Current Weather
Temperature: 36F
Wind Speed: 1 knot
Conditions: Overcast
I feel like I'm jumping around in time a bit, but I'm so far behind on this blog that I think it will still be more or less chronological. I want to put a day in early December on the record. This day came shortly after the weather turned good. It was beautiful, calm, sunny, warm. It had to be all of these things to do what we did...
Lipps is an island that is exposed to swell. It's one of only a couple here that I never explored last season. Twice, early in this season, I attempted to remedy that situation when the ocean was relatively calm, but landing on Lipps seems to require complete calm. I finally made it on December 5th. Like all the islands here, and any other exposed land for that matter, Lipps is treacherously rocky and vegetated only with lichens and occasional mosses or short grass. But, like all the islands here, Lipps has its own character. On its northern side is a cove that provides an excellent, sheltered landing, as long as the tide isn't too low or the swell too high. On its southern side are ravine after ravine of tide pools, waves crashing in and out with little concern for the speed of your crossing. As I scurried across this rough shoreline, I found a small rock cliff with a frozen waterfall clinging to its face. The temperatures have risen above freezing at this point, and the snow melting from above was running down the rocks, but behind the ice, and making odd shadows through it:
On its eastern end, Lipps has a secret. Where the water has slowly eroded two intersecting cracks, "X" marks the spot. At the heart of the "X": a deep pool, connected to, but protected on all sides from, the open ocean. We chose the highest point on the rocks that wasn't sloped back too far; about 15 feet up. Jeff, Jenn and Nandi jumped in their skivvies, but I was unwilling to have wet underwear the rest of the afternoon...
It's amazing how much warmth can be absorbed from the radiating sun. On December 5th; water temperature: 33F; air temperature: 38F. Yet we sat topless in the sun for thirty minutes to dry off. Only when the breeze picked up did we start to feel chilled. But the breeze wasn't a bad thing, because D.Marie brought a kite!After we all had a turn flying on Lipps and the wind died back down, we decided to head back to station, with the kite in tow. Here's Carolyn holding the speed steady...
while I flew the kite from the bow of the Zodiac.
Hmmm. It occurs to me that my appearance here may require some explanation. The fuzzy white hat was purchased off the head of Hannele, a member of the British Antarctic Survey visiting from Port Lockroy. The boys here thought it was a bit gay at first, but changed their minds when all the National Geographic Explorer girls wanted to rub my head.The massive 'stache is another story. Apparently, several years back some Aussies decided it would be a good idea to grow moustaches through November to raise awareness and charity for men's health issues (that's right ladies, we've got issues too). This being the perfect opportunity to be charitable as well as weird, Antarcticans seem to latch right on (though we may have neglected the "charitable" part). Throughout the month of "Movember," disturbing collages of moustached men continued to appear on station, while we grew stubble to be shaped only at the last minute.
The moustache party:
At one point in the night, Zee asked if I had change for a dollar. Of course not. Money is no good here. I can't remember the last time I carried my wallet. I didn't find out until later what the hell she was talking about. Thanks to Dave for upgrading my status:
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