New Year's 2010

Hey Everybody!
So Happy New Year. It was pretty exciting being on the edge of the world for new years. I got to celebrate a whole day before most of you! First time zone to hit the new year. That was cool!
Not much has been going on lately. We had a big Christmas Dinner, that I had to work. I did get to have some of the food tho with all the other galley help. It was really good. Besides that it has been work and more work. Really exciting!
New Years eve was special though. After work I decided to take a walk. I was just going to take a walk around McMurdo and listen to music, but I decided after a few minutes to hike up Ob hill again. I was going to take the main way up which is the way that most people go up the front face. You might be able to see the trail if you look at pics of the hill from McMurdo. I didn't want to cross the fuel line tho so I was planning to take the road up to where it meets the trail, but the road up Ob hill was closed. So I was kinda stuck but I really wanted to hike up the hill so I took the trail around the mountian and hiked up the back.
Wierdest decision ever. It was really really steep and really really loose rock and really really FUN! I got all the way up eventually. I had to stop every ten feet or so to figure out where I was going from the semi stable place I was stopped. It was CRAZY!! There is a trail that goes up the back, not as used as the one up the main face, but I couldn't see it! It has been snowing here for the last few days and the mountain all looked the same dark color because of the moisture. So I basically had to create my own trail. And when I kinda figured it wasn't the best idea I had to keep going becuase there was no way I could go back down the way I went up. So I was kinda stuck. (Oh but don't worry I won't get in trouble for hiking whichever way I want people do it all the time) Anyway I made it to the top at around 9:50 or so. And I stayed up there till the rest of the DAs arrived at 11:30 . There was a plan for a toast on ob hill to the new year. I just arrived two hours early.
It was totally worth it tho. I saw everything change and all the clouds moving. It was really really beautiful. I tried to get pictures but my camera doesn't like the cold. I didn't bring the fancy schmacy camera my dad let me borrow because I was only going to do a walk. Oh well. It wasn't that cold at the top out of the wind so I spent most of my time sitting watching the ice and behind rocks to get out of the wind. Anyway the rest of the guys got up the hill and we had a toast at midnight. Then we hiked back down and I was going to go to bed. But I heard a Bagpipe. I mean wierdest thing to hear in Antarctica EVER! Thye had finished setting up the stage for icestock and were celebrating out there. So I hung out for a little before I went to bed. Icestock is a big New Years Celebration with all these local bands from Mcmurdo who play. It is basically a big party because the whole town has tomorrow off. Except for the galley of course. So I had today off instead. YAY!!!! hehe.
I also found out my tenative redeployment date which will apparently change alot so you can tenatively expect me to leave the ice on February 10.
Anyway once again HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ANTARCTICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The pictures are of castle rock and whatever that mountain is called (I can never remember) and of the ice.
The pics at the bottom are of me at the top after I made it all the way alive. and the trail I went up. It is a lot steeper than it looks in the picture. think at least a 45 degree incline. more at some places.