Antarctic Update

Note: this is a FITK re-post from December of 2007

A message from my eldest, on a geological expedition in Antarctica:

Hello! We've been in McMurdo Station, Antarctica for nearly a week now. We've been busy preparing for our departure into the field. Our camping gear, scientific equipment, food, radios, snowmobiles, fuel, and personal gear all has to be gathered, sorted, packed, and put into the cargo system before we can fly to Siple Dome and then on to Scott Glacier. In addition, I had to take a two-day snow camping course which included a night out in tents on the Ross Ice Shelf about a mile out of “town”. The weather was beautiful, and by the end of the class we had a view of the entire 12,500 feet of Mt. Erebus, the southernmost active volcano in the world.

We're scheduled to fly out on Wednesday, although flight schedules in Antarctica often change. I've attached a few photos from the trip thus far:

1 - As our NZ-Antarctica flight approached McMurdo, we had an amazing view of the Transantarctic Mountains in northern Victoria Land. Our field area at Scott Glacier won't be as completely snow covered but otherwise will probably look similar.

2 - Me on the NZ-Antarctica flight, with lots of cargo behind. We flew on a C-17 operated by the New York Air National Guard for you airplane buffs out there.

3 - A view of McMurdo Station from the top of a local hill. Most of the station is cargo storage yards, fuel tanks, etc. The middle of "town" is where most things happen for us.

4 - A photo of my snow camping classmates as we waited to be picked up at the end of our class. Mt. Erebus rises to over 12,000 feet behind.

Cheers,

~ Seth.