Extreme Cold Weather Clothing

I am now back in Christchurch after having spent my three-day weekend around parts of the South Island of New Zealand. I spent a day in Kaikoura on the northeast coast and a day and a half in and near Abel Tasman National Park on the northern coast. It felt great to be able to get away, enjoy scenic New Zealand, and unwind between the craziness of leaving Colorado and before heading down to Antarctica.

This morning we had a quick briefing at the Antarctic Passenger Terminal and we were issued out Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) clothing for the trip. ECW clothing is issued to everybody going to Antarctica through the US Antarctic Program in order to minimize cost over the years and with different projects. For the first time, this year they required all people to bring their own long underwear and socks. The clothes that are issued include fleece jacket and pants for the insulating layer, a heavy parka and bibs for the outer layer, and bunny boots for the feet. An assortment of gloves, hats, neck gaiter, goggles, etc. are also provided, as well as a lighter jacket for when the conditions do not demand the heavy parka. After completing the issuing of the clothing we were released for the remainder of the day.

My flight to Antarctica is scheduled for tomorrow morning. For those that followed along my last trip to Antarctica, you might recall that it is far from a guarantee as weather plays a critical role. For my last trip we had an initial 24 hour delay, a boomerang flight, and five more successive 24 hour delays. A boomerang flight is a flight that leaves New Zealand, travels approximately halfway to McMurdo, and then determines the weather has gone bad and returns back to where we started in New Zealand. In the end, I finally arrived in McMurdo a week after originally scheduled. I have looked at the forecast and the weather conditions look good for the flight tomorrow. Our check-in time for the flight tomorrow morning is at 6:00 AM. If all goes well, the flight should be leaving by mid-morning.

Trying on my parka and other extreme cold weather (ECW) gear in Christchurch, New Zealand. The ECW gear is issued to USAP participants the day before the scheduled flight.