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Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station May 21st 2005

Hello everyone. Here are some photos from the last month to so.... read more
Adelie penguin
Mt. Discovery
Royal Society Range

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station May 21st 2005

Greetings from Antarctica! The last several weeks have been somewhat quiet down here. The sun has disappeared and it now stays dark for most of the day with only a brief moment of twilight like light in the middle of the day. The new darkness that has surrounded us has made the stars appear brilliantly in the sky, even in the middle of the day, and has blotted out the surrounding scenery - Yes, that means no more pictures of the Royal Society Range for a few months. Storms have become a lot more regular with strong winds and lots of blowing snow, but it hasn’t gotten very cold yet and there still haven’t been any condition 1 storms. In fact, this past week has been surprisingly warm with temperatures in the teens - I had ... read more
Full Moon Over Mt. Discovery
The Anti-Lighthouse
The Aurora Australis

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station April 24th 2005

It is Sunday, April 24, 2005. The sunset is happening today at 1:26 pm and the next sunrise will not occur until August 19th. The fiery golden orb that sustains life on this planet is finally moving north, below our horizon, suspending us in darkness and kicking off the cold, dark Antarctic winter. To celebrate, Scott Base hosted a large barbeque and the first of three Polar Plunges. The Polar Plunge is just what it sounds like - A large hole is opened through the sea ice, a ladder is installed and everyone takes turns jumping into the frozen ocean. There is a heating shack, which is about 30 paces from the hole, where everyone undresses and stashes their warm clothes and waits for their turn to jump. When your turn comes you find a photographer ... read more
Frozen Hair-cycles!
The Scott Base Sign
The Apple Hut and Castle Rock

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station April 17th 2005

‘Beep, Beep, Beep’, the alarm went off at 6:00am like normal. I was lying there in bed when I realized something out of the ordinary - There was a spaceship in my dorm room. I quickly got out of bed and looked around the dark room and that is when I saw the penguin. It was an Adelie penguin about a foot and a half tall and it was wearing a cheap, metallic red, plastic space suit. Suddenly, the penguin jumped out of the suit and started running (or waddling) rapidly around the room like a crazed puppy, flapping its arms and making a lot of noise. It was bouncing off of the walls, reminiscent of Daffy Duck in some of his earlier cartoons, and chasing after me with a look of joyful mischief in its ... read more
Discovery Hut
The Gloomy Interior
Looking Out From Within

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station April 2nd 2005

Hello everyone, April 2, 2005 We usually work six days a week. However, the first Saturday of the every month in the winter is a non-work day. So I thought I would take some time and upload a few more photo from McMurdo taken during the last month. March is the first month of the austral winter season. The first photo is a shot of town taken on a nice day a couple weeks ago. Since that time the sun has sunk behind a ridge and will not shine on the foreground of the photo again until spring. The next one is the Winter 2005 Station Photo with 200 or so of the 241 people on station in the photo. Some people, like the fire dispatcher, power plant operator, etc cannot leave their work area to ... read more
Town Photo
Easter Morning
Easter baskets

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station March 27th 2005

Hello from Antarctic! The last few weeks have been action packed and very competitive. I have started getting into the proper mindset for winter down here - I have accepted that I will not be able to do the stuff I want to do and, though I feel like a kid chained to a bench in a playground, I have decided to have fun. The sun is spending less time with us every day and there have been quite a few great sunsets and sunrises. The stars are getting more brilliant every night and the search for auroras has begun. We have had a few days of stormy weather with fairly strong winds and blowing snow, but, despite promising forecasts of 70-knot winds, we haven’t had a storm outside of the ‘normal’ condition 3-type weather yet. ... read more
Gingko Biloba Rules!
Another Strike!
The McMurdo Bowling Alley

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station March 13th 2005

On Saturday, February 26th the last plane took off from Pegasus runway, heading North to warmer climates, with the last vestiges of the summer season in its belly. The whole station met at the chalet, which is the summer headquarters for station management, to toast the last flight and the coming of the Antarctic winter. We watched the plane, eight miles in the distance across the ice, as it sat idly on the runway making its final preparations for the journey to New Zealand. Finally, there was movement and everyone stood ready, cameras in hand, as the plane left the ice runway and slowly spiraled into the air and headed our way. From our vantage point on the porch of the chalet, the plane appeared to be flying directly toward Ob Hill, but, as it approached, ... read more
Castle Rock and the Sun
Climbing Castle Rock
The Summit of Castle Rock

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station March 11th 2005

Here are some more photos I took from a helicopter while flying through Taylor and Wright Valleys last month. Both valleys are part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, one of the largest snow-free areas in Antarctica and an area of intense scientific interest and investigation. All these photos were taken through the plastic windshield of the helicopter, so they are not the best quality. Also included are three photos of the Fata Morgana mirage that has been appearing almost daily across the Sound towards Mt. Discovery and the Royal Society Range. ... read more
Edge of the Ross Ice Shelf
The Royal Society Range
Royal Society Range foothills

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station February 26th 2005

The last flight of the summer season departed Mactown yesterday. A small group of well wishes gathered at Building 140 to bid farewell to the final 71 summer people as they departed for Pegasus Airfield. A couple hours later the plane made a pass close to town as most of the winter overs stood on the deck of the Chalet and toasted it with champagne. Their flight north was on a USAF C-17 cargo plane. For those of us standing on the deck, it’s an interesting mix of emotions as the plane flies away. For those of you wanting to take your own photos from the deck of the Chalet as the last flight flies by, remember it will cost you at least six months of your life to get that photo. With the departure of ... read more
Goodbye Brennen
Goodbye
Goodbye Ivan

Antarctica » Antarctica » McMurdo Station February 25th 2005

I thought that all of the boats had left for the season, but then, on my way to lunch, I looked out in the frozen channel, past all of the slumbering seals, and I saw another large icebreaker. It was a Russian ship, but it was not the Krasin, which had been gone since the supply vessel left. This ship was here on an entirely different mission than the previous three icebreakers - it was a tourist cruise ship! Leaving the lunchroom, I was greeted by a hallway full of tourists wearing large yellow coats with the name ‘Quark Expeditions’ embroidered above the front left pocket. When I stepped outside, I asked two of them, a British couple, what the name of the ship was. They replied, “It is the Kapitan Khlebnikov” and proceeded to ask ... read more
Inside Discovery Hut
The Kitchen
Me In Discovery Hut




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