Tractor Repairs and Snot Mittens!

Welcome back, Gentle Readers! Here I go again on my next deployment. (cue Whitesnake) Made it to Christchurch, New Zealand on Monday, September 16th after a dreaded long journey. 

I spent the first day trying to stay awake and going to my usual "last time before I'm on the ice" places like the Riverside Market to get my haloumi (a fried cheese) salad and walk in the Botanical Gardens. Last deployment was a bit later in the year, so I was able to see a lot of pretty flowers. This deployment is still a bit chilly in Christchurch (in the 40's), so not many flowers, but there were beautiful daffodils to look at. 




                  

Day 2 was my day to go to the Clothing Distribution Center and try on the cold weather gear I'll have to wear on the plane to McMurdo. The process was much quicker this year because I already knew my sizes and what clothing I did not need issued to me. We did not have to do any COVID protocols, nor are we quarantining this year before flying to the ice. We do have to still get updated flu shots and COVID vaccines before deployment. I took a short tour of our hangar area.




My Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 flight was supposed to take off today (Wednesday, Sept 18th), however due to weather at McMurdo, we received notification at 4:30am that we would not be flying. Unfortunately for most of us, we had already started to check out of hotels and had to turn around and reverse the process. This is how it will go on a day-to-day basis until the weather looks better (which could be a few days from now.)

So, today, I was lucky enough to get a tour of the Terra Cat Facility. The fleet (vehicles from trucks to cranes to tractors, etc) are part of my responsibilities as the NSF USAP Operations Program Manager. The NZ Terra Cat facility works on our fleet and also provides training to our employees and even sends some of their own workers to the ice to provide their expertise in areas such as power plant techs and mechanics. A co-worker and I were given a fantastic tour. I wasn't allowed to take any pictures in the Component Repair Center (think a very large building with 15+ bays to work on vehicle components). It reminded me of spacecraft assembly bays. 


Outside the Terra Cat Facility

When I thought of going to this facility, I envisioned a lot of grease, dust, mechanics in dirty overalls working on tractor parts. What I saw was a well run company that looked after its employees. There were several signs like these around all areas of the facility. Basically, look out for your fellow worker. Even one of their mottos was to "take care of each other" in their mission statement. I could not have been more impressed how they handled safety and the professionalism at this facility. It was amazing to see, and I hope we can take some of this care down to the ice at our own Vehicle Maintenance Facility. 




I had some extra time to go visit my colleagues from Antarctica New Zealand who I work closely with. Their base is very close to ours, so we share some tasks throughout the season and have to coordinate these tasks prior to the season. Part of my tour of their offices included checking out their Clothing Distribution Center. I've mentioned before how jealous we are of their clothes, as they are more modern and they actually have women's sizes. Keep in mind that their base has about 100 people where just McMurdo can have 1200, so there's quite a difference in clothing needs.

First, I was impressed by Lou, the man who lays out all the items needed for each participant to try on. He's also sort of a sage father figure, telling the new people good advice and calming their nerves. Also helpful is his sidekick, Shadow, who likes to lay near the heater and get lots of pets. 

 

AntNZ has bright orange and black colored attire and it's organized neatly in their warehouse. One item I found interesting were these mittens that had a furry side to them. Lou let me know that the furry side is used to wipe your eyes and nose when in the extreme cold. Use one glove for the eyes and one glove for the snotty nose. You don't want solidified frozen snot on your mitten to be scraped across your eyes! Good advice, Lou!

We will see what tomorrow brings, but flying doesn't look good for a few days. Stay tuned!

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