Flagging Roads

Today I had a good assignment. I went out in the mattrack (an F350 with tracks) with two other GAs. We traveled out past Scott Base (the NZ base) and onto the permanent ice shelf. Many of the flags that marked the roads were tattered, and we were tasked to replace them. We used a hand drill (brace) and a large titanium bit to auger holes. At lunch, we breaked in the hut used by the instructors at snow school. We rigged up the solar panels to charge the HF radios, and then continued our flagging. It's amazing to be sitting on the back of the mattrack, driving across the ice, in Antarctica. I'd hop off the tailgate with a dozen flags, pace off 75' intervals, and drill them all in. The mattrack would go on up the line, and the others would flag out in front of where it parked. Repeat. So fun. The mind doesn't wander. It felt warm and I ended up shedding layers. There wasn't much breeze. Temperatures were a balmy -5, and I was sweating. If not for the icicles in my hair and eyelashes, I would have thought it was warm.