Made It to McMurdo Station

Hello, from McMurdo Station, Antarctica. This post is coming at the end of a typically long day involving the transit from Christchurch to McMurdo. We received notice yesterday afternoon that our flight was scheduled but with a two hour later start than normal. That later start had me a little concerned because I felt it was saying that they were not certain the plane would be ready. I got up at 6:30 AM and was ready for the 7:15 AM shuttle to the airport. With no morning updates, I concluded that the flight was ready to go. To no surprise, the check-in process went a little faster and smoother this time around with everybody having to repeat what they did three days earlier. We got on the bus to take us to the plane at 9:45 AM and this time we got off the bus and loaded the plane. Two minutes before the scheduled departure of 11:00, we started taxiing and we were in the air less than 10 minutes later.

The flight to Antarctica was similarly drama free. The flight was in a C-17, which is a large U.S. Air Force cargo plane. I view flying in the C-17 as luxurious, especially in comparison to the C-130, and the C-141 was worse. I was able to get a seat along the side of the plane. These seats are my preferred location as there is more room to stuff your bags and you have all the leg room you could ask for to stretch out during the flight. The seating is rather simple but I've never found it uncomfortable. The C-17 pilots were also very welcoming in allowing us to get in some views of, and from, the cockpit. The flight took five hours. We landed at 4:00 PM without any issues.

Getting off the plane for the first time is always one of the highlights of my field season. Antarctica is an extremely unique place and it is easy to forget what it is truly like until it is laid out in front of your eyes. The Ross Island region (McMurdo Station lies on the southern tip of Ross Island) is particularly beautiful with the Transantarctic Mountains in the distance, as well as Mount Discovery, White Island, Black Island, and Minna Bluff making up the scenery. We get off the plane and I was able to take a number of photos. Personally, I am always baffled by the people who walk directly from the plane to the large transport vehicles. I probably looked around and took photos for less that five minutes and I was one of the last people to load the vehicles for the transport to McMurdo. With 90 passengers on the flight, we had the large "Cres" passenger carrier, and two "Deltas", to get everybody into town. It was about an hour drive from Phoenix Airfield into McMurdo, a drive of approximately 16 miles.

Once we got into McMurdo it was the Arrival Briefing. For decades this briefing was done by the station manager and this year they upgraded the presentation to be done by video. The briefing lasted about a half hour. After getting our lodging assignments, we were free to go and we went to start unloading things in the lab as well as grabbing dinner.

To no surprise, one of the enjoyable parts of getting back to McMurdo is seeing and connecting with many colleagues and friends from past field seasons. When we got off of the Delta, two friends, who have spent a lot of time with us in the field, were there to greet us as well as take our carry-on bags into the lab. Throughout dinner, as well as walking around town, I was able to see a number of familiar faces and receive nice greetings welcoming us back into town. As odd of a a place as this is, it definitely has a feeling of "home" for me.