Blogs from McMurdo Station, Antarctica, Antarctica - page 8

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Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station December 25th 2005

There is a beautiful observation deck behind the chalet. It has the flags of the nations who were involved with Admiral Byrd's Transantarctic Expedition as well as a bust of Admiral Byrd. ... read more
Looking off the Right Side of Deck
Some of the Flags
Photo taken 30 minutes later

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station December 25th 2005

This morning Joel and I tackled Ob Hill. The hill has an elevation change of about 750 ft. This does not seem like much, but it was quite steep. Halfway up, the annual Obs Hill Race occurred and I was passed by about 18 individuals that were in much better shape than I was. Their times spread from about 7-13 minutes. I took about 30-40 minutes, but I made it none the less. At the Summit, I took some photos of the camp below. From the hill, I was finally able to get a glimpse of Erebus. Since it was overcast, however, I could not capture Erebus very well in any of the photos. The white snow covering the mountain blends quite well in the bright white sky. At 5pm, our team attended the Christmas Dinner. ... read more
Scott Base from Ob Hill
Castle Rock and Erebus
McMurdo from Above

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station December 25th 2005

Joel Plummer and Richard Stansbury climbed Observation Hill outside McMurdo today. This moderately steep climb generally takes people 1-2 hours to climb. There was also an uphill race today. The winner ran up this hill in about 7 minutes! Wow - that is conditioning. The guys shared their photos for this blog. ... read more
Cross
Another view of the cross
Sign explaining the cross

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station December 24th 2005

A look at what we saw when we explored Discovery Hut and Hut Point. Robert Falcon Scott in 1902 established the camp at Hut Point using a prefabricated large hut made in Australia. Scott chose to winter in McMurdo Sound at the end of Hut Point Peninsula on Ross Island because this area is one of the ice-free areas of Antaractica. He originally was just going to have a small party go winter ashore, but because the building turned out to be unsuitable, the party ended up staying on the ship. The hut is built of Scots Pine and Douglas fir, but being of tropical design was too hard to heat. They spent nearly 3 years exploring from this point after the Discovery became immersed in ice. Before the expedition left in 1904, they built a ... read more
View of Discovery Hut
Sign at Discovery Hut
Pressure Ridge

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station December 24th 2005

Much of McMurdo was closed today because of the holiday. Many people spent this time hiking, eating, and relaxing. In the morning, we spent much of our time using the internet to upload photos and perform various tasks. Our team decided to use our afternoon for tourism. We met out at Derelict Junction to catch a ride to Scott Base. Scott Base is the Kiwi (New Zealand) base about a mile and a half from McMurdo. Only the store is open for Americans most of the time. Otherwise, you must be invited to be at their base. We rode along in a large vehicle simply called a shuttle around here, which is designed to drive on the sea ice. Its tires were almost as tall as I am. Half way to Scott Base, we decided to ... read more
Big Wheels
Willie Field
Richard at Willie Field

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station December 23rd 2005

Captain Cook (Penguin) visits Chapel of the Snows. Berkley and OzGold (bears) look around at the rocks and soil... read more
Captain Cook -Inside Chapel
Captain Cook -Inside Chapel
Erebus Chalice -Inside Chapel

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station December 23rd 2005

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station December 23rd 2005

The station personnel held a big Christmas party for all support staff and science groups here. It was great.... read more
We Wish You Happy Holidays
Funny Sign
Carolers

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station December 23rd 2005

After a nice breakfast, Jennifer, Joel, Jerome, and I took a guided tour of McMurdo Station. It took us about an hour. The tour introduced us to the various buildings that we may need to visit during our stay. One of the highlights of the tour was finally seeing Scott's Hut from a distance. After the tour, we attended a Outdoor Activites briefing, which informed us of the various routes about camp that we can hike, ski, etc. There are a suprisingly large number of hikes. However, many are now off limits due to the weakening sea ice. Apparently, our landing at Pegasus Field was the last of the season. In the afternoon, I visited the cargo building and turned over my excess cargo (parts for rover). We then went next door to pick up our ... read more
Sleep Gear and Cargo
Crary Labs
Scott's Hut from a Distance

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station December 22nd 2005

We made it to Antarctica. The trip was surprisingly uneventful. We checked in at 6:30am. We were weighted with our luggage and then cleared for breakfast. At 7:20, we reported back for a briefing and baggage screening. Then, it was off to the C-17 cargo jet. The C-17 was much nicer than the LC130 Hercules in that it takes only 5 hours to travel to Antarctica instead of 8 hours. Their insides were quite comparable. Lots of head room, but our legs were crowded with such large hand carry bags. We were also given a huge sack lunch. About 5 hours after takeoff, we landed at Pegasus Field, a landing strip located on the sea ice of the Ross Ice Shelf. We were greeted by Ivan the Terrabus, which we rode for 20 to 30 minutes ... read more
Antarctica from the Air
Pegasus
Ivan the TerraBus




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