The Winter Wonderland
Week 9
While visiting Hut point, we could start seeing the ice melting and swaths of ocean water becoming more visible where the seals liked to hang out. A large event in McMurdo is the Tug of War competition between the New Zealand Scott Base and the United States McMurdo Station. They had the women’s, men’s, and combined competitions. Our men’s team and the all-around team won the competition for the first time since the contest has been running.
I also jumped on to learn how to operate the skid steer named Martha this week. It is a very cool machine because it was new, unlike most of our other equipment, and when you are inside it, you feel like you are operating a mechanical suit due to the joystick controls. This machine has since become our main form of transporting cargo on the airfield because it has tracks instead of tires.
That weekend was Christmas, so we got to have another two days off in a row. I went on a hike because I had heard from some of the other photographers that you can see the baby Skua chicks that have hatched, which look like tan cotton balls. I climbed up the Hut ridge and spotted them with their parents. It was hard to spot them without their parents around due to how good their camouflage was amongst the rocks.
Walking up higher on the ridge, you could see that the ice was getting thinner, and the seals were starting to show up in mass. I counted over 50 from a rock ledge where I liked to sit that protected me from the wind.
My friends, Joe and Liz, ran past and I snapped a great photo of them running with the Discovery hut in the background and broken-up sea ice.
This was also the first day I was able to see seals moving in and out of the water and not just mimicking a grey turd laying on the ice.
That evening we had our big Christmas feast with such incredibly good food. The kitchen staff does an amazing job down here with their limitations. I love that the food down here is pretty much expired. Food lasts a lot longer than its expiration date, and it is amazing what we accomplished down here with the food.
I wish though, that people took food waste more seriously because Americans are the worst when it comes to wasting food. After dinner, we enjoyed cigars at the fire station to celebrate the holiday and we watched Christmas movies with friends.
On the next day off, a group of people and I set off to go climb Castle Rock. The weather was perfect. I bundled, anticipating the cold, but 15 minutes into the hike, I shed every layer since it was almost 40f/4c outside, and there were hardly any clouds in the sky, so lots of bright sunlight.
Out here, since the ozone layer does not cover you all the time, the sunlight feels more intense than anywhere on the planet as direct UV hits your skin. It is very important to use sun protection down this far south. We got to the base of Castle Rock and made our push for the top, which only took about 10 minutes. A rope helps guide you and gives you a hand hold on the way up. At the top, there is a stunning view of the surrounding landscape.
I got a great photo of my friend standing with Mt. Erebus in the background.
Our group started to head down, but I liked being up there so much, I joined another group that came and just hung around with everyone. We passed a whisky bottle around and chatted, enjoying the good company and the great, warm weather.
Week 10
This was one of the foggiest days I had seen yet. I was working the early shift, so I headed out at 05:30 to the airfield to work on the Baslers and Twin Otters. Visibility is judged by how many flags you can see in front, and the worst I had before this was four. This time it was only two, which is about three car lengths ahead. After loading those up, we then worked on loading the LC-130s. My coworkers and I were divided into teams. My team lead is Josh, and my other teammates were Jake and Brooke (Lil Brookles). My nickname is Seany baby. I got some great photos of what it looks like when we are working while photographing my other teammates working on the runway. Our little skid steer does most of the work at this time of year due to the “hot” weather making the airfield so bad.
Later that week, we got some amazing heavy snow. I woke up, and it was still snowing with a good 6 inches already on the ground. I was at breakfast, and Timmy, a friend of mine who I had met during Quarantine in New Zealand, was like, “Let’s go snowboarding!” And I was like, “Why not!” I borrowed gear from a friend, and Timmy and I got a van ride out to where the trail starts to hike to the bottom of the snowboarding hill. It was a gorgeous cloudy day with the snow still falling, but the clouds were not quite thick enough to cover the sun giving a glow to the harsh landscape.
We trudged through shin-deep snow in our snowboarding boots for about 30 minutes until we came to the Green apple from the Kiwi base located at the bottom of their station. The New Zealanders built their ski run with a pulley system, so one does not need to hike up the hill to go back down. Unfortunately, you can only use this feature if you are invited by the Kiwis which we were not, so Timmy and I had to hike up the hill after a warm-up and water break. I put my board on and headed down. The powder made it nice, but it was no Vail, Colorado. There was still a large ice sheet under the powder, so it took me that whole run to get used to snowboarding again, as the last time I had been on a mountain was back in March. I got to the bottom, unstrapped my board, strapped it to my back, and headed up again for another run. You want to follow the flags because that can mean life or death. Black flags mean crevasses, and that is the last thing you want to fall into as it can be a very painful death, getting crushed by ice, freezing and /or starving to death.
We finish that run because we are tired, and Timmy wants to get to bed since he works nights, so we start heading back to the road. We walked about 6 miles that day, which was an awesome way to spend a day off, and I was stoked knowing I officially had snowboarded on two continents.
There was a huge holiday party for New Year's Eve, and everyone had a great time dancing as they turned the science center into a concert area.
The next day we had the Ice stock festival, where all the musicians from both bases got a chance to play. That day was cold, so we brought out couches and many blankets to enjoy the show. The festivities ended with the softball tournament, which was fun to spend a day cheering on your coworkers.
The festivities ended with the softball tournament, which was fun to spend a day cheering on your coworkers.
Week 11
My friend Travis had to leave due to family issues back home, so the rec department decided to give him an excursion. He invited me to go on the snowmobile trip to visit the Room with a View, where you essentially drive much closer to Mt. Erebus than one could walk. I left work and headed to the meet-up spot where we would grab our helmets and then get into a van to head out to where the snowmobiles were parked. I buddied up with my friend Troy, and everyone except for the trip leaders shared a snowmobile with another.It was around 10:00 when we headed out to the volcano. There were some nice stretches where we all raced each other for short bursts, which was thrilling. After following the ridge line, we started to head to the right in the direction of Room with a View. We stopped because we knew the Coast Guard’s Polar Star icebreaker should be in view. We saw its way out in the distance crushing the ice to open a path for the cargo and fuel ships coming in. After about an hour and a half of riding, we got to the spot. It was so nice to be this far from the station and not hear any sounds of machines, just the eternal nothing. We all relaxed and hung out while observing this epic volcano at a closer range.
Many studies around McMurdo involve the volcano due to its uniqueness in understanding Antarctica’s climate, history, and geology. We then headed back, and my toes were so cold by that time. My socks were thick, and during the hotter months, your feet sweat which then makes your feet freeze. Not a good combo.
That weekend was mustache roulette, where all the burly beard men get their beards and hair cut with silly designs made by others. That Sunday, I had off, and some friends and I played frisbee golf which was cool as I had never done it before, and now, I have officially done it at the most southern course in the world! After frisbee golf, we were all in a crazy mood, dressed up in animal onesies, and went to the 1k race prep for the next weekend's marathon. Wearing onesies around McMurdo is a thing.
Week 12
One day at work we took a break and went down to see the waste treatment plant, which is a fascinating thing that happens at this station. Essentially everyone’s bowel movements make their way here and are processed and eaten by microbes living in the plant. One of the coolest microorganisms eating my shit down here is the Tardigrade or water bear. These extremophiles are probably the most epic organisms due to their ability to survive in the harshest conditions, including space.
Another funny thing is that after the whole treatment, tomato seeds always sprout from the dried-up clumps. They get through the whole process unharmed and are the only plants to be growing around.
I was working and loading a Skid Steer to get sent to the South Pole, and as I finished, I heard on the radio to look in the bay. Sure enough, the Polar Star had arrived, so I ran down to get my camera and then headed to the shore to photograph the ship coming in. What’s exciting about this is that with the ship, comes the wildlife like the whales and penguins. While standing there, you could hear the ice groaning and cracking from the icebreaker. It’s an old ship, but she still runs and does the job.
The ship rises above the ice, and the weight makes it break through. I asked the sailors, and they said the people in the front of the ship do not sleep much due to the constant sound of scraping metal.
I went to Hut point to check on the Skua chicks and heard the sound of water! I walked to the beach and there were waves for the first time, which gave me such a relaxing and good feeling. I did stick my hand in, and wow, it is no joke how cold that water is at 28f/-2c.
That Sunday, we had the big annual marathon that everyone can chose to participate in. Since I was cargo, we worked the midpoint station, so we spent the day grilling brats on the Kress and giving runners water and snacks.
That evening I went out to Hut point to see what was out there, and through my large lens, I was able to spot a couple of penguins walking which was cool as they were much closer than the official first ones I saw during the week. At first glance, I thought they were Adelie penguins, but looking closer at the photos, they had this hunched look to them.
Then it clicked that they were, in fact, two emperor penguins, and I just got the first photo confirmation and sighting of emperor penguins at the station for the season! The ice was starting to break up more around the point, and seals were now being seen regularly swimming around the ice pack.
