Reinhart is finally on The Ice

Reinhart has put some of his pictures up on picasa, so please check them out (link on right)

We put Reinhart on his plane on Monday evening and he arrived in Christchurch on Wednesday afternoon; that International Date Line really gets you. He and his colleagues did a little sightseeing in Christchurch on Wednesday and Thursday.



They were outfitted with their cold weather gear on Thursday and had to be on a bus at 5am on Friday morning to head out to the airfield, repack their bags, and load cargo on the Air Force C-17. Then they were on their way to The Ice, arriving at the McMurdo station Friday afternoon.

Reinhart is sharing a room with a guy from Alaska. There is a communal bathroom on each floor of rooms, very much like older college dormitories. Also similar to college dorms is that there are nicer dorms than others; theirs is somewhere in the middle. He is hoping he’ll have this room for the whole time he is down there; however, since he will be visiting South Pole for weeks at a time, he may be switching rooms once he returns to McMurdo. They have their meals in a modern cafeteria, which also serves as a conference room and a theatre on movie nights. He is sharing an office with his colleagues, Laura and Rob, and there is a stop sign right outside of their window. He is a little disappointed with how non-remote it feels, but he is thrilled with the weather. The weather was so nice on Sunday (our Saturday) that he and another new arrival, Leah, went on a hike. He was able to wear just his jeans and ski jacket and boots; he didn’t have to wear the special jacket and boots supplied by Raytheon, or even long underwear!

This week he’ll have his helicopter training and an extreme survival training course (aka Happy Camper Training) which requires him to spend a night outside. He’ll fly to the South Pole Station on Saturday and stay there a couple of weeks; hopefully through Thanksgiving, since he has heard they put on a heck of a feast.

As for me, I’ve completed the paperwork for my alternate position with Raytheon. I had a phone screening for yet another job, a fantastic full time science position. I should find out this week if they’ll bring me in for a full interview, but I’m not getting my hopes up. It’s getting Christmas Craft Show season, and I attended some short cooking seminars in conjunction with one of those shows . I learned a little more about high altitude cooking and have a lot of great recipes; I can’ wait to do some cooking when Reinhart gets back in February. This week I’ll be finishing up my PQ (physical qualification) process for the alternate position, and then I’ll be free to start my drive back to NC whenever I feel like it…probably sometime between Nov 16 and Nov 22.
Remember to check out Reinhart’s pictures on the picasa page. Also consider checking out how Splendido is doing in the Caribbean 1500 this year (http://www.carib1500.com/); I’m watching them closely as I am a little envious I didn’t just hop on the boat again this year.