Hello! Another few weeks have flown by-- new flight destinations, science groups heading in and out of their field camps, Thanksgiving with 2 full days off, and thoughts of Christmas...

There has been an unusual amount of snow this season with several weather days where we were unable to fly. This photo looks across the Sound at snow machines blowing snow drifts off the road leading to the Ice Runway, just 2 miles away from McMurdo, where the planes have been landing and departing so far this season. The Ice Runway closed down last weekend because of warming temperatures and melting ice so planes will now work out of Pegasus airfield just a few more miles away.

Last week we flew communications techs up to Mt Terror in an attempt to repair a repeater located at the peak. It was a gorgeous, windless, blue sky day and Paul, our pilot, and I spent our time admiring the snow sculpted by incessant winds and the always-shining sun. Here's a photo of a friend of ours with Mt Erebus puffing away in the background.

The sea ice is breaking away by the day and the open water is slowly getting closer to town. There is something about seeing the deepest shades of blue fringed with the cleanest, whitest ice. As we flew by the ice edge last week, whitecaps were forming with high winds gusting across the water and ice chunks were bobbing and smashing together rounding out the corners and drifting out to sea. Emperor penguins stood in groups while Adelie penguins ran like 2 year-olds and slid on their bellies into the water.

Here's another photo from Mt Terror looking down near Cape Crozier. It was one of the clearest days and it seemed we could see forever.

Thanksgiving was such a treat with 2 full days off and time for relaxation, skiing on the road out to Willy Field (carefully groomed by Chris), dinner with friends at the BFC, and a night of danceable funk music performed by PornSpill. Folks in the Galley prepare a wonderful meal so appreciated by all.

I have a few more photos from yesterday and I'll try to get them posted soon!

It seems the weather here is near impossible to predict but they have been talking about a big storm moving in for 2 days. I think that it is actually blowing in right now. The hangar doors are whistling and shaking, the helicopters are all tied down and most of us have left for the day since there is little to do. Winds are sustained at 40+ mph, visibility across the sound has decreased so we can no longer see the ice runway or the planes. It's all a fuzzy world of white (not worth a picture).


We had another fine week of flying out to several field camps so here are a few photos of the places we've been picking up folks and unloading cargo. One group is scouting for a new dive site and another is camped out in the Beacon Valley for a couple of months drilling ice cores. The photo above is from the mouth of the Beacon Valley looking back at the Taylor Glacier Toe and the other is looking up the valley from one of the field camps.

The divers are also involved with the SCINI project and I've attached a link to check out their research. A couple of weeks ago I attended their lecture and learned how polluted the Winter Quarters Bay is here just out our door. When the Navy was in charge at McMurdo, many pieces of equipment and unlabeled barrels were left behind and have contaminated the bay so it's actually worse than LA harbor! It has been determined that more damage would be done attempting to move them than to leave them in place and so they will stay. They are also looking at life on the ocean floor and filming under the ice. The photo below shows one of our helicopters preparing to fly some of their cargo (tents, sleds, fuel drums) back to McMurdo-- it's what we do!


We flew friendly wildlife biologists from Bozeman, Montana out to White Island yesterday where they tagged and weighed adults and pups of an isolated population of Weddell Seals. Below is a view of the Wilson Piedmont Glacier near Marble Point, our favorite refueling station across the sound. It is here that we find a warm kitchen always inviting with smells of homemade soup on the stove or bread in the oven, good company and, if time permits, maybe even a game of Scrabble.

Other than that.... we've been having a fun season and have a great group to work with!

It's been a couple of weeks and, since I've been working nights, there really has not been much to share. I did get a chance to fly a couple of night flights and it's such a special time to be in the air, especially since the sun is still setting and casting beautiful long shadows in the evening.
If I knew more about geology I could probably tell you what exactly happened here. I like to think of this area simply as fantastic layers of chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon and mocha... Childish? Perhaps. I'll try to learn more this season!

One great thing about night shift is that I've been able to walk home to these sunsets while most everyone else on station is sleeping. Monday I'll be back working days and able to attend science lectures and fly out into the field more often-- I'll let you know what happens...

Hello again and welcome back for another season at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. We departed the States September 24th and flew to Christchurch, New Zealand where we (once again) spent many happy days exploring new trails and visiting favorite restaurants while waiting for the weather to clear. By October 3rd we were on a C-17 bound for McMurdo and I guess that means we've been here about 10 days-- just long enough to get comfortably moved in to a small dorm room, reacquaint with friends and establish a routine.

Chris and I are out on our first walk to Hut Point.


For a reminder as to why I am here.... I am working with Helicopter Operations, or Helo Ops, as one of 6 Helotechs where the primary objective is to use helicopters to move scientists and their cargo out to field sites-- and they do not generally travel light! There are several locations where fixed camps are established for the summer season and staffed with camp managers who live there for the next several months. We fly food, equipment, survival bags, sleep kits, generators, Scott tents, snow machines, and all sorts of other crazy gear every day the weather allows.

This is the view from the teeny window of the C-17 we flew in on. So cold and rugged...

Tomorrow we are flying folks from the BBC who are filming for the Frozen Planet series. Remember Planet Earth and Blue Planet? Yep, those guys. Sunday night they'll be presenting to an excited full house audience. These guys are some of the best story tellers with brilliant photography and adventures to share.

Here's a photo of Mt Erebus from the other day, a really windy day, so no flying for us.

It's not much but it's a start! I'll post a few more links to science websites that talk about the work that is being done down here this season. The first site to check out is the http://www.usap.gov/ site where you can access the Antarctic Sun which has an article about the current BBC project. Last Sunday night I attended a lecture on the microbial mats that are found under the lake ice in the Dry Valleys and you can read more about it if you are interested.

Well... it's been another month and I thought I should at least let anyone interested know that I have left McMurdo for New Zealand and am 12 days into a 3 1/2 week road trip of the south island. We ended up flying from McMurdo 3 days earlier than anticipated and that meant packing and cleaning, partying and saying goodbye to friends all in one evening, but it was worth it to get a few more days of sunshine and traveling through New Zealand!

After starting in Christchurch with a long visit to the Botanical Gardens to sniff the roses and nap under the shade of a tree in the grass, we packed up to road trip south to Wanaka where we camped on friends' property and appreciated the starry nights and chance to play music on the porch with a mandolin tickling friend from Antarctica. After a couple of hours of hiking into Mt Aspiring National Park we pitched the tent and camped out for a couple of nights, hiking steep trails (oh so sore....) gazing at glaciers and waterfalls, and watching the sunset.

We've moved up the west coast and watched dolphins (through the haze of sand flies), seen Fox and Franz Glaciers, hunted out secret camping spots, and drank beers at several pubs along the way while keeping up with the rugby season. Tomorrow we'll head north to the coast and hope to find more sunshine and less rain, a chance to sea kayak and camp under the stars again.

Hope to write more soon!

aliann