Friday 8 August 2003
Back from training
I've just got back from the Mast training course in Taunton - what an excellent week! We started off climbing electricity pylons to get used to the height and the safety equipment, then practiced doing some actual work up there. This included mock rescues to retrieve Buffy, the 12 stone stunt dummy, and derigged and reinstalled a mobile phone transmitter. This morning we climbed a 200 foot radio mast so my arms are probably going to ache tomorrow.
We only worked til 4pm each day so we had plenty of time for a bit of relaxation - we even made it to the beach to enjoy the sunshine. I also got to meet quite a few new BAS people, including five of the other Halley winterers. I'm pleased to report they were all friendly, funny and interesting people!
Quite a few of the others brought cameras so I'll try and get hold of some snaps to add to the gallery. Next week we've got a few more days of training in Cambridge, where we'll be learning how to put up and maintain the sort of masts they have at Halley.
Posted by simon at 7:54 PM