ROTHERA!

Well, after 2 months of training, 1 day of flying, 10 days in the Falklands, 10 days at sea (and 12 years of wondering what it'd be like to actually go there) I finally arrived at Rothera, my home for the next two and a half years!

The following week was mainly taken up with 'relief' i.e. unloading the cargo from JCR. We received initial field training giving us the 'basic' skills of crevasse rescue, use of ice axes and crampons and use of pyramid tents, primus stoves and tilly lamps. We got to spend the night out camping at 'Vals' (the local area used for boarding / skiing) and woke to stunning views over base and out to the mountains of the Antarctic peninsular. It's summer at the moment and currently 24hr daylight which is difficult to get used to as you don't really feel tired!

The views from base are stunning and constantly changing with the weather. We're surrounded by mountains, glaciers, huge ice cliffs, ice bergs, sea and numerous small islands. The base is pretty busy at this time with people flying in and out on a daily basis being ferried between Stanley / Rothera and field stations further along the peninsular on the Dash 7 and Twin Otters.