10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…Lift Off! In the NASA visitor stands, I watched as friends have the experience of a lifetime – on the top of the Falcon 9 rocket. They’re going more than 100 mph as they clear the tower. They have just begun their journey to the International Space Station. For two of the four, it is […]
Reaching for the stars … and missing Read More »
“Wow.” I got in to bed at 2:30 in the morning yesterday. I was in a hotel. I was off the ice. It’d been 5 months since I’d been around a tree, flower, darkness, kids – the list goes on and on. Only three full weekends off in 5 months – which doesn’t really count
Five months on the Ice Read More »
Once again, I’m on my way to Antarctica. Currently in New Zealand for some helicopter training (practicing on how to enter and exit a hovering helicopter – quite fun) and soon into the mountains to train on Search and Rescue with the New Zealand field team. None of this training was available to us last
There were many times during the week of preparations for this trip where I thought, what the fuck am I doing? Time, money, effort, questions, problems, loneliness. I could be doing so many other things right now. I’d had all these thoughts before and knew it was worth it, so I kept on going, got
In June, I worked a NOLS Alumni course on Denali. It was not a typical NOLS course and it was not a typical mountaineering experience. I had wanted to climb the mountain for a long time, with various things getting in the way over the years. At last, it was time to experience the mountain.
21 April 2024 I get tired of the strain. There are things inside me that I cannot easily put to words. I don’t think words are my first language. Paragraphs have never been easy. As if trying to place a face – you flip through all the faces in your brain, looking for a match,
Half a year on the ice Read More »
And just like that I am back. What am I doing here? It’s still August! But within minutes, I can feel myself adapting to life in a different place – a place that’s more familiar than home these last few years.. To get here at this time, I had to leave home, I had to
Well, that is that. Summer is over, I’m going back in time. I’ve left New England’s summer, first for New Zealand’s springtime. In a matter of days, I’ll leave here for the coldest time of the year in Antarctica. So far we’ve been delayed a number of times because the ambient temperature is below -45
After almost two weeks in NZ, feeling rested and refreshed with some wonderful adventures with the Noonsun crew (in wheeled vehicles), I got in touch with some Antarctic people to see if they still needed help with the winter Search and Rescue (SAR) team. They had offered me a contract extension while I was on
Winter Search and Rescue Read More »
The season in McMurdo is complete, but I don’t know how to put it eloquently into words. There was too much stress, strong emotions, too many questions, and times where I just had to put the blinders on and keep going. There were high highs that made me love the place, and low lows that