What to do when you can't look for Meteorites
    
December 27th

We woke up this morning to low cloud and light snow. It has been snowing on and off since Christmas Eve so unfortunately this means that the blue ice will be covered by enough snow to hide the meteorites. We wonít be searching again until we get a wind to blow the snow away. I have been with the group about a week and a half now, and we have already had more tent days that my entire previous trip! Surprisingly the tent days donít seem to drag, they go by quite quickly. We watch movies, read books and play games. Sometimes a group will get together in a tent for Scrabble. Joe normally wins!

We also have some other work we can do when the weather is not conducive for meteorite hunting. We have been placing metal poles into the glaciers at several locations and using GPS to know very precisely the locations of these poles. Over the coming years we will be able to learn exactly how much the ice moves, and it what direction. Today a few of us went out and planted 5 poles. This involves drilling a deep hole into the ice and using warm water to cement the pole into the ice. Whilst not as fun as meteorite hunting, it was great to be outdoors looking at the wonderful scenery.

Hopefully we will get a good wind storm before too long (it seems odd to wish for a storm!) that will blow the snow away so that we can get back to hunting!

Ben Bussey