USNA Polar Science Program

Antarctic Adventure 2012: Heading to the Ice 

After getting a good nights sleep, my day started by getting issued cold weather gear. It consisted off, two fleece jackets, two pairs of wool socks, boots, boot covers, hat, headband, neck guard, gloves, two pairs of leggings, snowpants and big gear warm coat (see picture). The rest of my day was spent enjoying New Zealand and trying to track down my missing luggage. It turns out that about 20 other people who are scheduled to go down to McMurdo the same day that I am are also missing there luggage. Luckily, they have tracked down all their luggage and it should reach Christchurch tonight before the flight out in the morning. However, my luggage decided to be difficult and is still missing. The First Sergeant drove me to the mall this afternoon to pick up enough stuff to get me through my week on the ice. If I do not get out on the flight tomorrow the next flight is not for another week. It is not an ideal situation but with the issued gear and the changes of clothes and toiletries I purchased this afternoon I should be fine for a week on the ice. Currently, I am scheduled to fly out of Christchurch tomorrow morning for the eight hour flight down to McMurdo. I talked to the pilot and navigator of one of the flights for tomorrow and they are not sure if will be able to fly out because of poor visibility  caused by the current weather conditions. Keep your fingers crossed for me that I wake up in the morning to my luggage at the front desk and a flight out to McMurdo.