Go ahead, guess...
Really.
Ok, I'm on a Twin Otter at about 3500 feet flying back from FMARS! We are on the way back after spending the day inspecting FMARS and delivering cargo and returning waste. What fun...
After the earlier post, you probably want the story. OK, What happened was this;
We called in at 0715 and were told that all was well and that we should show up at 0830 to see our load off. We were there at 0830 (James drove the Dodge, I screamed along on the SkiDoo, Clipped 80 kpH at several points during the trip, and caught air a couple times. I had forgotten how much I loved these things! Great fun!) and waved goodbye to our first load of cargo and the scout flight. They told us to be back here at 1100 for our flight. We got the call that our flight was delayed and we waited until 1230. While we were waiting, we decided to help Aziz with one of his projects. Then things got interesting...
It seems that one of the people in the Mars Society has been spreading false rumors about me. Robert, the MS president actually called me and made me give my word, “On my Honor” that I wouldn't do it. That pissed me off beyond measure. It is just another childish game, and hardly even worth dealing with, but I am happy to see that they burned all of their credibility forever on that obvious lie...
But then we got the call, and Norman (out Inuit guide and helper) showed up and off we went like a heard of screaming turtles to the airport where we waited for them to load our personal survival gear and to clamp a couple ends on the cable we were going to use for our Netcaster Internet connection (Free Plug!). After an hour of farting around, we finally scramble into the mighty bird.
Let me tell you The Twin Otter is a incredible piece of machinery. Especially in the hands of someone who really knows what they are doing. We were up in no time, and had a smooth uneventful flight (You want “Uneventful” and “Flight” used in the same sentence typically. Especially when you or someone you care about is on that flight...) and a glass like landing on the ridge between FMARS and HMP. We quickly jumped out and started to help unload the burdened beast, but quickly we had to stop while the pilots unlashed our snowmobile. We took a few seconds to look around going “Oh My God!”, then back to work. We are being pushed by weather that is starting to look very bad. We quickly loaded our first sled load and James and I blasted over to FMARS, the snowmobile a bit sluggish under the heavy load. I weaved my way around the edge of the hill, looking for a smooth path that kept us off of the really steep sections of the hill. A quick burst of throttle, and we climbed up to the top of the last steep hill and we were on the Ridge that belongs to FMARS.
Welcome To FMARS!
I ride right up to the front hatch and quickly unload. I set up the camera and arrogantly stride up to the front hatch, undog it and pull.
WTF???
It doesn't move.
“Did you undog it?” James helpfully asks.
“Of course” I reply, pretty certain that I did it right, but just in case I fiddle and pull some more. Nothing.
We look at each other with a sinking feeling in our stomachs. We scurry around to the aft hatch and a little more carefully undog it and pull hard.
Still nothing. Run to the side sample hatch, Undog it.
Oh shit.... So much for our triumphant entry...
And the hatches are frozen. I look for a prybar, and settle on a piece of 8' inch and a half angle iron. I go to both the aft and sample locks, nothing. This damn thing is frozen shut. We look at each other contemplating sawing the floor open when one of us had the great idea to take the 90000BTU salamander heater and use the exhaust from that to thaw the hatch. Brilliant!
Except that the generator, the Honda generator that we brought wouldn't start. FRELL!
I ask James to finish unloading the sled and run back and get Norman and our survival gear. He reminds me that survival gear now also consists of the other Kero heaters and fuel. Off he goes while I see if I can get the old gas genset running. While I look, I realize that we have starting fluid with us. Ahh, our good old friend Ether! Open up the intake & air filter, a quick spray, and soon the satisfying purr of the little genset fill the air... (Oh, For you who don't know, genset = Generator Set, a military expression referring to the engine and generator components together, or what people who don't know call a generator.) I fill the salamander and jockey it into position. This is not an easy task for one person, made even tougher by the fact that we forgot any extension cords, so I have to put the heater and it's 8 inch cord right beside the genset. Soon I do, soon we have heat on the door, and just about the time that James and Norman return, I realize that this is near to useless. We all pitch in and soon there is a tent covering the front hatch, and hopefully it will thaw soon.
In the mean time we send Norman back to shuttle all of the equipment back to the hab while James and I look for alternate methods in. One of the boxes contained my shattered tool tub (yes, tools are missing) with my framing hammer in it. Using the claw as a prybar, I try to work the hatches open until finally, the Sample lock hatch opens up. I climb in and am able to kick the forward hatch open, followed a bit later by the aft hath.
FMARS is ours again!
We do a quick tour looking for nastiness or potential immediate stink hazards. Not finding any, we light a couple of the large kerosene heaters to, along with the heat from the really big one, start warm the place up.
Long story short, We went there, found some critical issued (The gensets had to come home to be fixed...) and some minor setbacks, but over all it seems that we can lick this,
More on this tomorrow, because it's now 0145, and I've been working my ass off since 0710....
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