| Geoff Sims @ UNSW | 
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Home  South Pole Diaries 2012/13 20th December, 2012 |
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Thursday, 20th December, 2012
ECW issue (John)
This morning saw us all out at the USAP Clothing Distribution Center, where we spent an hour trying on our Extreme Cold Weather Gear and making sure everything fit. It is said that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing, and nowhere is that truer than in Antarctica. Fortunately the standard issue clothing is superb, although we will be testing it severely at Ridge A - not only very cold but also at 4,000 metres elevation.
Tonight, at midnight, we'll fly to McMurdo in an Australian Antarctic Division Airbus A319. As well as checked luggage and carry-on luggage, we each have a "boomerang" bag with a few days clothing in it, in case the plane has return from mid flight and we end up back in our hotels again. This is not uncommon, as the conditions at McMurdo can change suddenly. All our checked baggage will have been "palletized", and the crews would rather not unload everything when a boomerang flight occurs.
The day concluded with dinner at the Dux Live, a live music pub that has replaced the wonderful Dux Deluxe; a favourite of previous visits but sadly destroyed in the earthquake.
Tomorrow morning, when we wake up, we will be in a very different world.
Ok, strike that - the phone just rang and our flight has been delayed another 24 hours!
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