I just recently got back from spending a few weeks at the South Pole (and a few days in transit at McMurdo). I was there to do maintenance on one of my particle astrophysics experiments. This was my first time at the South Pole (my second time in Antarctica; I was at McMurdo for about a month about three years ago. I know there is at least one more seasoned Antarctic visitor on this board, so he is welcome to make an appearance and heckle me
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I will slowly be posting some pictures here (as I started doing this, I quickly realized I don't have the time/energy to do it all in one go. And yes, there are technically no cities here. But McMurdo is the largest settlement in Antarctica and South Pole may be the second largest? (not sure if any of the Argentine or Aussie bases are bigger...).
I'll start with some pictures from McMurdo on my way out there.
First an obligatory picture of Mt. Erebus. I had just just landed at Phoenix Field on a Kiwi Herc. Usually we fly with the Air National Guard, but sometimes you end up on a Kiwi or even Italian plane (The Kiwi base a mile and a half from McMurdo. The Italian base is not nearly as close, but relatively nearby). It was an 8 hour flight from Christchurch in a very crowded C-130 (knee-to-knee).
Our ride got stuck in the soft snow and had to get pulled out. This is the lovely Kress... a very awkward vehicle tugged by a tractor. It's quite roomy inside but the windows are too high up. I've ridden it many times (usually from McMurdo to the long duration balloon base where I commuted to every day when I was there three years ago).
Here is a noit great picture of McMurdo from Hut Point. The hut in the foreground was built by Scott during the Discovery expedition (I think it was built in 1903). The hut used during the ill-fated Terra Nova expedition was at nearby Cape Evans, I believe. I have some better pictures from my way back (and also from three years ago...) that I will likely post later!
And here's another (a bit later, weather changes fast!):
I was at McMurdo for less than 24 hours on my way to Pole. Here is a picture from Willy Field right before I board my LC-130.
