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.

Same Season - Different Purpose

Click on Photo To Enlarge

I found this photo on the Common computer drive here
at McMurdo. It shows the difference only a few months
can make in the activities down here. Where there was
once an Ice Runway, there is now a shipping channel!
I stood on that ice many times this season and it actually
supported a small town dedicated to supporting the planes
taking of and landing here. However, in December, the
ice begins to thin and will no longer support aircraft. It
begins thin enough that Ice Breakers can plow through
it, creating a channel for ships to arrive. In the second
photo is the research vessel, Nathanial B. Palmer, on it's
way to dock at the ice pier at McMurdo. This water is
hundreds of feet deep here and still just above freezing.
I'd hate to try to land a plane on it now!

Early Emperors

There was a rare early sighting of four Emperor Penguins
out at the Ice Runway today and someone was lucky enough
to get a few good photos. These fellows seemed to
know where they were going and what they were doing, so
they definitely weren't lost. We usually see emperors
out at Pegasus but not this close to town in October.

Looking Down The Barrel

I saw this photo on the common computer drive and wanted
to share it. It's a view looking down the runway, as a
plane would see it when landing. I've never seen it from
the vantage point of a C-17 since we're strapped in back
in the cargo section, but I did get to see it last year
when I returned from a trip to Allan Hills in a Twin Otter,
when we could look through the pilot's window when we landed.
Definitely a unique point of view. Also, look in the
background. Those aren't cliffs. It's a mirage called a
Fata Morgana. We see them pretty frequently here and it
gives a kind of surreal look to the horizon.

The First Crew Tour

Yesterday, Air Services performed it's first Crew Tour of
the season. Last year we conducted quite a few tours,
and we will have many this year as well. Every time a C-17
drops out of the sky, we offer the crew a "tour" of McMurdo,
generally showing them briefly around town, giving them
some history of the area, taking them to shop at the store
and letting them take pictures of themselves in front of
the "McMurdo" sign. For the most part, when a C-17 lands,
the weather on the ice shelf is generally sunny and
visibility is good. Today was not the case as the plane had
to abort it's first attempt because it couldn't see the
runway. The second try was a bit lower and they were able
to see the lights on the Ice Runway so that they could land.


After the plane pulled into a parked position, it was business
as usual as all of the passengers disembarked and we drove out
onto the Ramp (where the plane parks) picked up the crew and
made the ten minute drive into town. The crews love going to
the store, purchasing souveniers for themselves and loved ones
and of course they ham it up for their "hero" photo in front of
the sign. Almost as quickly as it starts, the tour ends as we
drive back to the runway and they get on their plane for the
five hour flight north.

Making the Move

The move to Pegasus Runway has begun and the
first C-17 since the first week of the season
is landing there. The Ice Runway is officially
closed, meaning no more quick trips to the
runway, and much longer transportation times
for passengers either headed north or south.
This year, both wheeled planes (C-17's) and
skiers (LC-130's) will be landing at Pegasus,
instead of the skiers landing at Williams Field.
This will add even more time to the transport
times to Pole and Field Camps as well. It
should be interesting over the next few
months to see how all this works.

No More Crew Tours

Yesterday, I led my last Crew Tour of the
season. Because the Ice Runway is closing
and operations are shifting to Pegasus Runway
for the remainder of the year, it is too far of
a drive to pick up the crew, bring them into
town and take them back to the runway before
the plane takes off. The ground time is usually
just an hour and late in the season, it can take
up to an hour just to get out there. I've had
a good time conducting the tours this season,
taken a lot of interesting photos and got to
spend some quality time at the runway. All
combined with a good excuse to get out of the
office!

In a Snow Globe

Somewhere out there is an airport. More precisely,
the Ice Runway. The weather has gotten pretty
horrible for summer standards and the snow is
starting to pile up as well as the wind continuing
to howl. Flights have been canceled again, both
north and southbound. Things are supposed to
improve over the next twenty four hours, but for
now, McMurdo feels like it's in one of those
shakeable snow globes!

The Australians Are Here!

One of my favorite things about working in Air Services,
and with the US Antarctic Program in general, is meeting
people from all over the world. Today, a Airbus operated
by Skytraders landed at the Ice Runway and deposited 50
Australians. Kiwis from New Zealand we see. Aussies from
Australia, we don't. All of their stations are far to the west
of us and we definitely don't share the same airspace.
This group are hitching several rides on our LC-130s
from the Ice Runway to the skiway at Casey Station.


I know this sounds weird, but it was interesting to see all
of their bags labeled "Casey" and "Wilkins". Unlike the US
program, each of the Australian stations have different
colored bag and cargo tags, representing each station.
Of course, I was always interested in Airline luggage tags
before they became bar code-ized and seeing exotic
three letter codes for the cities was the rule and not the
exception.


We're used to seeing the Americans in their Red parkas
and the Kiwis in their Black and Orange parkas, but it
was refreshing to see so many folks in Yellow parkas
running around town. Although it definitely contributes
to a very crowded station. We have 1010 people on
station right now with more to come tomorrow. If we
don't get some flights out to Pole soon, we'll all be
sharing beds!

Chunk of Ice

Fleet Ops (The guys and gals that run the
heavy equipment) drug this large Ice Boulder
into town and placed it in the Galley Pad.
Their equipment was coming across chunks
of ice this big while creating the Sea Ice
Runway this year. I've seen some bigger
pieces of ice out there, but they were ones
that had been churned up by an icebreaker.
Nonetheless, it was no small feat just to
get this big icecube into town.

First Day For the Ice Runway

As an Air Services Rep, one of my jobs is to give
tours to the crews of the C-17s that land on the
Ice Runway. Today was the opening of the Annual
Sea Ice Runway so, a crew tour was set up and I
was to lead it. However, when I arrived at the
Ice Runway, I was told that the crew had cancelled
their tour. I'm not sure why, but the store was
closed today so that wasn't an option for them to
visit it. This left me with a few minutes of extra
time before I had to head back to McMurdo so I was
able to snap a few photos. There is a small "town"
set up at the Ice Runway to service the runway.
This includes a terminal, control tower, service
buildings etc. It's kind of a neat place and early
in the season, very orderly and tidy.


It only takes about ten minutes to drive to the
Ice Runway from McMurdo versus the minimum 30
minutes to Pegasus Runway via the shortcut road.
As a result, it's basically in McMurdo's front
yard. Even a big plane like the C-17 looks small
in comparison to it's surroundings.


Speaking of big though, the C-17 is just a monster
of a plane. My boss's boss, Pete is on the right
and my friend Neel is on the left. Neel is something
like 6'8" tall and he looks miniature next to the
plane.


Parked right on the edge of the Ice Town is the
Basler. The Basler is run by Ken Borek Air out
of Canada and is specially fitted to operate in
very cold temperatures. The first flight to the
South Pole is scheduled for tomorrow and it will
be a Basler that takes 16 people there. As I
type this, the flight is looking iffy because of
weather, so we'll see if it leaves or not.


From the runway, you get a fantastic view of
Mount Erebus, our active volcano. It's kind of
disconcerting to know that it is active, but
kind of fascinating at the same time. Maybe
that's morbid fascination...


This is my favorite view of McMurdo. From out
on the Sea Ice. It looks very clean and
orderly from here. It also gives you a
good idea of how big and spread out it is.

Pegasus 2008-2009

With all of the budget cuts this year, the Ice Runway is
but a memory. At least for a few years. This year, all
wheeled flights will be arriving and departing from Pegasus
Runway.

Flooding The Transition

This isn't a current picture, but you'll get the idea.
Every winter, Fleet Ops is tasked with Flooding the
Transition. What is this you ask? Ok...first the
Transition, or it's official name, The VXE-6 Transition.
It's the area where land and sea ice meet and can be very
broken, rough and choppy. That's where Fleet Ops comes
in. Every year, a road is built over the Transition.
Most years it serves as the jumping off point of the
Pegasus Shortcut Road, cutting the trip to Pegasus Field
almost in half. It also goes to the Ice Runway that is
built during WINFLY. However, the Ice Runway won't be
built this year, so it makes the road doubly important
as the main "expressway" to Pegasus. I always wondered
why the Transition had to be flooded. It's in Ice already
after all. So while eating lunch today with Nick who works
in Fleet Ops and is one of the guys flooding the Transition,
I asked him...why? His quick answer...to make it smooth.
Simple as that. Kind of like spreading new asphalt onto
a road to make it more drivable. Only in this case, water
is used to "flood" it. After it's flooded, layer after
layer of snow is bulldozed on top of the Ice to give it
thickness. It seems odd to add Ice to a place that is nothing
less than the iciest place on Earth. But that's exactly what
they do. And to do this, they add a million gallons of water.
Yes...a Million...with a big "M". No exaggeration. It seems
like its a waste of water, but it really isn't. We get our
water directly from the sea, where it is processed using
reverse osmosis to make it drinkable. They're just placing
processed sea water back into the sea. All of this to make
a much smoother road...oh I forgot to say...It will melt and
become impassable by mid-December...one slushy pothole. I
guess it's job security for Fleet Ops. Kind of like filling
in the potholes back home every spring.