Antarctic Newsletter #03

Longren Antarctic Newsletter #03 - 05.12.2022

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Dearest people,

Welcome to another newsletter!

In this edition, I'll be spotlighting the

specific work that I perform here: cargo.

I am most excited to present what I have been up

to for the past seven weeks and to show off the

various equipment that we use here.

Air transportation operations

Where I work, we handle all movement of people

and cargo on planes, both from off continent and

within Antarctica itself. There are various

groups in the department. Within ATO, there are

passenger services, load planning, airfield

supervisors, and shuttles, just to name a few.

And me, I am a cargo handler.

As a cargo peep*, the work I do can be

summarized simply; we pick things up and put

them down somewhere else. Usually, these

things are quite heavy. Additionally, places

have a decent distance between them. Thus,

there are three main parts to the job:

-the strapping of stuff to other stuff

-the picking up and putting down of stuff

-the driving of stuff from point A to B

I'll go over each of these parts and include

some photos to provide a slice of insight into

the excitement of being a delivery person.

*(Many people here go by their position and

first name. So, while there are a total of

five Lukes on station, I am Cargo Luke. And,

to provide other examples, my two wonderful

roommates are Rigger Matt and Dispatch Nick.)

Strapping stuff

With much of the stuff being moved around

weighing a few tons or more, it would be bad

if said stuff moves in a way that is not

intended. Hence, ratchet straps (and, at times,

chains) are used to hold things down. Many small

things are put together on a pallet to make a big

thing, which is easier to move around with a

loader or pallet carrier. Additionally, netting

is used to hold everything together.

A pallet of fuel drums being moved (S. Allinger).

The pallets that we use are from the air force

(a universal version used between many coutries),

which are large, flat, metal coated wood slabs

with D-rings along the outer edge. Usually, many

boxes on skids (the nailed together wood-board-

thing that most normal people call a pallet) are

tetris-ed together onto the air force pallet.

Lifting stuff

After the things are all strapped together, they

commonly are moved from either the aircraft into

town, or vice versa. It's a pretty simple process;

just a loader with a couple levers and a person

giving a few hand signals at times. We operate

some loaders that are small and some that are big.

Here are a bunch of photos, in order of size, of

a selection of loaders that we operate.

An M4KN loader, commonly called a Pickle (NSF).

A common IT-28 loader used around-town (NSF).

A 950G loader uploading a pallet (M. Lucibella).

A 966G and a 950G loader in the foreground

with a C-17 landing overhead (M. Lucibella).

Driving stuff

To get the large, heavy pallets (or other cargo)

between town and the airfield, big trucks are

used. Specifically, I want to showcase the main

vehicle that is used to do so: the Kress.

My supervisor, Chris, sitting in the Kress.

The cargo version of the Kress is a custom-

built pallet carrier with huge tires, made to

traverse the ice shelf on Antarctica. It has

a capacity of about 20 tons, or 18k kilograms.

It is a Frankenstein contraption, built from a

30' long dump truck front-end and 70' long cargo

bed. It is a blast to drive, though spooky at

first, given some of the sharp cliffs on the

route to the airfield.

The Kress being driven by me, the author,

in front of Mt. Erebus (L. Yates).

I've been really enjoying my time down here.

It's a relatively simple job, with lots of

driving. Simple stuff that can be left at work

and not needed to be thought about when off the

clock. I've picked up a part-time job bartending

as well, which has been a fun way to make some

extra drinking money.

I'll try to gather a few more personal photos

and videos of me at work and send them out later

this week. I think the work that's done down

here is, in many ways, amazing. I've enjoyed

sharing it with you thus far.

Until next time, I wish you lovely adventures.

With appreciation,

Luke

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If you think that someone would be interested in learning

about the Antarctic and what working there is like, please

do forward this letter to them.

If you would like to be removed from this newsletter, just

email me and I can do so.

Lastly, if you have any questions about life, work, or

anything else regarding Antarctica, send me an email and

I can try to answer your question in the next letter.

Thank you!