That sounds like really nice spring weather. We haven’t had really cold winter weather here yet. I was outside this morning and the temperature is only -26°C with no wind at all. I saw a shooting star and some very faint auroras, and the Milky Way was really clear and bright! A very beautiful Antarctic morning! -Thanks for the great questions! Hi to everyone, and I promise to be careful! Nick: I’m really enjoying getting outside, that’s for sure. We have some really good gear and well-marked trails, so there’s really no reason why we can’t get outside and enjoy some fresh air. It’s definitely a great part of the Antarctic experience – wouldn’t miss it! Rae: I just read a little bit about your great-grandfather - what a lucky man to make it back safely! Hopefully our outdoor skills won’t be tested like that over the winter! It’s hard to imagine getting lost that close to safety, but we’ve learned in our training that you can get turned around quite easily in white-out conditions – even if just metres from a building. So, no chances taken – that’s for sure!

SHDHS: Hello! Here are some quick answers to your questions – great to hear from you!
-Brandon: The Easter Bunny did visit us, and we did have an Easter egg hunt. The Easter Bunny is very tricky - we may be finding Easter eggs around the base for a while!
- Kaitlin: I did bring the mug – I’ll get back to you on that!
-Sam: We did see a lot of animals earlier in the season. There were Emperor and Adelie penguins, Weddell seals, skuas, and I even saw a whale (but far in the distance – it might have been a mink whale). The animals have gone to their winter homes now, so we don’t see them anymore.
-Katie: Most of the water right around here is frozen now, as far as I know. We go by the rule that ice needs to be at least 75 cm to walk on. The shoreline by McMurdo was recently measured to be 80 cm thick – but it’s pretty new ice, and can have cracks and be slushy, and not really hard enough to support large vehicles. So, we aren’t allowed out on the sea ice right now for general travel. We’ll let the ice get thicker and harder over the winter as the temperatures drop – it’s better to be safe than sorry!
-Brandon: I guess if you were allowed and the ice was thick enough you could skate on it (might not be very good for your blades though). I don’t think anyone has this season (and I suspect not many people brought skates!)
-I did have a fun birthday, thanks! It’s really special to be able to celebrate in the Antarctic!
-That sounds like really nice spring weather. We haven’t had really cold winter weather here yet. I was outside this morning and the temperature is only -26°C with no wind at all. I saw a shooting star and some very faint auroras, and the Milky Way was really clear and bright! A very beautiful Antarctic morning!
-Thanks for the great questions! Hi to everyone, and I promise to be careful!

Nick: I’m really enjoying getting outside, that’s for sure. We have some really good gear and well-marked trails, so there’s really no reason why we can’t get outside and enjoy some fresh air. It’s definitely a great part of the Antarctic experience – wouldn’t miss it!

]]> By: Nick Mayo http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/antarctica/blog-archive/?p=384#comment-27579 Nick Mayo Fri, 16 Apr 2010 05:41:17 +0000 http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/antarctica/blog/?p=384#comment-27579 Mindy. Great that you are getting out, exploring and adventuring. It must be an enriching and effective way to clear the mind. I can only imagine the additional layer of appreciation these outings add to the wonderful work you , and the others in the Conservation team are performing on the ice. Mindy.

Great that you are getting out, exploring and adventuring. It must be an enriching and effective way to clear the mind. I can only imagine the additional layer of appreciation these outings add to the wonderful work you , and the others in the Conservation team are performing on the ice.

]]> By: SHDHS http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/antarctica/blog-archive/?p=384#comment-27457 SHDHS Mon, 12 Apr 2010 14:01:34 +0000 http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/antarctica/blog/?p=384#comment-27457 Hello Mindy We are following your blog and adventures and have some questions.. Did the animal with the big ears and the funny tail arrive to the Scott Base this year? Did he leave chocolate? Did you have an Easter egg hunt? (Brandon) We were wondering if you took the mug to the base that we gave you. We would love to see a picture of you drinking something out of the mug....we might even post it on our school website if we had your permission. Imagine a SHDHS mug in the Antartica! (Kaitlin) Sam is thinking of questions to ask you about animals....Have you seen any penguins so far? any other interesting animals/birds/seals? (Sam) Katie wants to ask you about the ice. Has the water frozen yet? How thick is it? Is it safe to go on ? Can you walk on it? Brandon wants to know if you skate on the ice? (hockey??) How do you know when it is safe to ride the snowmobile on the frozen ice? (Katie) Ms. Coolman told us that your birthday was on March 8th and we all want to wish you a happy "21st" birthday LOL :) In Exeter on Easter weekend the weahter was in the 20's with everyone out in their shorts and summer clothes. IT is rainbow week at school right now and we are supposed to wear different coloured clothes each day. Have fun. Be careful when you go out exploring and don't fall into a crevasse. Hello Mindy
We are following your blog and adventures and have some questions..
Did the animal with the big ears and the funny tail arrive to the Scott Base this year? Did he leave chocolate? Did you have an Easter egg hunt? (Brandon)
We were wondering if you took the mug to the base that we gave you. We would love to see a picture of you drinking something out of the mug….we might even post it on our school website if we had your permission. Imagine a SHDHS mug in the Antartica! (Kaitlin)
Sam is thinking of questions to ask you about animals….Have you seen any penguins so far? any other interesting animals/birds/seals? (Sam)
Katie wants to ask you about the ice. Has the water frozen yet? How thick is it? Is it safe to go on ? Can you walk on it? Brandon wants to know if you skate on the ice? (hockey??) How do you know when it is safe to ride the snowmobile on the frozen ice? (Katie)
Ms. Coolman told us that your birthday was on March 8th and we all want to wish you a happy “21st” birthday LOL :)
In Exeter on Easter weekend the weahter was in the 20’s with everyone out in their shorts and summer clothes. IT is rainbow week at school right now and we are supposed to wear different coloured clothes each day.
Have fun. Be careful when you go out exploring and don’t fall into a crevasse.

]]> By: Rae Bassett http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/antarctica/blog-archive/?p=384#comment-27315 Rae Bassett Thu, 08 Apr 2010 05:11:41 +0000 http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/earth/antarctica/blog/?p=384#comment-27315 Wow....the environment looks so harmless in these images....it is hard to imagine the blizzard that overtook the party on the way back to the hut that day. I had always imagined they got lost much further from the hut than that. My great-grandfather, Clarence Hare, was also caught in the blizzard that day, but managed to survive curled up with the one of the dogs in the snow. Life is precarious in that place. I hope you are ready for the winter! Wow….the environment looks so harmless in these images….it is hard to imagine the blizzard that overtook the party on the way back to the hut that day. I had always imagined they got lost much further from the hut than that. My great-grandfather, Clarence Hare, was also caught in the blizzard that day, but managed to survive curled up with the one of the dogs in the snow. Life is precarious in that place. I hope you are ready for the winter!

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