Here is another post of some GREAT pics that I didn't take. You'll probably notice the upscale quality of these from the normal crud I've been posting. Here is the first of this evenings post - a set of Emperors...the other most abundant penguin populating Ross Island. Enjoy!

This is a pic from a couple years ago at an Emperor rookery just north of Royds when the sea ice actually thawed. In case you haven't heard, the sea ice around Ross Island hasn't thawed since iceberg B15 floated into the channel connected this area of the sound with the southern pacific. And just in case you haven't hear of iceberg B15, its this small chuck of frozen water roughly the size of Jamaica that fell off the Antarctic ice shelf a couple yrs ago. Due to the unfortunate position of B15, penguin colonies have a tougher time getting to krill and thus the rookery populations are down by anywhere from 50-80%. McMurdo population could be in jepordy if it weren't for the Russian ice breaker bailing us out this season. Oh yea, did you hear about that ...the Russian's are bailing us out. That one probably didn't make headlines back in the states.

My lab-mate was able to snap this one of a Weddell seal taking a little nap out on the Ross Sea-ice during one of our ski-doo trips out to Royds. This picture does not do justice to the enourmousness of these creatures.

I finally got a good close up of the Adelies at Cape Royds (or Cabo Royds as it is now called, since it is, afterall, part of Bolivia)

Two members of our team are also working on a project at an LTER site (long term ecological research) across the Ross Sea in the dry valleys. This is one of their more dramatic pictures of Lake Fryxell. With luck, I will be able to visit the valleys this Jan. Keeping my fingers crossed

Pictures from another lens

Greetings to everyone! I hope that all my friends and dedicated readers are at home and have the week off of work. Down here at McMurdo we have a very busy week ahead of us, heading out to Cape Royds, collecting water samples, and generally having a good time. We have several long days in the lab in front of us - filtering samples and conducting complex experiments to make sure that water still freezes and shit still flows downhill. Experiments my father would surely approve of, making certain our hard-earned tax dollars are being put to good use. So, in the interest of saving my best photos for a better and more cohesive post (coming soon!) I want to share with you some of my friends and colleagues pictures that are more excellent. Below are a small taste and I will try my best to put up some more during the day tomorrow and wednesday. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Dr. Rock

We went out to Williams field to check out the C-130's, which are now the only military flights in and out of here, either from Christchurch or re-supply trips to the pole. They are actually pretty impressive to watch land and take off from the sea ice. In total, there are 4 pics here that I thought worthy to post.

Williams Field Shot #2

Shot #3 from Williams Field.

Shot #4 from Williams Field

The first of three pics I received from a couple of acquantances who are hooked up with a seal reasearch team out at the Palmer Station. While they were out in the field for the afternoon, they had this small/minor situtation to deal with upon their arrival back to camp. Makes me thankful that all I encounter are smelly little penguins.

A great pic of a group of seal researchers out at Palmer Station trying to assess the damage. Apparently seals also don't mind a few modern comforts as well... much to the dismay of this group of researchers. There are no seals of this size here in the Ross Sea, I've only seen Weddells around here.

Looks like rough and tough times for this Sierra Designs. I bet I see this tent show up at Gear Issue in a week or so. Looks like the seals had themselves a pretty good time.

A favorite of mine from Williams Field Runway - due to snowcover on the ice all the planes landing & taking off, which are typically LC-130's, are required to use skis.

View of Cape Royds as we approach by helo. Our field site, Pony Lake, is near the tip of the cape to the far left on this photograph.

View of Pony Lake (on the tip of Cape Royds) as we approach the landing site.

Drop off at Cape Royds

View of Pony Lake (and Shackleton's Hut) walking down from the HeloPad. Far end has finally begun to thaw

nesting Adelie's. Literally hundreds populate the Cape Royds rookery.

...they may look cute, but trust me here, they're capable of some serious mind-control superpowers. Honestly, these little dudes are HALARIOUS to watch walk around all afternoon.

Rose looking over our extremely expensive water sampling equipment. Nothing but the latest technology when working for the NSF

Hmmm, maybe this is where all those WMD's are...I'd better take a closer look.

WAAYYY too sexy to be doing science

I'm breaking my back doin' the best that I can

Thank goodness for sophisticated scientific equipment, which allowed us to locate liquid water and later determine (using very complex equations) that it was damn cold.

Taking a Pony Lake water sample....120 liters later and we nearly drained this waist deep penguin poop pond.

Pony Lake crew taking a little lunch break. Stale PB&J's and decades old granola bars are par for the course. (from left to right: Rose, Chris, Christine, Jenn, and Penney). Only two of our group were back at base - Kaelin and Yo (the boss man, who we have begun to call Yo-kelton)

Viva Bolivia!!!!

One of a couple small streams that feed Pony Lake

Helicopter arrival at Cape Royds for return to base

Pic from the helo of the sea-ice breaking up

Coastline of Ross Island on the return flight to base

Razorback Ridge & Mt. Erebus on the way back to McMurdo

Barne Glacier meeting the Ross Sea (view from Helo)

approaching McMurdo

Crary Laboratory from Helo about to land at McMurdo

I claim Cape Royds as sovereign territory for Bolivia - which now has it's very own port to the pacific - via a minor detour across the Ross Sea.

This is myself and Christine Foreman, our resident microbiologist, using our scientific skills to figure out if Pony Lake is hot or cold...we are still analyzing our data. Also, we are searching for place on this planet that smells worse than Andrew Hutson.

To Strive, To Seek, To Find, And Not To Yield

…so reads the inscription on the Scott Cross at the summit of Observation Hill in memory of Robert Falcon Scott R.N. and the members of his party that perished on the return from the pole in March 1912. I have been walking up to the top of Ob Hill a lot this past week, not so much for the exercise, but rather for the break from the lab work and the spectacular views at the summit (although I suppose I could use the exercise as well!). I’ve noticed that these words have really persisted in my recent thoughts so I thought it an appropriate beginning to this week’s entry.

This past week has been the busiest I’ve yet experienced. As you can see from the photographs above, Pony Lake has finally begun to thaw. The upshot is that the helo rides are awesome, offering totally spectacular vistas of the sea ice and the TransAntarctic mountains. On the other hand, we sampled around 120L of Pony Lake water (smells worse than the bottom of a HutsonHut) so we have a tremendous amount of lab work to do this week. We’ve been pulling 12-14 hour days, and although it has been rewarding, the long days in the lab certainly take their toll. Nonetheless, the field work has been nothing less than thrilling... and the walks up Ob Hill have driven away the tedium of filtering and processing 120 L of diluted penguin poo...where I've also been inspired by the inscription on the Scott Cross.

As christmas draws near, I find myself missing my friends and loved-ones even more, so I want to wish all my friends and family a wonderful holiday season. As the saying goes - Absence certainly does make the heart grow fonder.

Super-sexy lady smilin' my way in Columbus OH.

Holiday Surprises

This past week is one that I shall not forget anytime soon. As many of you have already heard, Abigail and I are about to begin our next great adventure.... she is expecting our first child! As it turns out, I'm approximately a gazillion miles away from home, which makes this wonderful news just a little difficult. I simply wish I were home to personally share these amazing and special moments with my friends, loved ones, and most importantly, my wife Aby. It is hard to believe this amazing jouney began on our first date in Mt. Vernon Iowa on december 5, 1992 and 14 years later....the rest is history (and to think, my dad only reluctantly let me borrow his car that cold wintery weekend).

peace and love to all

Ryan

Climbing up Castle Rock

Allen at Castle Rock Summit

Me and Allen in front of Ice Falls

Flagged trail to Castle Rock, Erebus looming in the background.

Panoramic vista of Erebus and Mount Terror (in the background) from the Castle Rock hike

early medicine?

The very first HutsonHut on the Antarctic Continent (Shackleton's Hut, Cape Royds)

Supply crates in Shackleton's hut

Shackleton's Provisions circa 1907

Penguins on Cape Royds, Ross Island. Mist-covered Trans-Antarctic Range in the background.

Could kick Dobler's ass with a broken arm and one good eye

The McMurdo Crud and a few too many movies

I’ve been informed that I’ve just passed my initiation into true McMurdo Society by drudging my way through the local version of the common flu – the McMurdo Crud. Having the typical flu symptoms back home is nothing compared to 0% relative humidity, the frigid air and constant winds with a dry cough and super-awesome congestion…plus being away from home always makes a cold feel that much worse. However, the good news is that I’m finally on the upswing and the bad news for all you dedicated readers is that I don’t have a tremendous amount of new stuff to relate. I have finally turned my attention to some nice pics that we took during a day-hike out to Castle Rock, a regional high point on Ross Island. Turned out to be a great hike with a couple of friends I met here up to the rock, down past some ice-falls then around by Scott Base – like 9miles all together. Also, more random shots from the Scott and Shackleton shelters. And now I must turn my attention to a more pressing matter brought to my attention by a devoted fan and widely considered “meanest man to every play football”, Conrad Dobler (for more on this see: http://www.mosportshalloffame.com/inducteebio.asp?inducteeid=298). In an earlier post he brought to my attention, and reminded me just last week that I had forgotten this matter, so here you go Conrad – I hope you enjoy.

Conrad Dobler Wrote:

“Sometimes I think that Kevin Bacon from Footloose is a much better dancer than Patrick Swayze from Dirty Dancing. But, if Swayze used his dancing to successfully amend a county ordinance by quoting the bible in a town hall meeting - I'd probably think differently. Any thoughts?”

Doctor Rock Responds:

The real question here is not so much about dancing, because if it were I think the obvious response would be point out that Martin Short in Three Amigos performing My Little Buttercup was much better than either Bacon or Swazy in either of those roles (and incidentally went on to defeat El Guapo, his plethora of pinatas, and saved an entire Mexican village); but the real question at the heart of Conrad’s question is the issue of modern male role-models and the idealistic view of a heroic male figure in the context of the cultural complexities within present-day America. To answer this question, I turn to a man who is undoubtedly a living legend and already an iconic hero of American Cinema – Kurt Russell.

To effectively illustrate the magnanimous heroics portrayed by Russell, time and time again, I would need to cover his early works such as his role as Snake Plisken from “Escape from New York” or as R.J. MacReady in “The Thing” (takes place in Antarctica, just so you know). But in the interest of brevity, I need look no further than the closing statement made by Jack Burton, conductor of the Pork Chop Express from “Big Trouble in Little China”. This classic film takes place at an ill-defined interface within the miasma of societal and cultural complexities that embody modern America…yea, that stuff and some evil shit goin’ down in SanFran Chinatown as well. Through the chaos and fog of Ming-dynasty demons and curses from centuries ago, our stoic and selfless hero pushes forward with his life, having defeated the cursed Lo-Pan and his evil minions (and totally dissing Kim Catrell, by the way)…he pulls a long slug while at the conductors seat of his big rig and says: … just remember what Jack Burton does when the earth quakes and the poison arrows fall from the sky and the pillars of heaven shake, yea Jack Burton just looks that big ol’ storm straight in the eye and says – “Gimme your best shot pal… I can take it.” Just a total Badass, plain and simple. Well that's all from McMurdo this week... looks like I should get the hell outta bed and see what's up at work next week...or maybe not.