Isa-Adventure Team Member Martin Barnett in Antartica – Inspiration – Enough Said!

Editor Note:  Read through in full…Martin’s “sign off” line is the best I have ever seen.  Thank you Martin.

Last week, the outdoor team put up a notice for people wanting to join the Search and Rescue team. They finally sifted through all the applicants and narrowed it down to two groups of 12. We then went out in a group and learnt all about knots, self arrest, crevasse travel and crevasse rescue. It was nothing I haven’t done before but it was fun to get out and to recap on those skills.

 

I was just told yesterday that I made the team. I was very surprised by this as they only needed 12 total and they mainly wanted to choose people that are wintering over this season and four from the Kiwi base.

I am lucky sometimes. Here are a few pics from or try out session. The crevasse was made for us by a D12 which was quite unusual considering how many crevasses there are around here but it was a lot safer.

The mountain smoking in the background of one of the pics is called Erebus. It is the worlds most southern Volcano and is very active. Not in huge proportions fortunately as McMurdo would be wiped out, but those people (Not many) that have been aloud up there have taken pictures of larva and flying molten rock inside. 

I watched a documentary last night called ‘Encounters at the end of the world’ by Werner Herzog. Apparently, it was on at some independent theaters back in the States a month or so before I left but I didn’t know about it. I felt it was very well put together but he found some of the weirdest people to talk to. If I would have seen this before I came here, I might have had second thoughts. If you do get to see it, I can only say that it has been portrayed differently than it really is down here. Anyway, I also got to see a show on the ‘Burning Man’ fest in Nevada which is a totally different topic again.

That’s enough of my gibberish for now.  

Martin.

(Full time traveler, part time worker)