A Trip to the South Pole
Dec. 25, 1998 - Jan. 12, 1999

The day after about 20 hours of commercial flights from Philadelphia to Christchurch, NZ, we get outfitted in extreme cold weather (ECW) gear at the NSF's clothing distribution center located at the Christchurch airport.

We are given ample clothing to haul around with us during our imminent stay in Antarctica. A wall display helps to identify all the different names of various ECW gear so we can inventory our allotments. (Note, for example, the 8 different kinds of gloves.)

The locals must think we look pretty silly wearing ECW gear in the middle of the New Zealand summer, but those are the rules for boarding the Hercules C-130 aircraft which will take us to Antarctica.

The venerable Herc we boarded the first time was 38 years old. It had mechanical problems and so we "boomeranged" back to ChCh after 1 hour aloft. The next attempt started out with an 8am check-in, a trip out to the tarmac where we waited for the radar to be fixed for about an hour before we returned to the passenger terminal. We finally got aloft at 2 in the afternoon, and with a steady tailwind were making good time. This Herc was in noticeably better condition than the first one, which we learned was due to the fact that it was stuck in an ice crevasse in Antarctica for 20 years (no one was hurt when it got stuck).

At the halfway point, about 3.5 hours into the flight, we got reports that the weather at our destination-McMurdo base, on the coast of Antarctica- was not good enough for us to land. The Hercs only have enough fuel for the one way trip, so we had to turn around. We returned to ChCh at 10pm: a long day with nothing to show for it.

Of course the boomeranging was made tolerable because we all got to fly Connosieur Class.

The third try was the charm, and we finally made it to the airstrip outside McMurdo and set foot on Antarctic snow. It is bright and sunny, and it will remain that way through the night. During the austral summer, the sun does not set. (Local time is synchronized with New Zealand time.)

The airstrip is a 30 minute ride from McMurdo proper. Ivan the Terra Bus gets us there, inch by inch.

We finally make it to McMurdo, situated in one of the few places in Antarctica not completely covered by snow and/or ice. It is unclear whether this is an advantage: if it isn't dusty, it's muddy.

Native birds called Skuas are the biggest form of native wildlife I get to see up close. (On the return trip I also see some seals, but only from very high up in a helicopter.)

There are days when the road from McMurdo is not passable even by Ivan the Terra Bus, so we get to go via helicopter, which only takes 5 minutes instead of 30.

Here are a few views of the Herc which takes us to the South Pole.

Finally, we arrive at the pole. The first thing we see is the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station dome. The dome houses the galley, the communications group, some dormitory space, the doctor's office, a computer room, a small gym, the store, the movie room, the pool room, and a few other communal spaces. We are told that the entrance used to be at ground level but over the years drifting snow has buried it about 20 feet under the surface.

The sign is deceptive. I am actually standing at last year's geographic South Pole. The ice cap on which I am standing moves about 10 meters per year, so each year a new South Pole marker is put in. The picture was taken on Jan. 2, after the new marker had been ceremoniously pounded into the ice, but before the sign was moved.

Here's the real geographic South Pole.

Same thing, 12 time zones later.

As you can see from the long line of South Pole markers, not only does the ice cap move, but a fair amount of snow falls, even on the world's driest continent.

Not far from the South Pole is the barber pole.

And the Christmas tree and volleyball net.

A surprisingly large number of people arrive at Pole without the help of airplanes. Most of these people arrive on skis, alone and in groups-such as this group of French skiers-and some of them continue on across the rest of the continent. During the 8 days I was at Pole, one Japanese solo skier passed through, a few days later the 5 French skiers arrived, and a day after that 2 Dutch skiers came in.

The summer camp consists of a bunch of "Jamesways." These are basically heavy duty tents. Each Jamesway holds about a dozen people in private rooms separated from one another by heavy duty cardboard. The bathroom is a 20 foot walk across the snow in the bright sunlight, so chamber pots are a must. On my arrival I am pleased to note that my room is one of the few with a window. To my chagrin, the sun shines directly into said window at midnight.

The summer camp has its own "gym."

Our bathroom and shower facility, conveniently located a short distance from our bedrooms.

Much of my time was spent in the Martin A. Pomerantz Observatory (MAPO) in the "dark sector." It was about a 20 minute walk across the runway from the station, or a quicker but decidedly more surreal 5 minute ride on the station's mountain bike. It is called the dark sector because during the austral winter months, when the sun never rises, light-sensitive equipment is used, and so no external light sources are permitted in the area.

In particular, I worked on the AMANDA electronics in the MAPO building.

Icehenge. Nobody knows who built it or how long it has been there. Truly one of the world's enduring mysteries.