Frosty

What a day!  Work was busy as always, but that's not what I'm talking about!  So after finishing up my day and saying good night to my love on instant messenger, I made my way over to the gym as I always do.  There are three great pictures below of the "gerbil" gym.  An hour on the treadmill and a nice workout with some basic weights and about fifteen minutes on the heavy bag and I felt great!  Tired, but great....well, hungry too - but GREAT!  I felt great because I was on the list to head to Scott's Point! 

 

The original Hut that some of the first explorers used when on expedition to Antarctica is located at Scott's point and is named after their expedition leader.  Hut point is in walking distance and a great place to get an idea of just how hard the people who first explored this continent had it.  This hut was constructed to provide shelter but proved to be unable to keep the crew warm.  This led to the hut being used as a storage spot for the expedition and the crew sleeping on the on the ship.  Subsequent expeditions used the hut as a staging area and temporary shelter as well.  Enough of my jibber jabber...on to some great pictures!
 

 

 

They had sled dogs the first few expeditions. 

 

Cooking area, place to dry clothes, place to stay warm.

 

 

 

 

 

It is only about -28 today, but on the way walking back the wind kicked up to about 15 - 25 MPH.  This meant that the wind chill was around -52'ish.  Anytime you are out away from the buildings, you have your basic wind and cold weather gear with or on you.  I quickly put on my extra balaclava, extra hat, and took off my sunglasses and put my goggles on.  I don't really know how to explain what that sort of cold feels like.  I felt the little bit of sweat on my face freeze solid instantly, the light sweat that was apparently on my legs and inner most shirt (of four) became stiff as ice crystals formed.  I felt my face numb and muscles in my legs began to seize.  This is of course all quite normal, however, fascinating to experience!  You push through the little bit of pain and the muscles loosen back up.  As you push forward into the wind, your body begins to warm with the exercise and the ice melts.  Once I arrived back to my room and looked in the mirror, I couldn't help but snap a picture of my face for you.  The ice on my skin melted as soon as I entered the building, but you can still see where it is by the shine.  Oh, I haven't shaven in about five days, so I have a small beard.  The cool part, if you zoom a little, is that I have some minor frost nip on my cheeks and forehead.  It will clear by morning, but this happened in only a few seconds.  I have a nice warm room with a cup of hot coffee to go to; now imagine being one of those first people to explore this continent and not have any adequate shelter....

 

Ugly picture of me! :)