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Facts of Life

Getting Around

Helicopters
Helicopters transported the Stream Team between different lake basins and between different valleys. They also brought us all our supplies and took what we didn't need anymore back to McMurdo Station. Sometimes we put our cargo inside the helicopter or in a cage attached to the outside. Heavier or bulkier cargo was often carried as a slingload.

Pilot Barry James stands next to an A-Star helicopter. Photo by Jenny Baeseman

A helicopter carries a slingload. Photo by Jenny Baeseman

VIDEO - 1: Check out this video showing John hooking up a slingload.
VIDEO - 2: Now see what happens after he's done.

You will need Quicktime to view the videos. You can download it for free here

Snow mobiles
One of the Stream Team's main modes of transport was the snow mobile. We typically drove it on the smooth moat ice of the lakes and used a sled to tow our cargo around. Since most of our gauges are fairly close to the lake, using a snow mobile cut down on our travel times considerably, and let us visit more sites. There was just one problem with the snow mobile. You had to get it started first!

Louise cruises to a sampling site on a snowmobile Photo by Jenny Baeseman

VIDEO: Karen tries to start the snow mobile. And tries. And tries…

All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs)
Later in the season, a moat develops along the lakes' outer edges. The permanent ice in the interior of the lake is much rougher, and it can be hard to drive a snow mobile on it. So, the Stream Team sometimes used the ATVs.

ATV by Lake Hoare Photo by Karen Cozzetto

Hiking
The rocky and often steep terrain in the Dry Valleys makes it difficult to use vehicles on land. Operating vehicles on land would also leave huge track marks that would last for years in the Dry Valleys' environment. Vehicle use is thus restricted to lake ice only. So when we visited locations that were upstream, the Stream Team hiked. We also hiked when the lake ice got "sketchy" as it warmed up (see the description below), and sometimes we just hiked because we think it's fun.

Jen and Erin just before they set off for a hike to an algae sampling site Photo by Louise Huffman	John and Karen pose for a photo during a hike on Canada Glacier Photo by Jenny Baeseman
Pete takes a break after hiking. Photo by Karen Cozzetto

 

New Year's Eve Party

Helicopter flights were canceled on New Year's Eve because of bad weather at McMurdo Station, where the helicopters are based. So teams from three different base camps all hiked four or five hours to get to a New Year's Eve party at Camp Hoare. It was worth it! (from left to right - Pete's hand, Jen, Jill Gudding, Karen, Louise, Carolyn Dowling, Leslie Blank)

 

Stabilicers are soles with screws in them. You can strap them to your boots so that you can walk across the ice without slipping. Watch Louise as she walks across the lake without stabilicers. Play the video...

Hiking across lake ice has its hazards. As the summer progresses, ice "sandwiches" develop in places with ice on top, liquid water in the middle, and thick permanent ice below. Although the bottom layer of the sandwich prevents anyone from plunging through to the bottom of the lake, you can still break through the top ice layer and get quite wet - as we all found out at one time or another Play the video...