Spring on the way?

This is my 6th try posting this image - I'll add more comments if this works.

Break-up in Northern Quebec

Well I have been in Raglan for a few days now and it is still very much winter, though not as cold as it was back in March, only about -10C now. We are still getting a lot of snow and the wind is keeping it moving. However, the days are getting longer, it gets light about 4:00 and dosent get properly dark till after 22:00.
The above image was taken on the flight up here, the open water is a sign that spring is slowly making it's way north.

with the warmer weather up here work is going well, the drills are running all the time, so we have plenty on holes to survey and loops to lay, much better than sitting in camp wating for a break in the weather.

In Montreal

Well I am back on the road to Raglan. While sitting in my motel room In Montreal I saw this dude eating butter cups on the grass outside my room. Not quite sure what he is, but he didn't look to pleased when he noticed me.

Update - I just had a google around and I think it is a Marmot (woodchuck) I didn't think to ask him how much wood he would chuck, if he could chuck wood.

Canadian Rangers

These guys, and others like them patrol the most isolated parts of Canada maintaining a military presence, performing search and rescue, and generally keeping an eye on the vast wilderness that makes up most of this country. They had had a tough ride in from Wakham bay due to the overcast sky and very flat light, which makes it hard to travel on the snow, but they were all still smiling and were very obliging when one of the geologists here asked them to line up for a photo.

The Rangers Visit camp

We had a visit from The Canadian Rangers today. They were on a patrol from Wakham Bay to Saluit and had trouble with a Skidoo, so stopped here to fix it and have a cup of tea. then they went on their way.

The Canadian Rangers are part-time reservists who provide a millitary presence in remote parts of Canada.

Pingualuit Crater

++Update, this image has recently become quite popular, and I have no idea why. If you have come here after searching for this image please take a minute to tell me why.++

I managed to get a seat on the left side of the plane, without a wing in the way, so I was able to get a shot of the Pingualuit (New Quebec) Crater. This crater is 3.44 km in diameter, about 250m deep and is about 1.4 million years old. You can also see it here on google maps.

Off to Raglan again

yep, after two weeks home I am on the road again. Today I flew from St. John's to montreal, tomorrow I'll be heading up to Sunny Raglan again.

Home again

I made it home early on April the 5th, just in time for Michelle's Birthday. I now seem to be suffering from a touch of Raglanitis, Just a bit of a cold, not the full blown respiratory infection that seemed to be going around camp. Just hope I get over it soon so i can enjoy being home before i have to head out again.

Meringue

Snow here does not behave like snow in the south, it is not light and fluffy, now is it wet and sloppy. Here it is hard as concrete, you can walk on it without sinking, no need for snow shoes. The snow here is made up of single crystals of ice, not flakes, these are blown by the wind and form some amazing shapes. Here a valley is slowly being filled in by the massive Meringue like structures.

Drill Parking lot

Since not all the drills are running, some remain parked for the winter. Snow here seems to stick to everything, not because it is wet, it isn't, it sticks because it is very fine and carried by the wind it slowly builds up on everything.

Frozen porter

This is the porter the drillers use to move equipment around, it is currently on a winter holiday. It has been parked here since november, in a very exposed location so snow hasn't gathered around it very much, but snow has stuck to it.

Tough Pup

About 3 weeks ago there was a sled dog race that came through the region, unfortunately we didn't get to see it. Apparently, about 90km from here 3 dogs were lost, so for the past 3 weeks these animals have been wandering the tundra and have endured temperatures below -40C and wind up to 90km/h.
This dog showed up at the front door of the camp early one morning, it was obviously very tired, hungry and dehydrated. The dog has a rabies vaxination tag, so the camp manager was able to trace the owner through a the vet that dud the vaxination. Currently the dog is being cared for by the drillers, who are feeding it up as it has lost a lot of weight. hopefully it can be reunited with it's owner and the rest of the team at some point.

Window Cleaner?

While working at my desk I noticed the light coming through my tunnel suddenly got dimmer, I looked up to see the tunnel blocked by Kirk.
Lastnight and today we are being hit by another Blizzard, so my tunnel is now blocked by snow again.

My View

Thought I'd try again with the shot from my window. I had to dig it out again today after two days of snow and high winds.

Digging out... Again

After two more days of Raglan's finest weather the new drifts were quite impressive.

Not much of a picture

This is the view from my desk, sort of hard to see in this image, but it is looking out through about 6 feet of snow. I dug this tunnel yesterday to let some light into my room as I wes getting fed up with the dark.

Digging out in Raglan

Two Guys digging for the windows in at Donaldson camp, Raglan.

Digging out in Raglan

After 2 1/2 days of high winds and snow this is what Donaldson camp looked like, Snow upto the roof!

Here you see two guys digging out some of the windows to let the light in to the offices. In the foreground you can see where I tunneled to my window. My window was totaly burried so I had to pace the distence from an adjacent window, then stard digging, hoping to hit my window, fortunatly my paceing was bang on and I found my window.

Home & office for a month

Yep, this is where it all happens - well not much is happening really, the weather has made for a slow start to the season. I have been working on reports from other projects.

In this shot you see my bed on the left, on the right are 3 pules EM receivcers, charging ready for a day in the field. My wall is covered with all sorts of useful information, windchil chart, schedule, transmitter loop maps and such. My view from the window is blocked by snow, which I have since removed to let the sun shine in, the window has now frosted over, so I still don't have a view but at least I have natural light.

2 of 3 Suns

Had to get out of the office today, the weather looked nicer than it was, -35C and windy.

Sun Dogs, or 3 Suns as I heard it called here, are a fairly common sight here, there is often a full 22 degree halo around the sun. Before going out I put on my telephoto lens as I was hoping to photograph snow blowing along the ground up on the hill, but it was too damn cold to go up there. The wide angle lens would have been better for this shot but there you go... The sun here is rather over exposed, but I wasn't going to mess around with a tripod and take a HDR set, getting one shot was suprisingly hard in the cold.