Between going through a lot of our scientific cargo we have to install at AGAP, and a late night meeting with one of the mountaineers supporting the camp, we got a relatively large amount of information and confidence yesterday about this Low-Power Magnetometer installation that will be happening in the relatively near future.
The meeting served mostly to let us know what to expect when we get to the camp. There is not a whole lot of infrastructure there yet. The main buildings are reinforced tents and yurts, and we'll be sleeping in our own mountain tents. The altitude can be really nasty there, and we'll have to take it easy the first few days to avoid getting pulmonary and/or cerebral edema. It's considerably colder there, and is currently in the -30s Fahrenheit. This is essentially the highest region of the Antarctic Plateau, and while there are peaks that are higher this is as gnarly as the Flat White can get.
It's going to be a challenge, but I think we're up to it. Last year I often felt like I was having the real Antarctic experience hidden from me by the relatively luxurious conditions at McMurdo. I wanted to get out and have a real field camp experience, and that's definitely what this is going to be.
It's definitely going on my resume.
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