Monday, May 21, 2012

Normal Day at Summit

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  We have been having internet problems while the two SRI techs are here working on our link to the outside world.  There are lots of new pictures over on the picasa site though.

I thought I would start off with a brief description of what my day looks like.

7:30 am - I wake up and start to realize how cold it is and how much I don't want to get out my sleeping bag.  Get out of my bag and pull on my pants and pull on a shirt.  It is usually at this point I start to think about how long it has been since I took off my long underwear and how many days I have had my socks on.  I eagerly await the end of my first week here so that I can take a shower and take off all of my clothes and see what my body looks like.

8:00 am - Hopefully I make it over to the Big House for the daily all hands meeting.  It is here where we talk about daily schedules, who is doing what, what the weather is going to be like today.  I also get to eat breakfast at this time and chat with everybody.  David (my boss) and I chat about the day's schedule and what we want to get done.

9:00 am - Head out to the MSF (Mobile Science Facility) to do the "warm" work or to the "Noone Pit" (think "The Pit of Despair") at the base of the Swiss Tower.

12:00 pm - Head back to the Big House for lunch.  Chat with people and discuss the morning's activities and what the afternoon looks like.

1:00 pm - Head back to the MSF or the Pit.

6:00 pm - Head back to the Big House for dinner.

8:00 pm - Head back to the MSF or the Pit for a hour or two of work.


10:00 pm - Head to my tent and climb into a cold sleeping bag and head to sleep.

4 comments:

  1. I like the photo of the tent city. What building is near your tent?

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  2. Mike- I liked your description of a "typical day."

    Q: WHY are you sleeping in tents when there's snow on the ground?! Are there no buildings?

    Q: Are you drinking lots of hot drinks and soup? What is average temp?

    RE: constant clothing. My grandfather [Mildred's father, Erin's great grandfather] fought in WWI and wore the same set of clothes for 3 or 6 months, day & night.

    He must've forgotten what his body looked like! Thereafter, he slept in the nude.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Susan,

      Well, we are in tents since there are most of us "Beakers" than there are beds inside the buildings. There are only 11 beds on site, 5 for the normal crew, 6 for the summer carpenters. Everybody else gets a tent. The tent at least has a plywood floor underneath it to give you something to stand on.

      The food we are eating is fantastic. We have a cook by the name of Rosemary who does wonders with the meals. She was here the last time I was here two years ago and I still haven't had the same meal twice.

      The average temp so far has been around -10F. The coldest temps are during the hours after midnight, which have been in the -20 to -30F range. It makes sleeping fun.

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  3. Thanks Mike,

    To bad, we had great food and a great dessert that night. I am looking forward to warmer temps and seeing everybody.

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