Life in McMurdo Antarctica

It has now been over 4 weeks since I left our home in Fairbanks and we are still not on Thwaites Glacier where we plan to do our work. This is life when trying to get to such a remote place with all the gear we need to drill holes through that glacier. The logistical challenges are enormous: From the US Antarctic station of McMurdo we will fly several hours to a very remote field camp called WAIS Divide (WAIS is the West Antarctic IceSheet). From there we continue with smaller airplanes (mostly Twin Otters) for another several hours to our field camp on Thwaites Glacier. The weather in that part of Antarctica is notoriously bad, so we have been waiting patiently to finally get going. For the past week we have always been on the schedule to leave the next day, but then find ourselves disappointed, because the weather is simply not good enough, or the aircraft (ski equipped US Airforce LC-130 Hercules transporters) are not available.

So how does one spend the time waiting? First, there was quite a bit of training we had to do, plus all the cargo needs to be moved through the system and forwarded to West Antarctica. Other than that, we do have office space, so we can continue doing some of the work we didn't quite finish back in the US. There are a few recreational opportunities with hiking and skiing trails. One local highlight is a visit to Scott's Discovery hut. This hut was used by Robert Falcon Scott on his first Antarctic journey and also during his ill-fated attempt to the South Pole, where he was beaten to the pole by the Norwegians under Amundson, and where he and his men tragically died on the return journey. The hut is just a short walk from McMurdo and is well preserved.

Here are some pictures and impressions from the past two weeks.


Crevasse rescue training and learning how to travel with roped snow machines:

We also did an overnight trip to the ice near McMurdo to go through our camp gear and discuss the field camp set up. The tent in the foreground is a Scott tent, which is a very sturdy tent that has worked in extremely windy conditions. Behind it is and Arctic Oven tent (made in Fairbanks) that will serve as our kitchen and mess.

Mt. Erebus is our local volcano and it is active with frequent steam plumes.

Beautiful wind clouds

This is a Delta, a large wheeled vehicle for travel over the snow roads to get to the local air field.

The local airport, where all ski equipped aircraft operate.

The New Zealand Antarctic base is just a short distance from McMurdo and is connected by a road.

There are some nice skiing opportunities on the sea ice.

Thanksgiving Dinner is a serious affair at McMurdo and the kitchen goes all out for a wonderful meal.

The nicest local hike is up Observation Hill, where a cross commemorates the death of Scott and his South Pole party.

This is Scott's Discovery Hut, still largely intact.

Some mutton survived the past 100 years

This is some seal blubber that was left behind. Still looks somewhat fresh, but I wasn't tempted to try ...

Seals on the sea ice

McMurdo from Hut Point (where Scott's Discovery Hut is located)

A common sight each morning. Flights to WAIS Divide are cancelled ....