Hell of a Season!

Four months ago when I started my journey to Antarctica I didn’t really know what to expect.  Now, a few days from leaving, when I think back on some of the things I have seen and done within that time I can’t help but feel privileged to have had this opportunity.  Being so far from home there have been many highs and lows.  I have missed my family and home, friends, my dog, but along the way I have met a lot of great friends and interesting people from all over the country/world.  I now know why they say that Antarctica is the harshest continent on earth; I have experienced, and worked in, some of the coldest and windiest temperatures/conditions on the face of the planet.  I have seen things that I never thought I would have seen in my lifetime, from massive glaciers and icebergs, to a 14,000ft active volcano right in my backyard.  I have come face to face with wildlife and soared over the icy Ross Sea in helicopters.  I have flown 800 miles into the heart of the continent and experienced the bitter cold temperatures of WAIS.  I have spent the night in a snow trench at –22F weather and I still have all of my fingers and toes to show for it.  I have been to the Taylor Valley’s and have seen seal mummies and skeletons.  I have climbed Castle Rock, Observation Hill, and the Hut Point Ridgeline.  I have lived with the never-ending daylight.  I have flown in the cockpit of C130’s, C17’s, and A-star helicopters.  I have worked on projects for NASA, and have ran thousands of feet of rigid conduit for the National Polar Environmental Satellite System.  I have accomplished all these things, despite working 54-hour workweeks, attending school online, and living with 5 other dudes in close quarters. 

Yes, I think its safe to say that I have been through a lot in the past few months and while I am definitely ready to head home, I can now see why people decide to come back year after year.  Though I arrived with some uncertainty, I would like to think that I will be leaving with a new found confidence, the way I figure it, if I can make it through this, there’s not much else out there that I can’t do.  For everyone back home who has been following my blog, I just wanted to say thanks for your support and I will see you soon!

I am scheduled to leave the ice on February 9^th, and after exploring New Zealand for a couple of weeks, will be home toward the end of February.  So with that, I guess its time to retire the blog, and the only thing left to say is that it’s been one hell of a season!