7 November 2002
Stacy writing

Today was helo day. We got our flight manifest late yesterday and the schedule was for me, Kathy and Andrew to fly at 1:30, and Dan, Aaron and Rob, the dive officer, to fly at 3:30. However, Dave, who was going to the same place, needed Rob as a dive buddy and had to return at 5:00. So in a massive reorganizations conducted over the aquarium tanks, Rob was set to go in the morning and Doug (who was going to go with Dave) would go with us at 1:30, and Kathy at 3:30 so that she had more time to work on the presentation she has to give as soon as we get back.

Andrew tries on a flight helmet and GQ expression.

The Bell 212 on the landing area at New Harbor.

And the weather was beautiful in the morning, so all looked good! However, about 11:00 it started snowing and the wind started blowing. It was questionable through lunch but we ended up taking off in the Bell 212. The flight swung over McMurdo Sound and past Butter Point into the camp at New Harbor. A quick land and unload and we ferried our gear out from under the rotors and crouched over it while the helo took off, spraying us with sand and ice.

Andrew and I unpacked what we had (which included 367 pounds of food) and familiarized ourselves with the camp. The previous group had gone over things with us in McMurdo the day before, so it was interesting to see it all for ourselves. At 3:00 we communicated with helo ops, and learned that the next flight had been pushed up because the weather was shutting down. When they didn’t get here on time, we radioed again and found that they had to turn back because of weather, but then it had cleared again and they were back on their way. They finally came in, with most of our gear in a sling load beneath the helicopter. Chris gently placed it next to the Jamesway where we will be living, and then backed off and landed. Everyone else tumbled out, the leaving group tumbled in, and away they went, leaving us in our beautiful little camp - the New Harbor Invasion Party.

Chris Dean, the helo pilot, during our hot load at New Harbor.

The camp at New Harbor. The green huts are a group of Kiwis who will be here for the next couple of days. My tent is the one on the far left.

The camp is two Jamesways (hooped canvas buildings) connected by a short hall that form the living and sleeping areas. There is a lab module that we will also use as a dive locker, a Polarhaven that houses the compressor, a generator shed, and various depots of fuel and supplies. After unpacking and organizing, Andrew took the lead in fixing a lovely Thai dinner. The freezer is an uninsulated metal box outside the door, and water drains into a bucket beneath the sink.

It is very comfortable to be away from the bustle of "Mac Town" and we are eager to start work in the morning. But to celebrate our arrival here, we took the evening to walk to the nearby Commonwealth Glacier, admiring ventifacts, wind carved stones, along the way, with views of icebergs and icefields in the distance. It was still the way only Antarctica can be still, and very, very gorgeous. Kathy, Rob and I chose to sleep in separate little tents away from the Jamesway, so the last sound I heard was the wind clinking the tent zippers together as I snuggled with my hot water bottle in my expedition weight sleeping bag, with the sea ice and the ocean beneath me.

The Commonwealth Glacier, destination of our first evening hike.