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Published: July 17th 2005
Eruption!
This is a picture of the auroras over Mt. Erebus and Mt. Terror. I think it looks like Erebus is erupting!It was dark, very dark. A slight breeze was blowing in our faces, instantly freezing our breath as we exhaled, and our sweat was freezing to the inside of our parkas - It was 35 below zero and we were walking along the Castle Rock Loop. The moonless sky above us was showing off the star-filled expanses in a vivid clarity that, until that night, I had never experienced. The Milky Way was bright overhead and shooting stars were constantly streaking across the sky, but still no auroras - The purpose of that evening’s expedition. We walked across the glacier, along the snow-drifted trail, following a line of invisible flags that presented themselves one at a time and let us know that we were still on track and out of the grasps of any man-eating crevasses lurking just off of the trail. We walked past the first emergency shelter, but still no auroras. We arrived at the second shelter, where we built the igloo - Still nothing. When we came to Castle Rock, 2-1/2 miles from town, the sky exploded into a bright blue-green aurora stretching across the sky from behind Mt. Erebus all the way South as far as we
The Southern Lights
This is a picture of the auroras over as seen on my first midwinter hike around the Castle Rock Loop. could see. The aurora had a slight purple tint at the top and was so bright that it left our shadows on the ground and instantly set the glacier aglow in a soft blue light, as if someone had turned on a light switch. We stopped for a while to watch the brilliant spectacle that was unfolding before us and, while my two friends laid back on the gently sloping ice, I set up my camera to take a few pictures. The greenish, purple-blue light danced across the sky in waves of color, growing in height as the minutes passed by. The location of the aurora gave the illusion that Mt. Erebus was erupting, spewing a pyroclastic cloud of brilliant color into the sky - Thankfully that was not the case, because the glacier we were standing on would likely be liquefied in the event of a real eruption. The four camera batteries I brought with me only lasted for ten minutes due to the cold and I did get a few good pictures, but the endless photo opportunities didn’t cease and after 45 minutes of watching we decided it was time to move on - Yes, we were also
4th of July
This is one of the bands playing at our 4th of July party. very cold and needed to keep moving for warmth as well. We followed the trail down the hill to the Ice Shelf, crossing over a few well-marked bridged crevasses along the way, and started our long, exhausting hike back into town. Hiking on the shelf ice is, in my opinion, the most difficult part of the 9.3-mile Castle Rock Loop, because the terrain is flat and there is a soft layer of snow on the surface that makes each step a bit more difficult than the last. Also, due to the massive amounts of snow we have had this winter, most of the flags along the shelf ice are buried down to the flag itself, which makes them more difficult to see. The auroras stayed with us as we walked across the ice, passing by a few more flagged crevasses and finally joining up with the Willy Field road. The unwelcome lights from the LDB project blinded us as we approached the transition back to land. We walked past Scott Base and headed up the hill, past Ob Hill and back into town and a well-deserved sandwich. I enjoyed this hike - It was the first time I had done
At the A-Frame
Me and some of my friends at the A-Frame. the entire loop this winter and the conditions couldn’t be more perfect. The Southern Lights were brilliant for the majority of the trip and in the end we had to turn our backs on them and head back into town. During the hike I noticed things that I have read about in books by some of the original explorers of this great place and it made me realize that, despite the overabundance of rules that restrict what we are allowed to do, when you get away from town not much has changed from the days of the early explorers - This is the same continent they knew back then, even though it is a little better known now.
That was what my first mid-winter Castle Rock Loop hike was like. I have been very busy here for the last several weeks - We had our 4th of July party where I won a silent auction to go out to the Kiwi A-Frame for an overnight getaway with some of my friends. I have done several hikes, including two trips around the Castle Rock Loop. I went on a ‘photographers only’ piston bully trip and the auroras have been unbeatable
The A-Frame
This is a view of the A-frame looking back towards town. The lights are from Scott Base. thanks to a very stormy sun. The job is as hectic as ever, but everyone is getting in better spirits as Winfly and their ride home approaches. Also, I got one of my pictures published on the front page of the Mid Winter Edition of The Antarctic Sun, which is a newspaper that the US Antarctic Program puts out.
The Fourth of July party was held in the VMF (Vehicle Maintenance Facility) and was set up carnival style with lots of booths with everything from a very popular dunk tank to hand writing analysis. There was also a chilly cook-off, a silent auction for things like fresh vegetables, homemade ice cream and a few trips off station and there was live music and a real barbeque - All of the proceeds from the booths and the auctions went to charity. I tried my hand at most of the booths, but in the end I came up empty handed - I never was good at carnival games! The silent auction that I was going for was the trip to the A-frame and, after an active biding war at the end of the night, I walked away victorious. The food was
The Hook
This is one of the many active auroras I saw from the top of Ob Hill - They were moving quickly and spectacularly. delicious and the music was great and, though we were indoors, an occasional breeze coming from an open door made it feel like a nice summer day back home - Of course the moment any of us stepped outside we knew that wasn’t the case.
The next day, five of my friends and I loaded up into a piston bully for our trip out to the A-frame, which serves as a winter out of town retreat for Ross Island residents. The A-frame is owned by Scott Base and is graciously shared with the occasional McMurdo visitor. It was a big moment for all of us, because we had given up on trying to get out there - As a group we had been trying to get out to the A-Frame all winter, but all of the weekend nights had been taken and our supervisors wouldn’t let us off during the week. After a 45-minute drive across the ice shelf we came to a stop and got out onto the ice in front of the A-frame. We were greeted by a large aurora and a starry sky, but by the time we got unpacked and had our cameras out the
The Waves
This is another of the many active auroras I saw from the top of Ob Hill - They were moving quickly and spectacularly. auroras were too dim for pictures. The sky quickly got overcast, so we spent the rest of our time there playing games and talking. We all had an excellent nights sleep and an enjoyable breakfast the next morning. About midday, we went outside to see if the sky had cleared up, but it had not. The lights of town were visible from where we were and at one point we could see the Lydar, which is a laser that shoots straight up out of town and measures upper atmospheric conditions. The image was surreal - The unmistakable lights of town in the distance with a wide green laser shooting straight up into the darkness. Our ride back to town arrived around five o’clock in the evening and we returned to McMurdo relaxed and in time for dinner.
Pretty much everything else I have done recently revolved around aurora hunting. I did the already mentioned Castle Rock Loop hike and saw the most colorful auroras I have ever seen. I also climbed up Ob Hill with a few friends, which proved to be a formidable climb without crampons & and Ice axe - The snow was thick and packed making
Scott's Cross and Aurora
This is another of the many active auroras I saw from the top of Ob Hill - They were moving quickly and spectacularly. kicking steps difficult, but I lead the way up (my boots were more suitable for kicking steps). At the top I took all the requisite pictures, since it was one of my friends first time up there and we sat for a while to see what the sky had in store for us. It was fairly overcast except for a circle of clear sky that was fortunately directly above us. We could see an aurora taking shape in the distance and we politely coaxed it our way. The aurora wasn’t listening to us though and it stayed just out of the clear space above Ob Hill until my friend, the one who hadn’t been up there before, started doing Tibetan throat chants. The aurora apparently liked the sound, because it quickly responded by moving directly over us. The display, while not as colorful as the ones from the Castle Rock trip, was amazing - There were several green bands curling across the sky, quickly twisting and twirling and shooting green beams of light down toward us, all apparently right over our heads. It was an impressive show and it was the most active aurora I have seen so far. The
Photography on Ice
This is from the photographer's trip. We are at the igloo and it is cold, but nice. decent of Ob Hill was a lot of fun, because we slid most of the way down. The Photographer’s trip was fun - We only got a few auroras, but the moon made the night worthwhile as we returned to the igloo and then to Discovery Hut. Last night I did the Castle Rock Loop again, but it was overcast and the auroras were present, but hidden. The moonlight made the trail easy to follow and, thanks to the SAR team, there was a large crevasse opened up right next to the trail that we could look into - They apparently couldn’t see the bottom when they went down in it!
The sky is getting brighter every day and soon the sun will be back. The Winfly period of late August promises to bring some major changes to the community and I am looking forward to them. We will have to have a roommate and the population of town will double, but the skies will be beautiful with the arrival of the nacreous clouds - It should be great. Next weekend is the Midwinter run and I have signed up - It will be interesting to see how much
Moon Over the Igloo
This is from the photographer's trip. We are at the igloo and it is cold, but nice. The moon adds an interesting touch. the cold affects my running abilities!
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anonymous
non-member comment
Beautiful photo
I can't imagine what it's like standing under a purple and green sky, but your photograph helps. Thanks--Carmen