Saturday 16th February 2013

Today we woke up to a 70 knot blizzard. Even though we can still go out in 80 knots, most of us decided to stay in the red shed and spend the day cleaning. The first timers were encouraged to go outside to experience a blizzard. It was an amazing sight to see wind so powerful and the horizontal snow looked like very fine sugar and not like snow at all. I geared up to go outside ensuring there was no skin exposed and went for a walk down to the operations building filming as I went with my contour. The strength of the wind was so powerful and I had to struggle with every step pulling myself along the bliz line as I went. At some locations the buffeting near building was so great it was knocking me off my feet. Visibility was only several meters.

I decided to go further down to the transmitter building and once off the bliz line within no time I became disorientated and lost and realised how easy it is to lose your way and become lost in a bliz. I retraced my way back till I sighted a familiar building and made my way back to a bliz line (what a relief) and followed it all the way to the ANARESAT dome and went inside. The roar of the wind was deafening. I struggled my way back to the red shed falling hard on the ice at one stage. I couldn’t see any penguins or the elephant seal normally hanging about.

It sure was a good experience, but extremely hard work and I sure wouldn’t like to be caught out in one. One thing I noticed it’s not cold at all in a blizzard, usually around zero degrees and they produce massive amounts of static electricity. I kept getting zapped every time I touched something and in a very strong blizzard you can light a florescent tube just by holding it against the window. After my bliz walk I spent a couple of hours vacuum cleaning all the top level of the red shed. Tonight we all got dressed up and had a flash dinner and Justin did an excellent job.

The red shed is our living and recreation building and the following photos are all inside the red shed

Common area

Common area

Library

Library

Cardio gym

Common area

The heritage girls of Mawson were sexy girly photos that were put on the roof and walls of the Biscoe hut from the original Mawson Station dating back to the 1950's. They were all riped down and torn to shreds by two feminists in 2008. The outraged men on station painstakingly stuck them all back together and they now remain a prized possession out of sight of any one else who might me offended in "The heritage girls of Mawson"proudly  on display at the entrance to the Catabatic Bar.

 The heritage girls of Mawson