Penguins for Christmas

I awoke this Christmas morning in a snow cave on the Ice Shelf about 5 miles from the station. I had led a camping trip out for the evening and we enjoyed beatiful weather that night, though this morning when I crawled out of my cave, the clouds had rolled in and created a flat white light that allowed for aproximatly zero depth perception. Walking into snow pits and stumbling around in the powder, we got underway back to station in time for the Ob Hill Up Hill, a race from the road up to the top of Observation Hill. I am ashamed to say I did not win, as the winning time was 7:44 to make the climb and I did only a respectable 9:20 to take 5th place. Photos to come. The real excitement however came yesterday afternoon when word ran through the galley that 10 penguins were down at Hut Point. I grabbed my jacket and camera and headed down there, where there were not only penguns, but three seals as well. So I got to hang out and watch the penguins hop and waddle around for awhile, and then on the hike out to the camp site, saw one of them at close range, about 20 feet away and sqwaking at as when we sqwaked at him.





LC-130 at Williams Field, so named for a Sea-Bee in the 50's that plunged through the sea ice while driving a D-8 Catapillar.



The row of 11 20,000 gallon fuel tanks at the ski-way.



Beneath the wing of an LC-130 Hercules, the planes that, ski equiped, make the run between McMurdo Station and South Pole with personel, equipment, food, and fuel. During peak operations up to 7 flights a day make the run, as well as inumerable flights of DC-3's and Twin Otters and helicopters and the odd C-17 Globemaster. This means lots of air operations and lots of fuel needed, so last week I went out and volunteered a few hours with the fuel operators and got to learn how one of these big beasts gets gassed up.

More later, Blogger is being finicky right now...