Riding In The Kress

Yesterday, when I got off the A-319 Airbus, there were two vehicles ahead of me. Ivan the Terrabus; an old, sometimes trustworthy friend which was full of people, and The Kress Vehicle. It turns out that Ivan was full of folks that were headed north to Christchurch. I would be taking my first trip on the Kress.


I first wrote about the Kress a couple of years ago when it was delivered via the cargo vessel. It's actually a pretty impressive vehicle.


Inside, it seats 59 passengers and feels like a movie theatre. The ride was one of the smoothest I've had from any of the runways here. I was even able to have the ability to have a nice conversation with a past fellow winterover I hadn't seen in many years. Count me as a big fan of the Kress!

Southbound

I'm beginning my 13th season on the Ice and my 11th journey south. Every season's flight is very different, and this year is no exception. I would have preferred to fly on the C-17, but instead I arrived on the A-319 Airbus. It's funny though how a little experience helps one have a better flight. I lined up where I needed to after the safety briefing in Christchurch and got a good seat on the bus to the plane, which in turn, got me
a great seat on the flight.

 
About 3.5 hours into the flight, we started to fly over the Transantarctic Mountains, which form the spine of the Antarctic continent. I never tire of this view of the mountains and glaciers. There is a Qantas flight that makes a similar route to ours on New Years Eve and that costs approximately $10,000 per person. Yes, I get paid to make this flight!


Once we start veering toward Ross Island (where McMurdo is located) we start flying over McMurdo Sound. There are lots of icebergs this season. Although they look smallish, each of these is probably about
the size of a city block.


I've seen this view many times, being on the ramp, (this would be called the tarmac at regular airports) but I don't get to see it often from inside a plane. It doesn't look that much different from last year, although I believe the Ice Runway is a bit closer to Scott Base this year.


This is the typical shot of folks leaving the plane after arriving from the Ice. I was contacted by a representative from the NSF (National Science Foundation) for a photo just like this for one of their early season documents. I submitted it, so I hope it gets used.

Australians at McMurdo

Last week, McMurdo was visited by two groups of
Australians from the Australian Antarctic Division
(AAD) on their way to Casey Station. The AAD and
the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) has an
agreement in place where the AAD flies USAP personnel
from Christchurch to McMurdo via their A319 Airbus.
USAP then reciprocates by flying AAD personnel to
Casey via our LC-130s. This set up has been in place
for a couple of years now and it seems it is a win/win
situation for both parties. It was fun for us to see
all of the yellow-coated Australians enjoying themselves
at McMurdo. One of the two 26 person groups was delayed
for a couple of days due to bad weather here. It was
fun to imagine if we would be stranded at Casey for a
couple of days and were able to explore the area there.
Before he left, our friend Simon gave me a couple of
the 100 year commemorative patches for the AAD (pictured
above). Lynn and I have a special place in our hearts
for the AAD since we were able to receive a really nice
tour there last year during our visit to Hobart. I hope
the folks that were here felt just as welcome as we did.

It's How Far???

This morning, I received my itinerary for heading down to the Ice.
This will be my sixth summer season and in addition to my six winters,
I will be entering my twelfth season in Antarctica. I'll be leaving on
September 27th, with an on-Ice date of October 3rd. Often, I'll tell
people where I work and I'll get one of the two W's. People will say
"Wow" or more often than not, "Why?" Either way, most people can't
wrap their head around just how far McMurdo Station, Antarctica is
from the United States, let alone the logistics involved of getting there.
I found an excellent mapping program called "Great Circle Mapper"
that will actually let you connect dot-to-dot how far it is between
the world's airports (including those in Antarctica!) I used this to
illustrate just how far it is. I live in Colorado, so my trip is actually
shorter than flying from say, Maine. Several friends of mine have this
distance to fly so I feel their pain! As for me, it will be 10,426 miles of

flying. 8,041 of which I will get frequent flyer miles. Why not the

additional 2,385? Because these are flown from Christchurch, New

Zealand to McMurdo on a U.S. Air Force C-17 or an Airbus A319 CJ

operated by the Australian Antarctic Division. Unfortunately these

fine organizations don't give frequent flyer miles. This total

distance will take 23 hours of flying time. This doesn't include layovers,

delays, scheduled stops, etc. Just flying time! So there you go. It is

indeed a long, long trip, and I'll be making it in just over three weeks

from now.

Back on The Ice

I only got to spend my minimum two days in Christchurch, as the
weather cooperated and we took off on time yesterday morning,
headed south. Because we were flying on the Airbus (operated by
the Australian Antarctic Programme), there are window seats and it
is actually quite comfortable. I got a window seat and was able
to get some fun photos on the way of Mount Erebus and the ice
surrounding Ross Island.


I was surprised to see how much the Ice was broken up past Cape
Royds. I might be wrong, but there usually doesn't seem to be
this much open water, this early in the season.


This is it. Home for the next five months. If you think it looks
bleak and depressing...that's because it is!


As I was walking toward the Terrabus, which would transport us into
town, I snapped this photo of the Airbus.

Boarding the Airbus

Again this year, we are being helped with our
redeployment airlifts by the Australian-owned
Airbus A319. Using this, in addition to our C-17
allows the program to get everyone out without
taxing the C-17 with too many flights during
redeployment.


Last season was the first time we used the Airbus
for redeployment and I flew back on it. It was a
fun experience, leaving the Ice in an airline seat
in business class!


Unfortunately, the whole plane in not equipped with
business class seats. Last year was a nightmare, with
everyone running to the plane to get the best seats.
This year, boarding passes are being issued and strict
ground rules are being enforced. Especially no running!
Sauntering and Skipping were considered, but it was
decided that a Casual Walk was probably best!

Back In NZ

On Thursday, I finally left my ninth season on the
Ice behind. I definitely can't say that I was sad to
go, but I left a few good friends behind and I wish
them a good Winterover. The nicest part of leaving,
(other than anticipating seeing Lynn after a absence
of three months of course) was the chance to ride
in the Airbus. It was leased by USAP from the
Australian Antarctic Programme and was definitely
a unique experience. I had a "reserved" seat because
I work in ATO so I got to sit in business class. what
a nice perk and really comfortable. This was the
first time I'd flown in anything either to or from the
Ice in a plane besides a military transport. I even got
an excellent view of Ross Island from the window. It
was also interesting to have a flight with actual Flight
Attendants and how they transformed from their cold
weather gear into...well...Flight Attendants, with
a snack and beverage cart! A great flight overall and
we were back in Christchurch by 6:30pm and home
by 8:00pm. It's great to be back with Lynn in NZ!

Airbus A-319

The Intercontinental Aircraft Schedule (Subject to Changes)
was released today for the upcoming McMurdo Summer Season.
What excited me is that tentatively (yes, nothing is ever
written in stone), the last week of flights south and north
will be handled by the Airbus A-319. I've flown on a C-17,
LC-130, C-141, Coast Guard Dauphin Helicopter and turned
down the chance to fly in a Twin Otter while on the Ice, but
I think it will be great to fly in a plane out of here that
very few have gotten to travel in...Antarctic-wise.
The reason that I'm pretty confident that I'll get to fly on
the A-319 is that it will be flying the last 4 flights north
and since I'm a Air Services Rep this Summer, I'll be on one
of the last flights. This particular A-319 is owned and
operated by a company called SkyTraders out of Australia and
earlier this year, conducted the first official flight to the
Wilkins Aerodrome. A test flight was sent to McMurdo in 2007.
Again, this is all Subject to Changes, but if it happens, it
could make flying to the Ice a whole new experience.