It's my last day on the Ice, and I took some photos of the Runway Fire Department. Only here is it standard practice to put a lift kit and oversized tires on every vehicle, including the local ambulance. But out here, driving through a foot deep snow drift is status quo.
Then, of course, is the tracked Fire Engine and Chief's Truck. Depending on the density of the snow, these guys can almost float over it.
Which is good, because in Antarctica, it's not uncommon for a mid summer snow storm to blast the countryside with 40 mph winds and sub-zero temperatures. Here I am in my Goose-down Parka suit, goggles, face mask, and triple layered gloves. This suit is rated for temperatures below -50F, which is a temperature that can freeze your skin in a matter of seconds! Needless to say, I was quite toasty on this blizzard of a day, where the wind chill was a balmy -37.
There's the first 3 of many. The wind blows so much down here, that we have decided to produce some energy from it. This rising star of a wind farm rests on a hill adjacent to Ob Hill, approximately at the midway between New Zealand's Scott Base and America's McMurdo Station. Since the wind can hit triple digit speeds on this icy, unforgiving continent, these wind power generators are not vane guided, but manually adjusted for direction and pitch, so their bite can be decreased in high winds, preventing them from overspeed damages. Plus, the design cuts down on ice accumulation.
It was a short season for me, but I had a truckload of fun, and look forward to another opportunity to visit a land whose beauty and prowess always reminds me of how small us humans really are.
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