Arrived

I have made it successfully to McMurdo Station. The entire trip today, from the shuttle pickup at 5:45 AM, to landing at Phoenix Airfield at 2:00 PM, to arriving into McMurdo at 3:00 PM went as scheduled and without any drama. There were 47 passengers on the C-17 military cargo plane for the flight south. The middle of the plane was filled with cargo and shipping containers. At this time of year, any and all goods and materials have to be flown to McMurdo. We left Christurch in about 60F temperatures and we arrived at Phoenix Airfield, outside of McMurdo, with a temperature of approximately 7F.

Dressed in extreme cold weather (ECW) gear and ready to go through the check-in process for the C-17 flight to Antarctica from the Antarctic Passenger Terminal in Christchurch.

On board the C-17 during the 5-hour flight (there was a nice tailwind) from Christchurch, New Zealand to McMurdo Station. Any and everything is done to fill the time. The containers on the right side of the photo are filled with cargo.

Walking off of the plane onto the Ross Ice Shelf is always one of the highlights for me of any trip. The Antarctic environment is so extreme and unique that it can always be a stunner. We were allowed about 5 minutes to take in the sights and then everybody loaded a large people mover vehicle. You can think of it as a trailer behind a large big-wheeled semi-truck. After getting into McMurdo we went to the arrival briefing. Much of this information is great for first timers, although they are likely overwhelmed with everything that is told to them. For others, it is mostly repetition from previous years. The significant information will start tomorrow morning with our science in-briefing where we meet with many of the supervisors of the personnel who will be supporting the project. Once we were done with the arrival briefing, we went over to the Crary Lab where most all of the project's activities in McMurdo will occur during the next four weeks. We found our office and lab space as well as got onto the internet, always a key initial step. Lastly, we made a quick visit to Science Cargo to learn the status of our cargo. We were able to find most all of the cargo. There are two crates still in Christchurch and we pleaded that at least one, if not both, are a priority to get into town as soon as possible.

Hero shot at the Phoenix Airfield immediately after getting off of the C-17. The first sites of Antarctica are always special. The mountains in the background are the Royal Society Range of the Transantarctic Mountains.

It has felt good to be back in McMurdo. Ever since my first trip to Antartica, McMurdo in some ways has felt like home to me. Yet each year is also different and there is turnover in the people that you work with every year. On top of that, you are taking your world, lifestyle, and daily patterns and acclimating them to a tremendously different environment and setting. I have moved into my room and I've been told that my roommate will be arriving tomorrow. I have decided to wait until then before getting fully settled into the dorm room. The reality is that I have only been here for six hours and if I am settled into my room, the lab, and life in town in five days, I am doing really, really well to start the field season. It is a slow process and the start of any field season is filled with briefings, training, meetings, and unpacking cargo. Sometimes, I have to remind myself to give it a little time.

Cargo being removed from the back of the C-17 aircraft at Phoenix Airfield. In the distance is Mount Erebus on Ross Island.