The gear

After some well-deserved night rest (only interrupted by me waking up a few times due to jet lag), I had breakfast and then waited for the shuttle to take us to the Antarctic Program Clothing Distribution Center (CDC) where all of us new arrivals were issued our extreme cold weather (ECW) gear. I met all the "old" friends from plane ticket queue from yesterday again, surprise!  :)

We first had to surrender the laptops for a security check (if all the updates are installed etc.), then we watched a video about garbage disposal at the US American stations in Antarctica (because you have to take ALL the waste out of Antarctica again - that was agreed on in the Antarctic treaty). After that we watched the movie that should have explained how much gear we would get and what we should wear on the plane, and where we should pack the rest. Unfortunately that movie did not have the intended effect: everybody was more confused about where to pack what than before watching the movie. We had several explanations from multiple people afterward who tried to clarify things, and that helped a bit. I just hope I get everything organized in my brain before we fly out...

And then we got the gear. Two bags were already packed for each person, with gear that was selected according to the size specifications each of us had to submit on one of the thousand forms that we had to fill out before we got our plane tickets issued. Nevertheless, we had to try all of the things on to make sure that they actually fit. Here are some pictures of the collection if items we found in our bags (taken with my iPhone since I forgot my camera in the hotel - stupid me!):

I got a red, super puffy down jacket, that has a name tag with my name on it! I learned that it has my name on it so that people know who I am (I wonder if the guy just didn't add "...when they find you frozen somewhere"). Then I got a red jacket that is not so puffy, and I bet not as warm. And that does not have my name on it (Obviously, nobody needs to know who I am when I have that jacket on...). I got a pair of warm, black overall-pants. The first pair I got was a bit short (ended just above my ankle), and I felt a bit uneasy with them. I asked if they had something longer, and they did. Those pants are definitely better, reaching clearly beyond my ankles, and covering the boots better. Then I got a thick fleece jacket, a thinner fleece jacket, and a thermal, long-sleeved shirt.

I also got a pair of fleece pants, and a pair of thermal pants. And then all the little stuff you can see on the right of the picture above. Countless pairs of gloves, socks, scarves, face masks etc. That stuff alone almost fills a whole bag!

And last but not least, I got a pair of bunny boots. Those are the white ones (maybe "egg-shell colored" would be more accurate...) on the lowest part of the shelf. I would have loved to get the blue boots (which were recommended from colleagues of mine because they are actually breathable). They just look so much better...  ;)

Trying all these things on with about 20 degrees Celsius outside (~70 degrees Fahrenheit) was brutal, and I was really happy when I was done with that. All the gear is now still at CDC, with my name tags, waiting for me to pick it up on the way to the airplane the day I leave.

After the clothing session, I picked up my laptop from the security check and learned that it did not pass! Evidently there were some important updates missing so that I did not get clearance for the laptop to be connected to the network at McMurdo or SouthPole. This afternoon I tried to install the missing updates, and hope that the laptop will be cleared now when I will get to Antarctica from the IT staff there...

We were done pretty quickly, faster than expected, which gave me the opportunity to visit the city center of Christchurch this afternoon. It looks so different now than 4 years ago when I was here last!