Ross Island, in McMurdo Sound, has been the base of operations for Antarctic expeditions since the Heroic era. Scott’s Discovery Expedition (1901-1904) built a hut on Hut Point, Ross Island.
Scott's Discovery Hut at Hut Point
Historic McMurdo Sound
Monthly Archives: December 2010
Prettier, Cleaner Antarctica
Do you here that thump-thump? That is just me patting myself on the back. Over the last few days I have had several opportunities to make Antarctica cleaner, and I have taken them all. That’s right I have picked up garbage.
Go, team go! Clean that continent.
Surprise
Yesterday did not go at all how I expected it to. But sometimes that can be a very good thing.
I could totally be a Weddell seal! No difference at all.
First Foray
I have been in Antarctica for a week and a half now. My hair keeps looking better and better (yeah for super low humidity), but my hands keep getting more and more chapped (boo for super low humidity). Big thanks to Kari for the huge tub of moisture cream; I carry it around with me wherever I go. I have been making friends by sharing. 🙂
The survival cache atop Mount Newall is filled with food, fuel, and other supplies to help you last out in the cold for several days. Survival caches are placed where there are semi-permanent facilities. All vehicles carry smaller, but similar, survival bags.
Back in McMurdo
For those of you waiting on the edge of your seat… my flight came in. I left Pole and arrived back in McMurdo on Saturday. I did what Scott and his team could not do. I made it back to coast from the pole. To be fair my only hardship was a rather cold 4 hour flight on an LC-130. I was allowed up on the flight deck for take off which amazed me. Unfortunately it was a very cloudy day and I couldn’t see anything. Still it was very nice of the flight crew to let me up there. On the upside I made it back to McMurdo in time for dinner. 🙂
LC-130, my ride back to McMurdo. The "L" means it has skis.
South Pole
Hello from Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The station was named in honor of the first two explorers to reach the geographic South Pole. Amundsen and his team beat Scott and his team to the pole by several weeks. When Scott arrived he found an empty tent left by Amundsen. Amundsen went home to glory and fame. Scott and his team did not survive the return journey from Pole to the coast.
Geographic South Pole. Whooo Who!
Happy Camper and Happy Seals
Greetings from the plane to South Pole (guess what my next post will be about). It has been a wonderful and busy past few days….
On Monday and Tuesday I attended SnowCraft I (a.k.a. “Happy Camper”). It is required survival training for anyone going out into the field. If you have been camping before and have been in cold weather before most of the information was “old hat”. There were some handy tips about how to angle your tent relative to the wind. We did lots of basic things like put up dome tents, light a stove and boil water, and fight frostbite with hot cocoa. However… we did learn how to make snow bricks and build a wall out of them (it takes thick nicely packed snow a saw and a shovel) and how to make a snow trench shelter (for those times when you forget or rip or lose your tent).
Mount Erebus... the friendly volcano in our backyard as seen from happy camper land