Doc Mock tour, Antarctica

Inside the passenger cabins of Ivan and the three Delta's are covered with stickers and labels people have added over the years, thought these might be interesting to Doc Mock.

 

Ice Runway, part II

Here are some more images from the Ice Runway, days before it gets dismantled and moved to Pegasus.  The warmer temps have made the ice pretty soft, so we will land the planes at Pegasus on the permanent ice shelf 15 miles from town starting next week. So instead of landing on 4' (1.2 m) of ice the planes will be landing on over 200' (67m) of ice, which is over 2,000' (670m) of water on the Ross Sea.

Cool clouds over Mt Erebus.

Close-up of cool clouds over Mt Erebus.

A shuttle van heading back to town from IR.

We drive on packed snow and ice roads.

Pushing snow out of the way.

NYANG LC-130's at rest between flights.

Mt Discovery and LC-130's

A 1943 DC-3 rebuilt and in use by Ken Borek Air. 

Called a Basler, named for the company that rebuilt it.

Scott's Discovery Hut

On Sunday I went on a tour of Scott's Discovery Hut at Hut point.  I was very lucky and got Jerod as our tour guide, very knowledgeable and passionate about the history here. The hut was built in 1902 from an Australian design to remain cool in the heat of the outback.  Too cold to live it for any length of time, it was used as storage, a theater and an emergency shelter.

Scott's Discovery Hut.

Supplies piled in the hut.

A rusty old saw.

Long johns hanging over the stove to dry.

Supplies.

Oatmeal tin.

Biscuit tin.

Brian standing by the cross at Hut Point.

The Discovery hut is behind him and the

Society range is across the Ross Sea. 

More Science, McMurdo

Here's some more photos of the Crary Science lab in McMurdo.  We have about 250 scientist on station this week, with about half out in the field.  The remainder are using labs and offices in Crary getting ready for field work or analyzing results from field work. The lab, one of the newest building on station, is 20 years old. The need for capital improvements and new facilities is massive, and a blue ribbon panel has been chaired to look into this. In spite of the limited facilities and funding, there is a lot of interesting science stuff going on down here.

A whiteboard sign welcomes you to Crary.

Crowded hallways and overflowing offices.

A new under water glider being prepared for launch.

This unit will collect data under the ice for months.

ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear bags and stuff.

 

All the carts seem to be licensed.

A solar tower test, for use in remote sites.

Montana cart.

 

Staging for field gear.

Bev explaining a science project.

Antarctic toothfish.

 

A four foot long Antarctic toothfish.

Renamed by seafood marketers as Chilean Sea Bass.

So much easier to sell that way, now sadly, nearly fished out.

 

Thanksgiving Turkey Trot

Over our holiday weekend we have a McMurdo style Turkey trot before our Thanksgiving dinner.  It was a nice day, over 22F and not too windy. Over 180 signed up for the 5k run, not sure how many actually showed up for the 10am fun run though.  Costumes are not required, but encouraged.

The starting line in front of the Chapel.

And their off.

All uphill for the first half.

 

Costumes are encouraged.

A pink flamingo and pilgrims.

That's my Supervisor, Jen!

 

 

Around Town (Celebtating 100th Post!)

It's hard for me to believe this is my 100th post, a milestone to celebrate.  I had no idea when I started this last year on my first deployment to Antarctica that it would continue.  I've found it an easy way to communicate with friends and family and share photos and images of my life on the road. 

McMurdo, Antarctica is my home for 5 months every season and I have come to really enjoy it here. Some images from around town and the surrounding area may help you understand why this place is so special to me.

Activities Board in the Galley.

Mt Erebus from the ice runway outside of town.

Gathering the trailers for a traverse.

Mt Discovery.

Pegasus road.

The tail of LC-130 Skier 96.

 

Dorm in McMurdo

I am living in one of the Upper Case (preferred) dorms this year.  These 2 person rooms are part of a suite that shares a bathroom. Nice and convenient.  I was upstairs in Building 155 for the first several weeks of this season and all of last year.  Last year the room I had in 155 had 4 people in it and the bathroom was down the hall.  This year I was in a room with just one other guy and it was very comfortable, lots of room and space. Living and working in Antarctica is a lot like a college campus or summer camp.

The Lounge, my room was behind the door in the back.

My corner of the room.

New room in Upper Case dorm.

My side of the room.