tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7889728620917003012.post1767624777222136949..comments2024-01-15T23:27:59.471-08:00Comments on My Antarctic Adventure: Monday 16th September 2013Craig Hayhowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17670454374543211146noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7889728620917003012.post-39573479864392937192013-09-21T23:13:18.420-07:002013-09-21T23:13:18.420-07:00Hi Nick,
Those iconic heroes of the past were bot...Hi Nick,<br /><br />Those iconic heroes of the past were both very brave and very naive. Mawson station was named after the great man, but the original "Mawson's Huts" are the collection of buildings located at Cape Denison, Commonwealth Bay, in the far eastern sector of the Australian Antarctic Territory, some 3000 km south of Hobart and a very long way from Mawson station. On the coast of Antarctica we get Katabatic winds, which is cold air falling off the ice plateau, it travels north and is usually only about 20 knots. When a low passes it combines with the Katabatic and can create a blizzard up to 200 knots. Mawson station is very windy as the Framnes Mountains tends to funnel the wind directly at it. Wind chill factor will freeze exposed skin very fast so you must be covered at all times when its windy. But here's the thing, when it is very windy (blizzard) the temperature goes up to say -10c and when you go inland the Katabatic wind disappears and the temperature goes down (-30c to -60c)and with a bright sun it can feel warm on your face. Strong blizzard are not so common but 40 knots can be the norm for weeks. As long as you have shelter and heating you can survive down here, but step outside and you are always slowly dying. Here we live very comfortable, but out in the field is the same as when Mawson was alive. Even just 50 years ago the expeditioners were heroic in my eyes. Here is a good map of Antarctica http://www.mapsofworld.com/antarctica/maps/antarctica-map.gif <br />I have never tried eating penguin as they say it tastes awefull. We have a very slow Internet connection down here and that is why I have only got still photos but you are right video would really show what it is like down here and I have no experience in uploading video to the Internet. Mawson station is a VERY remote and isolated place and is about a thousand miles from the nearest station. I will send you an email Nick and I am happy to answer any more question you may have.<br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />CraigCraig Hayhowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17670454374543211146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7889728620917003012.post-83797872201250014592013-09-19T07:16:20.924-07:002013-09-19T07:16:20.924-07:00Craig,
It would be amazing to have some videos up...Craig,<br /><br />It would be amazing to have some videos up there . . . I know you're busy guys but there are cameras these days that take 1080p movies, require no batteries and take about 10 seconds to set up and start filming, then maybe ten minutes to upload the results to YouTube, if any of that is possible for you guys.<br /><br />I would gladly donate such a cam if it meant I could watch some some video . . . the photos, while astounding, don;t seem real . . . they seem like you just pinched them off a National Geographic website (though I KNOW that isn't the case!)<br /><br />But let me know and give me your address, and a camera will be on the way! They have no moving parts, so I'd imagine they would perform like troopers in minus 50-degree weather.<br /><br />For an example, check out my video at http://tinyurl.com/lkryhoa<br /><br />Let me know!<br /><br />Best<br /><br />NickChefNickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506706291656673082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7889728620917003012.post-34194883533612077742013-09-19T07:03:33.828-07:002013-09-19T07:03:33.828-07:00Craig, so incomprehensibly odd to be reading your ...Craig, so incomprehensibly odd to be reading your blog while simultaneously reading not only Douglas Mawson's personal account of his travails on that first expedition, but also a third-person, updated account. On my iPad Mini, every night before I go to sleep.<br /><br />I don't want to bore you to tears, but if you're there, is their old Hut still there and preserved in its original state? Is Aladdin's Cave still there, or at least the location known?<br /><br />The sheer insanity of what those men did boggles the mind. I would imagine it's a *tad* more comfy out there now, but *tad* would probably be the operative word. When they matter-of-factly discuss wind speeds of 95 mph my brain melts; I do live in Montreal and I have been in -35°C weather when the wind was blowing a fair shake, say 25 mph, and of course here they warn of "frostbite on exposed skin within 60 seconds" etc. etc.<br /><br />Of course, it's been a long while -- at least 20 years -- since the last time it was that cold, so I do almost forget the experiments I did of splashing some boiling water on my balcony to watch it freeze solid in 60 seconds.<br /><br />But I imagine science has not yet come up with ways to tame the katabatik, so I am assuming that winds merrily gust up to 150 mph on a regular basis at Mawson Station . . . am I right?<br /><br />How those guys survived TWO winters there is sheer, naked terror to my mind, yet, there you are.<br /><br />On my MacBook Pro I have the weather data for Vostok Station: today it reads a balmy -66°C but does not include wind data.<br /><br />How far are you guys from the Ross Sea, McMurdo and all that, or Vostok? Google Maps only provides your webcam, not your physical location.<br /><br />It would be wonderful to get a personal email from a place that is likely to live only in my imagination; you are pretty much as close to being Santa Claus and Mawson Station might as well be the Toy Depot as my imagination can stretch . . .<br /><br />A shout would be very welcome at nick@montrealfood.com.<br /><br />And what DOES penguin taste like when you don't HAVE to eat it?<br /><br />Cheers, and . . . remember Ninnis and Mertz.<br /><br />NickChefNickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14506706291656673082noreply@blogger.com