Unexpected Guests

November 26, 2008

A helicopter arrived this morning and dropped three guys from McMurdo Station. They fixed our internet and wind generator, which had both been working intermittently. Luckily, some wind started blowing to test the windmill.

Unfortunately, the wind kept getting stronger, and, by the time the helo returned a few hours later to take the guys back to McMurdo, it was 40mph and gusty, too risky to land. In an anxious moment, we watched the helicopter hover outside our kitchen window, visibly buffeted sideways by gusts, while its pilot apologized over the radio: “Sorry guys, I can’t shoot the approach. I’m heading back to station.”

So, we are battened down with six people in our tiny hut, including three unexpected guests. They’re stuck here until weather improves, probably at least overnight. It’s my turn to cook dinner today, and I’m suddenly feeding a lot of people! We can’t hike down to the penguin colony in this weather, so we’re sipping hot chocolate, entering data, dreaming of fresh onions, and catching up on email, waiting for the storm to pass. According to our anemometer (wind gauge), the highest gust so far was 54mph – enough to pin us inside, but not really ripping yet.