Time at the CDC

No, not that CDC. Nothing is wrong with me (some might argue that). The Clothing Distribution Center (aka the CDC) in Christchurch NZ is where everyone going to Antarctica as part of the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) gets issued the required extreme cold weather gear (ECW). This is also where ALL of your gear is weighed to ensure compliance. Remember the post on packing for the trip? Yeah, here is where it counts.

You are issued a lot of gear and have the opportunity to try it for fit and function, exchanging as needed. In the end my total gear check-in weight was 104 lbs. That did not include the gear I would have to wear on the flight to Antarctica and my personal carry-on. 104 lbs out of a total of 110 lbs allowed! I'm definitely going to assess what I'm taking against what I will use over the course of this deployment. Others that I met were close to the limit as well and they (in some cases) had multiple deployments served.

I found the duct tape :)

Next Post? Ice Flight - Leg 4 of 5