Waiting in McMurdo

---

Saturday was spent moving to a new room, dealing with Science Cargo, and returning comms equipment. To retrograde our cargo for return by sea vessel, we had to weigh, measure, and bind all of our crates onto new pallets. We were almost finished with science cargo by lunch time and took only a half an hour to finish up afterwards. Saturday evening, there was a party at the Helo pad. While at the party, the Russian ice breaker, the Krasin, returned. It came in quickly and quietly.

Sunday, part of our group walked down to Scott’s Hut. Jennifer saw a penguin Saturday night and we were hopeful. Alas, the penguin had evaded us again. These sly little devils must know when I am coming and go hide. Once I leave, I am sure they mock me behind my back. No, not really.

The walk to Scott’s Discovery Hut was not a loss. First, we were able to walk much closer to the ice dock and see the Krasin. Second, Scott’s Hut was open and we toured inside. The inside of the hut was quite incredible. The meat locker still housed animal carcasses from almost a century ago. It smelled like an old barn. Scientists were inside collecting bacteria samples. Horse anthrax was discovered a few years ago inside the hut, but is mostly inert or weak due to the extreme cold.

After the hut, we visited the coffee house. From the outside, the place looks like a dump. From the inside, it is quite comfortable. The bar features a selection of coffee drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) as well as a variety of wines. There is also an adjoining movie theater, which shows various films throughout the week.

At 2:30pm, I hoped on Ivan the Terrabus and rode to the rugby field. Every year, one sporting event captures the interest of both Scott Base and McMurdo, it is the annual rugby match, Kiwis versus the Yanks. Of course, the field is not well marked and they are playing on snow. It does feature two goal posts for kicking extra points. A nice crowd formed for both teams. The McMurdo team has never one. Holding to tradition, the final score was 5-0 Scott Base. This is actually a positive result since we only allowed one try.

After the game, a Delta drove part of the crowd back in to town. A fun time was had by all.

---

Photos

Inside Scott's Hut
The meat locker within Scott's Hut still houses slaughtered animals used to feed the crew of the Discovery during their first mission to explore Antarctica.

Krasin
The Russian ice breaker, Krasin, has helped break up the sea ice outside of McMurdo so that the transport vessel and cruise ships can come in to McMurdo.

Rugby: Kiwis vs. Yanks
Each year Scott Base faces off against McMurdo with one Rugby match on the Ross Ice Shelf.

Rugby: Ambulance Standing By
The ambulance was standing by in case of an injury during the rugby match. No injuries occured this year.