Tabular Iceberg - Antarctic Sound, Antarctica
Exif: ISO 50; f/8; 1/800 sec; 200mm
12.31.2006 ©Michael Raymond 2006 - 2007

Nothing to Lose Your Head Over - Brown Bluff, Antarctica
Exif: ISO 50; f/5.6; 1/125 sec; 200mm
12.31.2006 ©Michael Raymond 2006 - 2007

Kelp Gull - Brown Bluff, Antarctica
Exif: ISO 50; f/5.6; 1/400 sec; 200mm
12.31.2006 ©Michael Raymond 2006 - 2007

Glacier Sun - Brown Bluff, Antarctica
Exif: ISO 50; f/22; 1/250 sec; 15mm fisheye
12.31.2006 ©Michael Raymond 2006 - 2007

Ice Window - Brown Bluff, Antarctica
Exif: ISO 50; f/8; 1/200 sec; 200mm
12.31.2006 ©Michael Raymond 2006 - 2007

Even Penguins Bitch and Moan - Brown Bluff, Antarctica
Exif: ISO 50; f/4.5; 1/1250 sec; 200mm
12.31.2006 ©Michael Raymond 2006 - 2007

Gentoo Chick - Brown Bluff, Antarctica
Exif: ISO 50; f/4.5; 1/800 sec; 200mm
12.31.2006 ©Michael Raymond 2006 - 2007

Screaming Gentoo - Brown Bluff, Antarctica
Exif: ISO 50; f/5.6; 1/125 sec; 200mm
12.31.2006 ©Michael Raymond 2006 - 2007

Jeff Watson AI Threat Level: Green - The reader may proceed without danger of reading anything related to American Idol.

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The quickest way down a mountain, other than pitching yourself off a cornice or cliff and plummeting to your death, is to glissade.

Glissading is pretty simple stuff. You find a slope covered with snow, sit down, lean back, and go. You control the speed of your descent by using the pointed tip of an ice axe (the pick) as both a rudder and a brake: dig the pick into the snow to slow down, pull the pick up to go fast. Essentially, you’re going downhill on a frozen Slip ‘n Slide.

La Raymunda glissades!

On the morning of December 31st 2006 we made our only landing onto the actual mainland continent of Antarctica, getting ashore at Brown Bluff on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula (63°31′17.58″S 56°52′53.04″W). It was our only mainland landing for the simple reason that at every other bit of the continent’s shoreline - at least the parts we saw - the land met the sea as a glacier, a mountain, a cliff, or an ice field…not exactly ideal for running a zodiac ashore and letting out the tourists.

But Brown Bluff was perfect. And what a day we had! Cobalt blue skies, no wind and a relatively warm (36 degrees F) day. We hiked up a ridge flanked by soaring cliffs to our right and a glacier to our left. At the top of the ridge the guides told us we were going to glissade down the snowy slope of the ridge and out onto the surface of the glacier for the walk back to the beach. I hadn’t glissaded on anything since Mt Rainier in 2000, so I was looking forward to this.

The run-out of the snow slope wasn’t steep, nor was it very long, so no one needed an ice axe to control their speed. One by one each member of our group sat in a butt-shaped chute, carved out of the snow by a couple of guides who had gone down first, kicked up their heels and slid down the slope. Well, to be accurate, some slid…most sort of nudged their way down the slope. I had done this before and went as fast as I could and had a great ride, if not a little bumpy on the behind (which is to be expected).

Marilyn, though, our bad-ass climber-chick ship’s doctor, rocketed down the slope.

Our ship’s doctor is cooler than your ship’s doctor.

From the base of the slope I looked up to see Marilyn, all 100 pounds of her, lie back and shoot down the slope like a missile. She reached the bottom and sprung to her feet. She shook her legs as if she were shaking out a muscle cramp, snow flying everywhere, and then she shouted, “Whoo! Won’t need to douche today!”

Marilyn, as you can imagine, was one of my favorite people on the ship.

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To see photos of our trip to Antarctica, click here.

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Police have charged two juveniles with lighting the fires that burned two houses near us two days ago. If they are guilty, I hope they take them into a field and shoot them. Maybe they can get them both with one bullet and save the taxpayers some money. (Yes, I know that’s an over-the-top statement and I don’t really mean it, but I suspect the legal system will coddle these two losers and how will that help anyone?)

Links:
Here
Here
And here

Solitary Gentoo - Barrientos Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica
Exif: ISO 400; f/16; 1/40 sec; 115mm
12.30.2006 ©Michael Raymond 2006 - 2007