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At least we're not reduced to eating penguins

Posted at 12:00 PM on December 14, 2010 by Eric Ringham (2 Comments)
Filed under: Science, Weather

Last evening I noticed that the snow mountain I'd built next to my driveway was beginning to fracture. A fissure had developed along the approximate line of the chain-link fence buried deep within the mountain.

I recognize this. I've seen it in videos from Alaska. It's called "calving."

But a better video to help put things in perspective is this one: the trailer for a PBS documentary about the fateful (but, miraculously, not fatal) Antarctic expedition of Ernest Shackleton and his ship Endurance in 1914. Have you had some anxious moments when your car was stuck in a snow bank? Imagine having your ship stuck in an ice floe - with no prospect of rescue.

If the kids need something to do on their snow day (doubtful), set them to reading the story of the Endurance. Or give them shovels and send them out to work on the driveway.

Comments (2)

Loved the Shakleton story. The Chilean miners are the Shakleton of our day.

Posted by Momkat | December 14, 2010 3:27 PM

This is funny because I too was reminded of Antarctica as I walked to my car last night after work. It was almost eery how those banks of snow on either side of the sidewalk, now much taller than myself, mirror the glaciers we see in images such as these.

Posted by Amy | December 15, 2010 10:52 AM