Marc Ankenbauer's 10+ year quest to jump in every named lake in Glacier and Waterton National Parks for charity.
168 lakes. Only 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ZERO LAKES LEFT!!!
-- Marc jumped into Fisher Cap Lake on Sunday September 8th, 2013 to complete his goal! --
Read about Marc and how this project started...

Return to McMurdo: Headed North

Life is filled with moments which you know can’t be lived again.

When you know that you’ve been living something special.

And, now you are leaving that special moment, never to return.

That’s life. It happens.

It makes us appreciate how precious and fleeting life is.

What is the phrase? “The only constant is change”.

Today I’m leaving the South Pole.

Now, I’m a reasonably well traveled guy.

But, if I’m playing life’s percentages “I will never be back here again”.

I’m still processing the fact that I got this chance once.

1rm - glacier explorer

I’m sure some of my ideologies and opinions need some work.

But, I try desperately to live life and the opportunities that come my way as if they won’t come again.

This is my way of appreciating the life I live.

It is very important to me to live the life I’ve been given to the fullest.

These are moments in a story that can only be read in a forward direction.

Today and every other day lead you to moments in which you won’t live again.

I try to eat life with as big of a spoon as I can find in the drawer.

2rm - glacier explorer

Anyway, I’m outta here and headed North.

I grabbed my bags and hauled them past a Christmas tree made of steel machine parts and a very odd Santa Claus.

3rm - glacier explorer

We packed our cargo on an Airforce pallet so a forklift can load it into the C130.

A few friends came out to wave us goodbye as we boarded the plane and took our seats.

As the C130 pulled off the ice and started flying north the station got smaller till there was nothing but a flat white horizon and a whining engine tearing us through the sky.

4rm - glacier explorer

The clouds were thick which made photographs less appealing than our flight to Pole.

Luckily I explained to the National Guard guy that when the Trans Antarctic Mountains finally popped up, I would love to take a few photos from the cockpit.

I fell asleep for a while finally getting a moment to relax.

I woke to the same guy telling me that the pilot would allow me in the cockpit for the landing.

I had to ask him to repeat himself, but I wasn’t going to ask three times.

5rm - glacier explorer

We were getting close to McMurdo when I climbed into the cockpit.

Black Island, White Island and Mt Discovery were all recognizable but from odd, unfamiliar angles.

6rm - glacier explorer

I was so excited that I think I took about three hundred photos.

I figured I would just keep clicking till they told me to sit down and strap in for the landing.

When I was about settled in, the pilot yelled “come back up here”.

I took my spot next next to the window again.

He took a fly over of the airstrip and banked hard into a 360 to line back up for the real landing.

7rm - glacier explorer

In short, he was showing off for me.

It WAS AMAZING!

8rm - glacier explorer

It was also all I could do to not fall over as I gripped hard onto a ceiling handle and tried to keep the camera taking steady video.

When the plane door opened up I was overcome by the smell of spring.

To me more accurate, it smelled like a warm sunny day of spring skiing.

It was undeniable.

9rm - glacier explorer

It had been 40 degrees in McMurdo for a couple weeks now and the snow out on the ice shelf was foot deep slop.

If I were skiing I would refer to it as mashed potatoes.

10rm - glacier explorer

While snow was melting like crazy, the mountains all around were still slathered in snow.

The snow pack is hundreds of feet thick so it doesn’t melt away it just becomes sloppy.

11rm - glacier explorer

At the South Pole there is no smells.

There is nothing to smell.

No plants, no animals, no water.

It took a while to realize why everything in the South Pole station was so clean.

But, there is nothing to make it dirty.

There is no dirt.

So I was overwhelmed by the scent of warm melting water and dirt.

12rm - glacier explorer

It smelled like taking a late afternoon spring walk around Missoula with Jess.

It smelled like a barbeque in a soggy spring backyard.

But, most of all it smelled like sitting on the front porch at the ski resort in April.

The days when you wish you could ski in shorts but you are not stupid enough to do it.

The days when you are baking in the sun with a pitcher of beer in front of you.

A couple great friends laughing and recounting the day.

13rm - glacier explorer

I COULD SMELL!!!

I was like Dewey Cox!

I wasn’t smell blind anymore!

14rm - glacier explorer

McMurdo had never seen a month of heat quite like this.

It was making an absolute mess of the snow road from Pegasus Airstrip to McMurdo.

What used to be a quick 45 minute drive has become almost a 2 hour endeavor.

15rm - glacier explorer

Vehicles with wheels couldn’t get traction and only ripped the road up.

There is a four mile section in which the bus had to be pulled on a “magic carpet”.

It’s the same industrial plastic sheeting that the Traverse pulls cargo across the continent on.

The huge Caterpillar tractor pulled us and another bus along like were on a toboggan.

16rm - glacier explorer

Eventually the road became solid again so our bus was able to make good time back to McMurdo.

A dorm room, a shower and a late night dinner awaited.

17rm - glacier explorer

The only Emperor Penguin that I’ve seen so far was standing on the side of the road.

Pretty drab sighting, but I’ll take it.

18rm - glacier explorer

I’m also overwhelmed by the site of liquid water.

I know that may sound strange.

However, when everything is frozen as far as you can see, a pool of bright blue water is pretty profound.

19rm - glacier explorer

I found myself staring at a seasonal drainage ditch on the side of the road.

It was running water and there was something guttural that made me smile and stare.

20rm - glacier explorer

McMurdo in general was a different place than I left two months ago.

Everything was dry and dusty like a country road in August.

21rm - glacier explorer

Doors to buildings are left open to get fresh air while the short nice weather window is spreading its joy.

22rm - glacier explorer

It’s great to just be able to go for walks again.

At the South Pole you don’t go outside unless you have to or you are going somewhere specific.

I’ve gone on a walk in gym shoes every day since I’ve been back to McMurdo.

I still need a coat, hat and gloves, but it is still Antarctica.

23rm - glacier explorer

Andy and I walked to Scott Base one evening to have a beer and check out the station.

We were still acclimatized to the 10,000’ elevation at South Pole.

It felt so great to walk at sea level!

I wondered around for hours taking pictures and enjoying the warm 35 degree weather.

24rm - glacier explorer

The sea ice heaves and cracks near the base which allows openings for Seals.

The melt ponds gleamed bright blue while the seals made periodic groaning noises.

25rm - glacier explorer

As I walked back I stared down at the massiveness of the Ross Ice Shelf.

Ivan the Terra Bus looked like a dot as it drove arrivals back from the airstrip to McMurdo.

26rm - glacier explorer

Observation Hill’s silhouette stood tall against the ice sheet.

27rm - glacier explorer

Hut Point has some open water and Adelie Penguins and Weddell Seals have been hanging out there.

They are far enough off that I don’t get great photos but it’s just amazing to be in their presence.

They tend to just stand or in the case of the seals, just lay there.

They don’t do a Happy Feet flash mob or anything.

I’m just excited that they are being penguins and seals in Antarctica.

28rm - glacier explorer

The open water leads into a huge crack that stretches far across the sea ice.

It is enormous but somehow still dwarfed by this expansive landscape.

There are clusters of seals along the length of the crack.

29rm - glacier explorer

Within a month there will be an Ice Breaker ship sent to open up the ice in the bay.

Shortly afterward the annual cargo ship arrives with a year worth of food and supplies.

The same ship leaves with all of the year’s garbage and the cargo being sent back to the United States.

30rm - glacier explorer

The other night I was standing at Hut Point watching the tide come in and out.

When I left for the South Pole the ice was covering all water and there was obviously no visible tide.

Now the rise and fall moves plates of sea ice up and down.

It’s hypnotic.

Maybe I’m just overwhelmed by what I’m a part of.

Well, I know I am.

31rm - glacier explorer

This has been one of the most profound experiences of my life.

I continue to walk around in total awe of the concept of where I am.

I may get used to the culture of the place or that there is a huge volcano directly across the sea ice.

The classic imagery of Antarctica is always in my face.

32rm - glacier explorer

Helicopters fly in and out against the mountainous backdrop on what seems like an hourly schedule.

There are few things more visually dramatic than that.

33rm - glacier explorer

While it’s all of these things that make it very apparent where I’m at.

It’s the fact of knowing how special and once in a life time this moment is.

I’ve been given the chance of a life time.

In return I hope I’ve given it the respect that it deserves.

I will be forever grateful for this opportunity.

I hope I’ve used a large enough spoon for the occasion.

To LIFE!

34rm - glacier explorer

Amundsen Scott South Pole Station : Oasis in the Desert

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Before 1911 no human had ever been to the South Pole.

While it is still pretty rare, I flew there in three hours on a C130.

The Amundsen Scott South Pole Station is the only permanent outpost of humanity for about 50,000 square miles.

Flat ice, 10,000 feet thick expands away from the station for what is essentially forever.

In summer the average high temperatures are -15F.

In winter the mercury has dropped as low as -116F.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

The South Pole is often analogously compared to outer space.

Humans at the South Pole can’t live without substantial technological help.

Period.

 

We wear what is essentially a space suit and live in what certainly feels like a space station.

Somehow, with its ultra-bizarre surroundings the South Pole Station creates a strangely normal and pleasant environment.

The new station is an 80,000 square foot, two level building with entrances on both ends.

It is built on adjustable pole supports.

This design allows the station to be raised to keep drifting snow from encompassing the whole structure.

Destination Alpha functions as the main entrance.

When C130’s bring new arrivals they are ushered to this main entrance port.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

As they enter, there is a display case with old South Pole elevation markers that have been used in past ceremonies

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Further down the wall are three blown up newspaper pages.

They are the news stories from the most notable human feats in Antarctic history.

Roald Amundsen successfully leading the first group to the South Pole in December of 1911.

The tragic end to Robert Falcon Scott’s successful but ill-fated South Pole bid in January of 1912.

Lastly, Admiral Byrd’s first flight over the South Pole in 1929.

They were all gargantuan human and Antarctic accomplishments.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Scattered along the hallways are space station versions of many of the amenities you might visit in your town.

The Post Office is tucked into a cubby next to the store.

There are stamps that designate that your mail is being post marked from the South Pole.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

The library shelves are lined with great fiction, world travel and South Pole reference books.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

The workout room is filled with top end exercise equipment.

A round of cardio is quite the endeavor at 10,000’… or so they tell me.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

There are weekly volleyball, soccer and exercise programs offered in the gym.

It also hosts the Southernmost New Year’s Eve party on earth!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Annually, employees called “Polies” put together bands and rock the New Year.

The band room is filled with instruments and gives people a quiet room to practice.

Luckily it is far away from anyone’s sleeping quarters as to not bother folks.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

The most common place to spend time is the Galley.

The back wall’s windows look out at the ceremonial South Pole’s mirrored ball and international flags.

The food is quite wonderful for a place that gets almost no fresh food and is 1500 miles away from an unfrozen vegetable.

People hang out here chatting, playing games, watching Sunday science lectures and nibbling on cookies.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Day and night Bob, Andy and their crew spent most of their time in the science lab.

Countless hours were spent soldering electrical wires, testing various systems and drinking Mountain Dew late into the evening.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

There are two movie rooms with comfortable couches and there are scheduled events.

Employees get into trends of watching a certain show once a week or schedule certain movies.

On Friday nights there is a football game shown, but it is a game from last week.

The Armed Forces Network has deal with the NFL.

They send us cd copies of the games and we return them when we are done.

For a serious sports nut it would be maddening to have to watch week old games.

Most of us are just excited to be able to watch a football game.

 

Many of the employees also hang out in the lounge.

Foosball, pool, dominos, backgammon and cribbage are played nightly.

The beauty of the South Pole is that everyone has to hang out together.

There is nowhere else to go.

So electricians hang out with firefighters, science grantees and dish washers.

It’s a great community to be a part of.

I feel very lucky to have had my moment.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

24 Hours a day there is a dispatcher on duty at the South Pole.

They respond to any emergency and keep track of field camps and flight operations.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

On the wall of the dispatch office is a map with all of the field camps, remote facilities and fuel caches.

I saw on a map that there is one fuel depot called Johnny Cache.

Pretty witty, huh?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

The main point of interest at the station is the actual Geographic South Pole.

There’s a sign and a gold marker that claim the exact spot.

The marker and sign are moved every New Years.

This is done to accommodate for the ice sheet moving about 30 feet a year, while the pole stays put.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

There is a ceremonial South Pole which is a decorative pole with a mirrored ball on top.

Surrounding the mirrored ball are flags from all the main countries that play heavy roles in the Antarctic research.

A “Hero Shot” is the term for a persons picture with the pole.

This is mine.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

It made a great spot for GLACIEREXPLORER.COM and I to thank you for all the donations and support and wish you a Happy New Year!

It was like 3:30am the night before I was leaving.

I was dead tired, but I swear its so sincere!

I just wanted to tell you all how much I appreciate your support!!!

 

Anyway, back to the South Pole!

The power station makes this whole project possible.

The main entrance has been covered in snow and exists below the surface of the ice.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Near it is the Beer Can which is the utilitarian entrance to the station.

It’s the portal to a whole underground world that harbors all the utilities and much of the major storage.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

The Beer Can has a spiral staircase leading more than 100 feet below the surface of the ice.

The stairwell can be raised to accommodate for the gradual raising of the surface ice.

The architects built malleable seals into the building so the chaotic shifting of the ice wouldn’t break a rigid station.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

There’s a labyrinth of archways which meander under the ice to the generator room and cavernous storage.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The generators are by far the most important utility on station.

If the power goes out, everyone is done for!

No ifs, ands or buts.

To combat the cold there are three enormous Caterpillar 3512 generators that carry the bulk of the power.

They put out 1200 kw of max power and burn around 50 gallons of diesel per hour each.

There is one smaller Caterpillar 3406 referred to as the “peaker” for when energy use peaks now and then.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Water is a hot commodity at the South Pole.

It is rationed so stringently that everyone only gets two, 2 minute showers a week.

This is all very ironic since the station is built on top of two miles of ice.

Antarctica holds the bulk of the world’s fresh water, but it’s all frozen.

The area around the South Pole is actually a desert.

Any liquid water had to be melted which takes lots of power and plenty of ingenuity.

The waste heat from the generators is used to heat the station and plays a huge role in the water production.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

In the past snow had to be dug up and put in a hopper to melt.

The new design uses Rod Well’s which are enormous bulbous caverns melted deep inside the snowpack.

Heated water is sprayed down a tunnel to melt the ice.

The melted water is extracted and pumped to the surface.

The cavern that is created is approximately 500 feet deep.

Then after they switch to a new Rod Well the old one is used to hold sewage.

The station is on to their third Rod Well.

There are T Shirts being made that say “Rod Well…If you aren’t drinking from #3, your drinking #1 and #2.

Pretty witty, huh?

 

The water is almost totally pure from lack of interaction with soil and minerals.

Nutrients and minerals are added to the water supply so it is healthy for human consumption.

 

Water, heat and all the other systems in the station exist entirely because of the power station though.

So, in these tunnels there is five years of extra fuel and there are seven years of extra food too.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

There are ice tunnels that were carved under the surface and they access the Rod Wells.
The tunnels hover between -50F to -65F.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Running the length of the tunnels are the pipes pumping fresh water out of the Rod Wells.

There is another set of pipes that runs sewage back to the old Rod Wells.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Heated wire and insulation keep the water and sewage in a liquid state so it keeps moving.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

There is also a sub culturally famous series of shrines throughout the tunnels.

One of the most famous is a Sturgeon that was given as a present from a Russian Icebreaker many years ago.

There is a long winded story but eventually it came to find a home in the depths of the ice tunnels.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

2011 was the 100 year anniversary of Amundsen reaching the South Pole.

The celebration included a bust of Amundsen carved out of ice.

To keep it frozen, the bust was placed on a snow shelf in the walls of the tunnels.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

My friend would shine his headlamp at the shrines so my camera would take photos in the dark tunnels.

Then he would have to stash the headlamp back in his pocket so the batteries wouldn’t die in the cold.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

As a safety precaution there is escape hatches scattered throughout the length of the tunnels.

There are ladders leading directly up a tube etched out of the snow that would pop you out at the surface.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

I’ve been to some pretty odd places in my life.

Tunnels carved out of ice below the surface of the South Pole might take the cake though.

Breath had frozen my entire balaclava to the point that I thought it might crack.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Down below was an alien world of dark snowy tunnels and slowly shifting ice.

Above was a good dinner, a game of pool and a warm bed.

Strange how all of those things can exist in one building.

It’s like the worlds weirdest basement.

Only at the South Pole.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Flat Stanley wanted me to tell you that he hopes you enjoyed the post and to have a great week.

He also said,

To Life!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Welcome to the South Pole – “Leaving on a C130”

As I write this I’m sitting inside the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.

In the morning I will be heading out to the first of our deep field AGO camps with my science group.

A week ago we left McMurdo Research Station to go to the South Pole.

That morning we hopped on another classically huge Antarctica vehicle and drove out to the Sea Ice airstrip.

This isn’t the one that drove us down there but I love these tank track pick up trucks.

Tank tracks with a Follow Me sign and a C130 in the background.

So, Very Antarctica!

The airstrip is dwarfed by the surrounding mountains and is filled with more unique vehicles and buildings.

This was the first time that I got to see a Twin Otter plane.

These are the smaller planes that will fly us from the South Pole to the AGO camps. 

There was a Twin Otter being unloaded when we pulled up to the airstrip.

Today’s flight was on a C130 being flown by the New York Air National Guard. 

C130’s are used as the cargo shipping work horses on Ice. 

They bring almost all the people to the South Pole, but also the cargo and mail shipments. 

Today’s chariot was “The Pride of Scotia”. 

When we boarded the plane the entire back end was filled with cargo. 

There was five crew members along with the 16 passengers. 

The pallets in the back contained the mail and a wide variety of South Pole supplies.

Until getting down to the Ice, I had never been on a plane other than a commercial airliner. 

The differences are dramatic. 

It’s all about function. 

Like this urinal. 

To urinate on a C130 you simply climb behind this curtain and lift a steel lid. 

There is no wasted space; you are doing your business literally feet from other passengers. 

Luckily everyone I met were really cool and we all just go along with the situation.

I love how many different people you meet on the Ice. 

They all have a story and often a really unique knowledge or skill.

Andy and Moses work for Thompson-Caterpillar out of California and are down here to rebuild the enormous generators that power the station. 

We also have to wear our ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear on the plane. 

The issue gear is the Big Red Parka, insulated Carhart overalls and huge Frankenstein boots. 

Get a load of these things!

But, they are super warm and very necessary.

The South Pole is as far from McMurdo as Minneapolis is from Dallas. 

When a flight is planned in Antarctica there is always a reasonable chance that it will get delayed. 

A commercial airplane in the States flies in all but the most dramatic weather conditions. 

With Antarctica flights, the benefit of the doubt is given to the weather. 

Flights around Antarctica are delayed and cancelled pretty often.

Obviously the weather is unpredictable and very harsh, so you never know what you will wake up to. 

The bigger issue is that if there is a problem there are no options between A and B.

If a plane needed to land elsewhere between Minneapolis and Dallas there are countless options. 

Down here there is nothing but thousands of miles of ice. 

The Transantarctic Mountains separate the continent into two halves. 

If they weren’t impossibly remote, this would be a mountaineering mecca.

This flight will provide me with the last mountainous terrain that I’ll see for a couple months. 

The perfectly flat Eastern Antarctic Plateau is where the South Pole and all of the AGO camps lie. 

Luckily for us, the pilots allowed us to climb into the cockpit to during the flight. 

It provided a chance to photograph the most intense landscape I’ve ever seen in my life. 

There are gargantuan rivers of ice flowing between all of the mountains.  

And, if these are rivers of ice, at one point they all flowed into the equivalent of the Amazon. 

Hardly any rocks poked out from the mountains.

Here and there you could see a cliff face or rocky ridge.

But, most of everything was just slathered in thousands of feet of ice. 

Profound! 

Absolutely Profound Landscape! 

After about three hours the mountains gave way to flat white. 

The same flat white that I’ll see every day for the next couple months. 

When we landed at the South Pole we were met by a group of employees as we exited the plane. 

We were led towards the new Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station which will be my home off and on for the next couple months.  

They expect us to not be ready for the temperature and altitude change. 

McMurdo is at sea level elevation and when we left it was 15 degrees Fahrenheit outside.

Three hours later we got out of a plane and it was -56.7 Fahrenheit with the wind chill. 

The South Pole is technically at 9300’ elevation. 

Since the poles have a lower barometric pressure than the rest of the planet your body feels the pressure of 10,410’. 

Maybe I’ll be able to explain that better by the end of my time here, but I just know it’s the case. 

That is a whole lot of change for the body to acclimate to in three hours. 

We were even issued Dexamethasone which is the same drug that high mountaineers take to combat high altitude cerebral edema or HACE. 

So, this is why the people are there to help you walk to the station. 

It’s time to start the physiological adaptation to the elevation. 

I’ve spent the last couple days just letting it soak in that I’m at THE SOUTH POLE! 

 

I’ve braved the cold a few times to visit the actual geographic South Pole. 

This metal marker is placed at the exact pole every New Years. 

It is moved every year because the ice sheet moves over the surface of the continent approximately 30’ a year. 

That doesn’t change where the actual pole is, so the marker has to be moved. 

Bizarre, huh? 

I’m sure that is just the beginning of the things that I’m going to learn about this extreme place. 

I’ll keep you informed as I learn more. 

 

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving where ever you were. 

I hope you were warm, happy and in good company. 

I know mine will be one to remember. 

To Life!

P.S.  If you have any questions, leave me some comments.  I’ll try and get you some replys when I get back from the field. 

Inside look into McMurdo Research Station

So, it is 11pm and I’m scheduled to fly to the South Pole on a C130 in the morning.

Pretty CRAZY statement, huh?  Never saw that one coming.

This means though, that I will be leaving McMurdo Research Station.

I’ve enjoyed McMurdo a lot.

It was overwhelming at first but I’ve settled in and really like its rhythm.

I’ve interacted with lots of parts and areas of the station.

I thought it might be fun to show you some pictures of the landscape, the vehicles, the buildings and odd little nuances of McMurdo.

 

There is a very dominant mountain across the Ross Sea called Mt. Discovery.

The extensive web of power lines throughout town can’t even diminish its dominance.

The vehicles around here might be the most unique part of McMurdo.

When you first get here you fly in on a C-17 like this one in front of Mt. Discovery.

To go from the airstrip to town you board a famous vehicle, Ivan The Terra Bus.

The company is called Terra, the name just came through the years.

Everyone loves this thing, there are even songs about around here.

There’s an even bigger vehicle that’s used to move people, but I don’t know what its called.

Its bizarrely big.

My friend Brian Roys and my brother in-law Matt Ziegler both pop in my mind every time I see these unique buses, fork lifts and other crazy contraptions.

You both would be in heaven driving and tinkering with these things.

The best I can do it document these huge Tonka toys for you guys.

Every vehicle is 50% larger than the normal world and lots of them have tracks like a tank.

Not sure what the story is with the student driver sign on this Piston Bully.

But the test must be wild.

Another cool aspect of McMurdo are the helicopters buzzing all around.

The landing pad is just downhill from the dorm I’ve been living in.

My travels around Antarctica are going to be based around planes.

C 17’s, C 130’, Basslers and Twin Otters will be my chariots.

But much of the science and functional day travel around the McMurdo area is done on the helicopters.

I wandered down to the heli-pad to get some pictures from behind the NO ENTRY SIGN .

Then one of the pilots was cool enough to show me around to get some closer pictures.

He even took a great photo too.

The buildings in themselves are pretty utilitarian in nature.

They are unique though, with the extreme weathering and the distinct McMurdo-ness.

The inside is often much nicer than the outside.

For example this is a really cool coffee shop, while it looks like a hunting camp from the outside.

The medical clinic is pretty unique looking.

I luckily haven’t had to go inside, but I’m sure it’s more impressive in there.

 

Attached to the clinic is a creepy door that stores the supplies for a mass casualty.

Let’s hope none of us have to find out what’s inside it.

I went out on the sea ice a few times for snowmobile training.

One day there was what is called Fata Morgana , which is an illusion.

It’s likened to the mirage when you see the road bending in the heat.

It was pretty bizarre looking as you can see.

There are obviously notreally zig zags in the cliffs.

To optimize our waste removal the entire program is based in very elaborate recycling.

There are bins divided for every possible subsection of waste, pretty cool.

Bamboo stakes with flags are used to mark virtually anything of importance out on the ice.

Road directions, unsafe spots, “don’t melt that ice for drinking water because that’s where we pee”.

You know, stuff like that.

Sometimes they just add Antarctic flare to the landscape.

I’m not aware that many of the roads around town have official names.

This road runs along past the main scientific labs.

Remember Beeker, the Muppet scientist’s apprentice.

That is the cute name the employees have for the science grantees.

The station is full of little unique quirks.

Like this metal troll that lives under one of the bridges.

Inside the Berg Field Center is a huge Scrabble board painted on the floor.

The other day there was a need to get rid of some old frozen donuts.

So, instead of tossing them in the garbage we threw a donut party.

There was donut checkers, donut jousting, donut corn hole and donut shuffle board.

And finally a couple pictures of my day to day job.

Lately I have been gathering all of the supplies for the field camps.

I have to enter them into the cargo system so they get sent to the South Pole and the correct field camps.

This is the inside of the Science Cargo building.

The other night my science group and I stayed up late into the night packing and moving cargo.

The lighting was great.

Like always Mt. Discovery was looming in the background.

So, there you go.

That’s McMurdo.

I’m leaving in the morning and won’t see this place for a couple months.

Off to more southerly and whiter pastures.

Wish me luck.

Honestly, wish the scientists luck…


To Life!