It was a very early start to the day. I was very tired when my palmtop 4:30 alarm went off. Phil and I started getting our ducks in a row. Gave Bill a wake up call, which he didn't need. Then it was back to the hospitality suite for some breakfast. Outta my way! Where's the coffee?! It was a decent spread. The lunches were made available. I grabbed one for Phil and myself. I passed Denis in the hall.
One last check of email. In short order Phil and I were packed up and vacating the room. In the lobby, the tour group gathered. The "bus" was waiting. Stinky diesel. Gord wondered if he had everybody; but he did not do role call. It was 5:45 AM and we were off. I sat in the back row with Gord. It was bouncy. We got there faster than we had been told. Gord had wondered about that. He knew the time was pessimistic given his previous experience working in Sudbury. I tried to see stars or planets outside the window but was unsuccessful. As we arrived the Creighton mine, Gord pointed out a few landmarks, such as the top of the elevator or the "headframe," and the bus stopped at last in front of the SNO LAB administration building. It was still dark out.
In the lobby we met Samantha. Reminded me, in many ways, of my old roomie Sarah. She had us all sign in as her helpers showed up. Michelle had already arrived, traveling directly from Toronto. We milled about and took in some of the display cases. Then it was off to the storage room for change 1 of 2. First we had to get into the mining clothes. We picked up coveralls, boots, helmet, helmet light, and belt (with big ring). This gear is to obviously accommodate for the dirty and dusty environment of the mine. The reflective strips and belt ring are for rescue purposes.
It was at this point that I realised I had goofed up on my socks. I was going to wear heavy socks for the mining boots but I had left them in my luggage and my luggage was in the bed of Phil's truck and the truck was back at the hotel. Even then, I wondered if I might have still have problems. (It was later I learned a trick from Charles for reducing blisters: two pairs of socks.) We headed to the lockers. The civilian clothes and personal items were stored. Then it was into the mining gear. I had chosen the wrong size of coveralls (undersized) so I had to upgrade. The belt size was important too; you were not supposed to be on the first or the last hole; somewhere between. Didn't work for me (oversized) but no one complained.
Photo by Katrina.
We reassembled in the lobby. Photos began in earnest, us in our funny outfits. Our bagged lunches had to be "isolated" so we were given two plastic bags, different colours, an inner, and an outer bag. We'd shed them later, at stages, to avoid bringing contaminants into the lab. Then we officially logged into the mine. This is classic safety system in mining. At the end of the day, if all people are not accounted for, they'll shutdown the mine and begin searching for missing persons. We received a metal tag that would have to be returned at the end of the tour. Workers put the tag on a peg board when they go in; they remove the tag when they exit. Mine tag was 007. Sweet.
The Sun was rising. This was the last we'd see of the local star for a while.
We were herded into the conference room for a briefing. More photos. Sam discussed safety stuff, logistics, next steps, where we could and could not take photos, etc. A reminder again about the check-in and check-out system. We were excited. And a little anxious.
I was thinking my boots were too small.
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