Penguin on the Runway! And other tales...

There's no denying that it's been an eventful couple of weeks here at McMurdo. Thankfully, we've still been able to fly and get a decent amount of work done. So much so, in fact, that we only have three trips left to make, and two weeks to make them. It's not guaranteed that we'll finish, but I'm optimistic.

Since 1/18, the day after I got back to McMurdo, we've successfully serviced sites at Brimstone Peak, Fishtail Point, Minna Bluff, and Mt. Coates via helicopter. Fishtail and Minna Bluff were both night flights, so some of the days have been pretty long, because we wake up at 6 am to check the schedules anyway. So when we don't go to sleep until 2 am... Insanity ensues. But so do some nice pictures.

Brimstone Peak at the far northeastern end of the Transantarctic Mountains

Travis, Kiya, and I perched on a cliff over Skelton Glacier at Fishtail Point (photograph by Doug Bloomquist)

Evening at Minna Bluff

Even though we've still got things to do, activity here is winding down toward the end of the season in two weeks. The days we haven't flown, we've been packing up miscellaneous cargo for shipment back to the US or for storage until next season. Lots of lifting and hauling and moving and filling out reports and paperwork. The other day, I accompanied a large piece of cargo from the base here down to Pegasus runway (about 14 miles away) because the cargo had to be put in a storage container down there. I got off the shuttle at the airport and it only took me about 10 minutes to find a forklift and move the cargo to the container, but as I was walking back toward the shuttle, it drove away, and I was stuck waiting an hour for the next one. So I decided to mosey to the end of the runway and get a closer look at the mountains, when I came across something I certainly didn't expect.

This guy!

This adult male emperor penguin has evidently been hanging around for a while. According to people I've talked to, they'll hang out around the runway this time of year to molt before heading back to a nearby rookery. A few of my fellow researchers had seen this guy, but none had gotten this close - I felt quite privileged, and I was glad I missed my shuttle!

I've also done a bit of hiking in my downtime, something which wasn't really available out at WAIS due to the total lack of elevation change or hard ground surface. Last Thursday Jie and I hiked out to Castle Rock, a large volcanic left-over about 3 miles northeast of McMurdo, to take in the views of Mts. Erebus on Terror on the exceptionally clear day. It was a fun diversion, with some rock-scrambling and steep climbs, and the scenery was, as always, incredible.

The view from the top of Castle Rock. Mt. Erebus is directly over the ridge and Mt. Terror is to the right. If you're not getting a sense of scale, Erebus is 12,448 feet and rises from sea level (that's the ocean reflecting over to the left).  

Stopping for a drink on the way down (photograph by Jie Chen)

As we've been working during the day and blowing off steam at night, I've discovered a number of new skills. I got very competitive and shut out every competitor I played one night at foosball in one of the bars (only to be crushed the following night by Paul) and I discovered an enjoyment for darts. I've also gotten into the habit of taking a walk around base late at night before going to bed. The weather is getting colder, windier, and sun is getting lower and lower every day (around midnight it actually starts looking like sunset!). Last night I went my usual way toward the dorm and saw something I hadn't seen in about two months. I looked east and saw an odd object in the sky, and it took me two or three seconds to realize it was the moon, showing just barely above the ridge over Scott Base. It was an odd moment - one that made me think about what coming here has done for me, and whether I'm prepared to leave in two weeks.

The moon shone briefly over McMurdo Station last night.

Early morning fog off Cape Armitage. At 1:00 am, this is the lowest the sun gets in the sky; nevertheless, it can certainly look like a sunset.