Field Work!

We collected rock samples that will tell us how quickly the East Antarctic Ice Sheet has retreated!

Flight to our field Site!

We flew a Basler DC-3 to our field site - the Outback Nunataks in East Antarctica!

Robert Scott's Hut!

We had a chance to tour Robert Scott's hut at McMurdo Station - built by the British Antarctic Expedition in 1911 and used by multiple field parties! Thanks to Jason Drebber who got trained as an official hut guide!

Glacier Travel Practice!

We spend an afternoon practicing glacier travel with our mountaineer Danny Uhlmann and an additional guide, Brady McGuire! We took a specialized vehicle called a Hagglunds, and used crampons which strap to our specialized boots and allow us to walk on bare ice without falling!

More Trainings!

Chainsaw safety training! Antarctic field camps often use chainsaws to dig pits for frozen foods and build other snow and ice structures!

Solar energy training! We will use a specially customized "solar box" which will help to charge all of our field equipment!

Our mountaineer Danny Uhlmann showing everyone how to start a snowmobile!

Shakedown Trip!

How do you prepare for camping in Antarctica? You practice! We drove our snowmobiles onto the ice shelf south of McMurdo Station, and spent the night!

Danny showing everyone how to arrange camp!

We've been making lots of preparations for our expedition!

Busy in McMurdo Station!

Crevasse Rescue Training (Part I)! First in the classroom - next stop the crevasse simulator!

Snowmobile Training! (Part I - In the classroom!)

Field Communications Trainings! We picked our field check in time (8:00 AM)! Once we're in the field, we will check in with McMurdo each morning - if we don't search and rescue is activated! We'll use Iridium satellite phones and HF radios to check in!

Packing! We prepared a lot of cargo for transport to our field site by plane - close to 15,000 lbs! - but packing the food was the most fun! :)

Antarctic Arrival!

After an 8-hour flight we touched down in Antarctica in beautiful conditions, and then rode in a very old vehicle called a Delta back to McMurdo Station for our arrival orientation! We landed at around 5:00 PM, but the sun is still high in the sky! It won't set while we're here!

Flight to Antarctica!

The C-130 flight was cozy but comfortable! We're required to have our ECW (Extreme Cold Weather gear!) for the flight. It was very hard to talk to each other because the plane is so loud! We entertained ourselves by reading, sleeping, eating the lunch provided, and looking out the window - although the view isn't very interesting until the last hour of the flight!

Boarding our flight to Antarctica!

After a couple of days in Christchurch, New Zealand, we boarded our NZ Air Force C-130! Here's our team from left to right: Jason Drebber, Colorado School of Mines; Jacob Baker, CSUSB; Karina Ramirez, CSUSB; Danny Uhlmann, First Light Mountain Guides; Renee Clavette, University of Maine, and me, Claire Todd, CSUSB!