Serious Lamb Burger

My very long flights from the States to New Zealand didn't leave me any time on the 29th to see anything, anyone or get anything done in Christchurch. Also, as a result of the time change in New Zealand, I lost an hour of sleep as well. After four full hours of sleep, I rose and was whisked away by shuttle to the CDC for my clothing issue, and orientation at the Sudima Hotel. Clothing of course went very smoothly, but I had to plan a bit differently since my one bag with most of my clothing did not arrive with me in Auckland. What frustrates me is the fact that they have no idea where it is. I hope it shows up before I head to the Ice. While we were on break during our orientation session, me and a couple of friends headed to a new McDonalds nearby. It's been built since the quake and I think it used to be CalTex petro station. Anyway, I like to try new things and they certainly had a new thing on the menu. The Serious Lamb Burger! Ok...to understand this, you have to understand the Kiwis. They love beets (beet root) and fried eggs on their hamburgers. They also love lamb. So, what they did was combine their regular Kiwi Burger (which is beef) with lamb and made essentially a LambBurger! It was...ok. Not the greatest thing in the world, but not truly horrible either. However, I don't think I'll be jonesing for one during the next five months!

Off The Ice...With Perks!

Today I completed my 10th season on the Ice! Ten seasons of a
very different lifestyle, yet one I enjoy. There were only six of us
ATO folks leaving today. Because we're in ATO and we're in charge
of the bags being loaded onto the plane, our bags got to go on top
of the baggage pallet. More about this later. Usually all ATO employees
get to go out on our own separate transport, but because there were
only six of us, and three were working the plane, loading and unloading
cargo, only Amy, Melanie and I were riding out to Pegasus Airfield.
Supply Melanie though was nice enough to reserve us our own seats
at the front of Ivan, so we got a special ride anyway. When we got
out to Pegasus, we milled with the other folks on our plane (99 in all)
and waited to board. Then, unexpectedly, Bear called our names on
the radio and we got to board the C-17 first, getting the seats we
wanted. In that case, Melanie and I wanted a seat on the side with
a outlet to plug our electronics into. The ride back to Christchurch
was pretty uneventful and five hours later we were in 75 degree weather
and sunny skies. Because our bags were on top of the baggage pallet,
they were amongst the first onto to conveyer belt and for the first
time ever, I was the first one from our plane through customs! I
believe this is Karma since a few years ago, I was pulled aside on a
random search and spent 45 minutes telling someone what everything
in my bag was. So we walked over to the CDC (Clothing Distribution
Center) which is always good since we've been sitting for the last
five hours. I turned in all my gear, got my hotel reservations and
again, all six of us ATO folks were on the first shuttle leaving the
building! My room at the Hotel So is very pleasant but we were hungry
Amy, Melanie and I went to Bailie's. Bailie's isn't my usual hangout
but it's a traditional watering hole for Ice folks. We got food and
was surprised when Susie appeared! She was on her way home and
saw us go into the Bar. She bought me a drink in thanks for my work
the last day, closing out Air Services for the season. We joined other
Ice folks and then I called it a night. A long day, but very satisfying.
Another season completed,

Northbound Baggage

This baggage frame holds the 142 bags, weighing
3719 pounds for 72 northbound passengers to
Christchurch on today's C-17. In the next few
weeks we will have at least two of these for
every northbound flight since each plane will
be filled with 130 passengers.

Tag It

To get your belongings out of McMurdo, for the most
part, they have to go on an airplane. And to get
them on an airplane they have to be tagged. Very
similar to airports in the real world, but here
you tag your own bag instead of having a little
machine spit out a barcoded sticky tag that goes
on your suitcase. For the most part, our bags go
one of three places: Christchurch, South Pole, or
one of the various Field Camps located around the
continent.


Christchurch


South Pole


Field Camps
This year this included
* AGAP
* Byrd Surface Camp
* Casey Station
* Patriot Hills
* Siple Dome
* WAIS Divide


There are also tags that should be removed from
bags so that the Cargo Handlers don't get them
mixed up and place them on the wrong pallet.
Yellow - Inbound from South Pole and various camps
Orange - Christchurch southbound Boomerang Bag
Black & White - Christchurch southbound Handcarry Bag
Blue & White - Christchurch southbound Checked Bag

In short, the tag system is definitely not confusing
for folks that have been down here a couple of years,
but for the typical FNG, it can leave them scratching
their heads.

The Australians Are Here!

One of my favorite things about working in Air Services,
and with the US Antarctic Program in general, is meeting
people from all over the world. Today, a Airbus operated
by Skytraders landed at the Ice Runway and deposited 50
Australians. Kiwis from New Zealand we see. Aussies from
Australia, we don't. All of their stations are far to the west
of us and we definitely don't share the same airspace.
This group are hitching several rides on our LC-130s
from the Ice Runway to the skiway at Casey Station.


I know this sounds weird, but it was interesting to see all
of their bags labeled "Casey" and "Wilkins". Unlike the US
program, each of the Australian stations have different
colored bag and cargo tags, representing each station.
Of course, I was always interested in Airline luggage tags
before they became bar code-ized and seeing exotic
three letter codes for the cities was the rule and not the
exception.


We're used to seeing the Americans in their Red parkas
and the Kiwis in their Black and Orange parkas, but it
was refreshing to see so many folks in Yellow parkas
running around town. Although it definitely contributes
to a very crowded station. We have 1010 people on
station right now with more to come tomorrow. If we
don't get some flights out to Pole soon, we'll all be
sharing beds!

Left Holding the Bag

Of course this photo is a joke...

When have you seen a plane this empty lately???

Today I read an article >here< that American Airlines
is now going to be charging for each piece of luggage
brought onto a plane, beginning with $15.00 for the
first bag.

"AA says its elite frequent-flier members and those who
purchase premium tickets (first, business or full-fare
economy fares) will not have to pay the fees. The fees
apply only to flights within the USA and Canada".

"Additionally, AA says it also "has increased its fees
for certain other services, ranging from reservation
service fees to pet and over-sized bag fees. The
increases mostly range from $5 to $50 per service.
The company estimates that new and increased fees
announced this month will generate several hundred
million dollars in incremental annual revenue."

What's next?!?! I'm guessing that carry-on items will
be charged and soon each person will be charge based
on their height or weight as they arrive on the plane.
To save weight, we may be asked to strip down to nothing
before boarding the plane. Sound ridiculous you say?
Maybe...but charging for items that once seemed
untouchable a few years ago, such as a checked-in bag
would have sounded crazy a few years ago.

I've been told that this won't affect international
flights and all connecting flights to an international
flight would be included in the no-charge clause.
However, the recent trend within RPSC employees of holding
orientation in Denver for Summer and Winter folks coming
south will cause two separate flight segments...just to
get to LAX for the flight to New Zealand. Is Uncle Ray
going to eat this cost of paying an additional fee to get
our bags to Denver? Hardly. I believe we have seen the
last of the Denver orientation sessions and will be going
back to holding these sessions in Christchurch, which in
my opinion were a bit of a cluster. Either way, it will
be another huge expense and it bodes poorly for the USAP.

Bags to Drag

Hopefully the last Bag Drag of the year took place
today. 100 people are due to leave tomorrow and
all of them brought their bags through Air Services
and I weighed them on the scales. The passengers
and their baggage were a combined weight of
21,864 pounds! That's actually only just over 218
pounds per person. Some folks must be dieting,
because the season average was around 235 pounds
per person. Plus, unlike bags at the new Heathrow
terminal in London, it's extremely doubtful any of
these bags will be lost. They, and their owners
are heading north...leaving us to our peace and
quiet of winter.