Gearing up for my Ice Flight

Clothing Distribution Center

Today was our orientation at the USAP Clothing Distribution Center (CDC).  After going over the remaining steps in the process and reviewing the itinerary for tomorrow,  we were issued our Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear. 

 

ECW Gear 

Tomorrow we leave the hotel at 04:45 to be back at the CDC by 05:30.  We'll get a few minutes to do some final packing before we start the process of weigh-in and baggage screening.

 Trying on our ECW Gear and Packing

Our luggage is broken into three categories: Carry-on,  Checked,  and "Boomerang."  The flight is 5-7 hours but there is a chance that when we get there we might not be able to land,  so like a boomerang, we head back to where we started.  If that's the case, when we get back to Christchurch we get our "boomerang" bag back with a few days clothes so we can survive in a hotel until conditions improve.  We can check about 70 lbs of gear in addition to our ECW for a total of 85 lbs.  We can carry on as much weight as we want but we are restricted to the size of about a medium backpack. 

 Bags are almost ready

During the flight, we have to wear our Parka, Carhartt cold weather overalls, and bunny boots.  All of the gear I was issued seemed to be in new or like new condition so I was pretty happy.  In addition to my red parka, I was issued the same Carhartt jacket I brought from Denver so I'll be storing mine here until I get back. 

Big Red Parka

USAP Terminal

I was also given some medication to help prevent altitude sickness when I transfer to the South Pole, which is at about 10,000 ft. 

The sun was out in Christchurch today, beautiful day to check out the local parks.