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Published: June 30th 2005
The Alien
This is one of the Aurora shots over Ob Hill - I think it looks like an Alien.Greetings from Antarctica!
Midwinter arrived here last week with the coming of the winter solstice. The sun has now started its long journey back into the Antarctic sky and, although we won’t see the sun again until August 19th, it is comforting to know that we have reached the halfway point of the winter and that the sun is now rising again. It has been a tradition in the Antarctic, since the early explorers started coming to this frozen continent, to celebrate Midwinter Day as a major and festive holiday. Here on Ross Island, we celebrated by holding a very nice dinner with great food and decorations at McMurdo Station on the Saturday evening prior to the solstice and we celebrated again the following weekend by going to Scott Base for Scottish night and the Midwinter Polar Plunge. We have also had our first Condition 1 blizzards along with a lot of enjoyable weather to go along with them and the auroras have been brilliant.
The weekend of the Midwinter dinner started early on Friday with an impromptu aurora hunting expedition. The aurora index was a 9 out of 10, so I grabbed a friend of mine, we quickly
Aurora Over White Island
This is one of the auroras we saw over the Ice Shelf towards White Island. gathered our gear and started going to the darkest place we could find, which was the pass between McMurdo and Scott Base. On the way up there, the auroras were dancing across the sky prompting us to move faster. We had reached the carp shop at the edge of town when the sky exploded into the most amazing auroral display either of us had ever seen, but, since we had not yet escaped the light of town, pictures were impossible. We moved on and reached the pass in time to take several pictures of the auroras over Ob hill and the ice shelf. All of the pictures required long exposures and the slight breeze blowing through the pass wreaked havoc on most of the shots, but some of the pictures turned out great and we had an enjoyable time - A note to anyone coming down here who is interested in getting good pictures during the winter - Be sure to bring a sturdy, but cheap tripod. Strangely, our batteries died in the cameras at the same time the auroras went away, so we went back to town triumphant.
For the Midwinter dinner, several volunteers put a lot of
Aurora Over Ob Hill
Another aurora - Sorry I was happy I finally got something other than a grey cloud looking aurora picture, so I included three pictures. work into transforming the dining hall from an informal cafeteria style eating place into a candle-lit, white tablecloth restaurant complete with big band, jazz and blues style music playing and a large dance floor for some after dinner fun. The cooks prepared a delicious meal with several different items to choose from including stuffed salmon, pork loin, bacon wrapped beef tenderloin and vegetarian pockets with all of the sides you could hope for, including a large salad bar thanks to a very productive greenhouse. Everyone showed up in their finest clothes, which ranged from tuxedos to t-shirts - I went with whitish kaki pants, a green button-up shirt and a sport coat with small, newly acquired tears in one sleeve thanks to the hinge on my wardrobe. I spent the meal talking with my friends, listening to the great music and watching the people on the dance floor. Afterwards, I went to the coffee house and read for a while and then talked with some friends until late in the evening. On Midwinter day all of the stations that have wintering staff exchanged e-mail greetings and President Bush sent his congratulations as well - It was neat to hear from
Midwinter Dinner
Here is a picture of Midwinter dinner showing the amazing transformation of the dining hall. all of the other stations, because at times it seems like we are the only ones on this huge, frozen continent.
The day before the solstice I climbed up Ob Hill in hopes of seeing some more auroras. I was the only person on the hill at the time and the peaceful solitude of the climb was a relaxing break from the activity of town. At the top, the moon was shining across the Ice shelf giving off an almost day like light and to the North the horizon glowed red with light from the sun, but no auroras were in sight. The climb was great and a bit challenging in places due to snow. The temperature was -31°F with a slight breeze, making picture taking somewhat difficult, but I did manage to get a few fairly decent pictures before everything froze. From my vantage point on top of the hill I could see, in the moonlight, the landscape surrounding McMurdo Sound that has become so familiar to me - The Royal Society Range, Mt Discovery, Black & White Islands and Mt Erebus & Mt. Terror were all in sight for the first time in a while thanks to
Red Glow on the Horizon
This is the view to the North off of the top of Ob Hill the day before the winter solstice. McMurdo is in a haze and it is -31F. the moon. Looking across the Ice Shelf towards the moon gave me the impression that I was looking across the surface of the ocean, complete with the rolling waves formed by the pressure ridges where the shelf ice collides with the sea ice and the land - It was a calming sight, so I sat there and stared at if for a while before descending back to the hazy light of town.
The evening before the midwinter polar plunge brought us a large storm with strong winds and a lot of snow. I was in the coffee house reading when my friend said to me “You do realize it is getting pretty stormy out there, the visibility is getting worse and you are in here reading” or something along those lines. He knew how much I enjoy the storms, so I thanked him and ran out the door and back to my dorm to get some warmer clothes on (I was just wearing a light jacket with no gloves or face protection). I played in the storm with a few other people for just over an hour, but finally I had to go in and warm up. The storm
Moon Behind Scott's Cross
I wish the moon was a little higher in the sky, but the picture still looks cool. worsened in the night and went to Condition 1 in the early hours of Saturday morning - The SAR (Search & Rescue) team was up early to string the safety ropes. Typically we are not allowed outside during a Condition 1 storm, but the ropes are the one exception to the rule. If the ropes are out we are allowed to move along the ropes between the dorms and building 155 where the dining hall is. Finally, I got to go for a walk in a Condition 1 storm, but the previous evening’s weather that I got to play in was worse than what I walked through that morning. In a surprising turn of events, the storm stopped and the weather got nice before lunch and we got the word that yes, the Polar Plunge is happening.
I caught an early shuttle over to Scott Base for the plunge. It was a warm clear evening with a temperature of around -10°F and no wind - It was a big change from the last plunge! Everyone had worked hard all day to open the road through the pass and to re-dig the hole for the plunge and it was time
The Summit of Ob Hill
This is a picture of the summit of Ob Hill from down the ridge a little ways. to jump. In an attempt to make this plunge go a bit smoother, we changed in Scott Base and ran down to the hole in the ice wearing only our shoes and a blanket, jumped in, jumped out and ran back up to the Base, a distance of several hundred feet or so. There was a light at the hole this time, so you could see the bottom and all of the ice blocks down in the water (some people even saw some fish). The water felt a lot colder to me this time, but I think the warmer weather outside is what gave me that impression. Standing at the hole, I didn’t have any hesitation - I put on the safety harness and jumped in, performing the first cannonball of the night. I unfortunately forgot to wait for the camera this time, so no pictures (it would have looked about the same as last time though). The rest of the evening was spent at Scott Base for Scottish night. Several people had kilts on and haggis was on the menu. For the pre-dinner ‘Toast to Haggis’, three people walked out of the kitchen dressed in their finest Scottish attire,
Moonlight on the Ice Shelf
This is the moon over an ocean of ice. one playing an improvised set of bag pipes, which turned out to be PVC pipe taped on to a ball of cloth with music being played in the background - It was very funny and we all had a great time. The meal was great as usual and there was live music afterward until late in the evening - It was a wonderful night!
As I sit here writing this, we are in our third Condition 1 storm in a week. Last night I played in this storm until Condition 1 was called and I had a ball - The peak wind speed was 83 mph here in town, while I was out there, and 130 mph in the pass. It was quite tough to stand in that strong of a wind, but I managed, at times having to lean fully into the wind while digging my feet in, and after an hour or more of being cold and covered in snow, they called Condition 1 and I made my way inside. The storm was still raging this morning, so I followed the ropes to breakfast and shortly after Condition 2 was called and we went to work (we
Frozen Me
This is me after a two hour hike up Ob Hill at -31F. Yes, my eybrows are frozen. are allowed to walk around town in Condition 2). Mid morning I walked down to the water plant and experienced the stormiest conditions I have seen here with 5 to 10 feet of visibility, fairly strong winds and a lot of snow - I trudged through knee deep snow all the way down there with a few waist-deep drifts. I walked around the construction site and the conditions got perpetually worse - The depth of the snow inside the open part of the building, where the generators are, was chest deep and I had a ball moving my way through it. I went back inside and saw that Condition 1 had been called again, so I was stuck down there. As lunch time approached with no end in sight for the storm, we contacted the SAR team and were put on the list of people to be escorted home - there were 21 of us down there and we were all hungry! The SAR team arrived, we all roped up and walked back to building 155, passing a downed communication line and several impressive snow drifts along the way - We had been rescued (though the conditions were not nearly
Me in the Storm
Though it is only Condition 2 in this picture, it is still a strong storm and it went Condition 1 shortly after this was taken. as bad as when I walked down there in the Condition 2)! I was worried about not being allowed to play in these big storms, but I have managed to get out in several of them without breaking any rules - I love it!
The weeks are flying by and I am still able to find new ways to have fun. I have been getting a lot of reading done including the account of Shakelton’s Nimrod expedition in his book “The Heart of the Antarctic” - It is amazing reading of all of the places I have grown to know in this area from the point of view of one of the early explorers of this region. The storms are helping keep things exciting and knowing that the stormy time of year is still to come is great. On one of my recent hikes I noticed that Vince’s Cross is back where it belongs on the hill behind Discovery Hut - I hope the new repairs will allow it to stay put for many more years to come. I have managed to check off another of the five reasons I wanted to come to Antarctica with the recent storms,
The Polar Plunge Hole
To celebrate Midwinter, I did a cannonball into the ocean through this hole wearing only my shoes. so now all I need is for an emperor penguin to come through town!
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Kathy Leipman
non-member comment
That's my boy!
I used to love storms, too. My father said I didn't have the sense to come in out of the rain! As far as jumping into frozen water, that must be the Norwegian in you! Carry on, Son! Love, Mom