Hut Point Open water

I really enjoy my walks down to Hut Point, especially after midrats.  There's always something different to see.  Last night I walked down to see the open water.  Beautiful nighttime light and no breeze created a calm surface on the open water, surrounded by ice and rock.
 

 

 

 

 

January, 2013

This is the time of year in McMurdo that the penguins and whales start showing up in force, the seals have made the ice on the bay their home, and people are making travel plans and redeployment reservations.  Here's a few random photos.

Stephanie, love your smile!

 

Stephanie hanging out with Brian and Blake.

 

The cross on top of Ob Hill.

And the midnight sun.

 

The van sucking sink hole at the transition.

The transition is where the sea ice meets land.

 

Got stuck...

 

...really stuck.

 

Changing a plane engine at Pegasus.

I love the light at what passes for night here.

 

Summer Snowstorm

Yes it happens, a summer snowstorm. I remember snow on the Forth of July one year in Alaska and another season when it snowed over a foot on Labor Day. It happens in Antarctica too. Yesterday we got 6" of new snow with drifts up to two feet!   Big flakes, beautiful to watch. We all became "solid precipitation removal specialists" Grab a snow shovel and get to work!

 

 

The big storm, snowing on Saturday.

 

My dorm.

 

The gerbil gym and parking area.

 

The morning after, the roads covered in soft snow.

 

48 hours later, sunny and cold.

 

More Penguins

This is the time of year for open water and penguins, I love it!  The Ice Breaker is due here a two weeks and then the fuel tanker and re-supply vessels arrive shortly thereafter. Once they're done, it's time to leave.

Whales!

Once the ice breaks up and open water appears off Hut Point, you can see whales here at McMurdo.  Mostly Orca's but also Minke whales are seen.  Here are some Orca whale shapes in the water (it's hard to get a great whale photo) and Adelie penguins.  The Adelie's are so much fun to watch, they are so animated, energetic and seem to love being together in groups. They make me smile everytime I see them.

Penguins!

Occasionally people ask if I've seen any polar bears. Sadly I have to tell them no, there are no polar bears in Antarctica, they live in the arctic north. I do see a lot of whales, seals and penguins though. Here are some penguin pictures - just for you!

 

An Emporer and Mt Erebus.

 

 

 

A regal Emperor penguin.

 

 

 

 

A group of Adele's, my favorites.

They are at Pegasus close to a LC-130.

 

Magic Carpet Ride

Last night was my first night shift of the season, my first magic carpet ride in Antarctica and my first with MaryJane.  Wow. A pretty amazing night!

The roads are bad and so are the skiway and ice runway.  We have not been able to land wheeled planes for weeks now because the snow is just too soft.  So no Airbus or C-17's.  The LC-130's with ski's can land and take off but only with limited cargo and weight.  Too much weight and the skis just sink into the mush.  Rumor has it that almost 300,000 pounds of Priority 1 cargo and 30,000 pounds of package mail are stuck in Christchurch waiting to get here. But don't worry, all those letters, notecards & postcards you've sent will still get here. They almost always make room for letter mail, so send away!

My van on the magic carpet.

It's after midnight and still this light out.

The next sunset is in late February.

The van with Mt Erebus in the background.

The magic carpet can hold two vehicles.

A Cat Challenger, what pulls the magic carpet.

A view from the driver's seat.

Alaska Glen's driving the Challenger.

 

 

Let me explain, I now work at night and try to sleep during the day.  Not too much difference down here, it's light out all the time, even on the night shift.  The only real difference is that the nights are a bit quieter.  The magic carpet is a huge plastic sheet that we drive the vans onto and get pulled by a Challenger tractor thru the worst of the bad roads, milepost 10 to 14.  MaryJane is the van I drove, van number 422, a 15 passenger Ford E-350 V10 4x4 van, which gets about 6 mpg.