The Italian Shuffle

McMurdo Station not only is a scientific station in its own right, it also serves as the logistical hub for much of this part of the continent. This means that other Antarctic programs such as the New Zealand, Australian, Italian and sometimes others, will transport through McMurdo on their way to their own stations. Today, Pegasus Field received twenty-two members of the Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide (The Italian Antarctic Program) arrived on a C-17 and transported to Mario Zucchelli Station at Terra Nova Bay. It would be interesting to go there some day, as I hear the food is wonderful (how could it not be with Italians doing the cooking?), but I'm not counting on it ever happening. My friend, Carly in Fleet Ops took these photos of the operation out at the airfield. We will probably have more Italians (and a few Koreans that work with them as well) transiting through here in the next few weeks and then later in the year, we reverse the process. It all gives this place a more "international" flavor.

Bird's Eye View

I love these overhead shots of different places
around the Ice that people post from time to time.
It gives great perspective and makes you realize
how big things really are and how expansive the
distances are.


These views are of the Pegasus Airfield and the
facilities located there that support all of the
aircraft types that fly into the McMurdo area.

Off The Ice...With Perks!

Today I completed my 10th season on the Ice! Ten seasons of a
very different lifestyle, yet one I enjoy. There were only six of us
ATO folks leaving today. Because we're in ATO and we're in charge
of the bags being loaded onto the plane, our bags got to go on top
of the baggage pallet. More about this later. Usually all ATO employees
get to go out on our own separate transport, but because there were
only six of us, and three were working the plane, loading and unloading
cargo, only Amy, Melanie and I were riding out to Pegasus Airfield.
Supply Melanie though was nice enough to reserve us our own seats
at the front of Ivan, so we got a special ride anyway. When we got
out to Pegasus, we milled with the other folks on our plane (99 in all)
and waited to board. Then, unexpectedly, Bear called our names on
the radio and we got to board the C-17 first, getting the seats we
wanted. In that case, Melanie and I wanted a seat on the side with
a outlet to plug our electronics into. The ride back to Christchurch
was pretty uneventful and five hours later we were in 75 degree weather
and sunny skies. Because our bags were on top of the baggage pallet,
they were amongst the first onto to conveyer belt and for the first
time ever, I was the first one from our plane through customs! I
believe this is Karma since a few years ago, I was pulled aside on a
random search and spent 45 minutes telling someone what everything
in my bag was. So we walked over to the CDC (Clothing Distribution
Center) which is always good since we've been sitting for the last
five hours. I turned in all my gear, got my hotel reservations and
again, all six of us ATO folks were on the first shuttle leaving the
building! My room at the Hotel So is very pleasant but we were hungry
Amy, Melanie and I went to Bailie's. Bailie's isn't my usual hangout
but it's a traditional watering hole for Ice folks. We got food and
was surprised when Susie appeared! She was on her way home and
saw us go into the Bar. She bought me a drink in thanks for my work
the last day, closing out Air Services for the season. We joined other
Ice folks and then I called it a night. A long day, but very satisfying.
Another season completed,

Almost Time to Go

It has been very gray for over a week, and everyone that
is not wintering has either left, or is in the process of it.
Today, my friends Dave and Kelly and friend and co-worker,
Susie left. Over 160 people are now in Christchurch that
were formerly McMurdoans. There are three ATO folks
staying in McMurdo until a special flight leaves on March
5th, taking mostly Fuelies out. These folks are involved in
wrapping up the fuel lines leading to Pegasus Airfield.
Otherwise, there are 99 people leaving tomorrow. Six of
those folks will be from ATO. Amy and I will be working
our own transport and the remaining Cargo Handlers will
be loading their own plane. It has been a good season,
but we are all ready to leave "The Rock".

Oops!

Earlier today, Van 201 had a small problem with
an electrical fire. It was being operated by the
military folks at Pegasus Airfield. Scary thing
was, it happened right next to the fuel pits! I
don't think this van will be seeing any driving
time for quite a while...if ever again.

Pegasus Airfield

This year, both skier and wheeled aircraft are
using one runway. Pegasus has been converted
to operate LC-130's, C-17's, Baslers and Twin
Otters. They don't actually use the same
runway, but share the same facilities at Pegasus.
In the past, all of the skiers used Williams Field
and the C-17s would use Pegasus, but in an effort
to save both money and manpower Pegasus has been
made the sole landing site with Williams Field
as an emergency backup. I found these great
photos of the operations on the common drive
and they give a great viewpoint of how things
work out there.


This gives a good view of the refueling set-up.


The Skiway that is utilized by the skiers.


The White Ice Runway, used by the C-17s

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!

Another Trip to Pegasus

My boss, Susie, is trying to get me out of
the office as much as possible over the next
few days as I'll pretty much be chained to
the desk for most of the season. This means
that I got to drive back out to Pegasus
Runway again today. This time, to take
people out, going north, instead of picking
people up that just arrived. I drove an
Airporter (pictured) and my friend and
roommate, Jed, got to ride shotgun!


It was a beautiful afternoon and there
were only 12 folks from McMurdo and 4
people from Scott Base headed north.
The same plane brought 107 people in
just a few minutes before my people
headed to the plane.


When you're out at the runway, you also get
to see the other side of ATO (Cargo) work.
They bring large quanties of items out, but
it seems like there are usually more things
to remove from the plane and bring into town.


This photo gives you a good idea just how big
the cargo pallettes are and how big the vehicles
that they work with are. The Cargo Handlers
climb all over these things like monkeys! They're
very agile.


As big as the loaders and cargo are, they are
still dwarfed by the C-17 itself!


I had to wait with the Airporter until the plane
actually took off; just in case the plane didn't
leave, I would have to return the passengers to
town. Since the plane did leave, I roMcMurdo, de back to
McMurdo all by myself. It's a pretty drive and
the scenery is wonderful! This is a view of
the south tip of Ross Island (where McMurdo is
located) and Observation Hill, Arrival Heights
and Castle Rock are predominant.

ACH003

I had "training" this morning on how to
drive vehicles. Of course I've driven
vehicles many times down here before, but
for some reason, we have to be re-trained
each year. So I drove an Airporter (kind of
a rental car-type van over to Scott Base and
was now "trained". Later in the afternoon,
Flight ACH003 was headed down from Christchurch
and because Ivan (the big Terra Bus that holds
the most people) was broken, I was asked to
drive a passenger van out to Pegasus Runway to
pick folks up. On this flight were my friends,
Carrie, Nathan, Tad and many others. The winds
were really whipping and the roads were
drifting heavily on the way out and we got there
just as the plane was ready to land.


I love watching the C-17 come in to park after
landing. It's huge! Plus, it was fun to be
out at the runway with the other ATO folks
(my department) including Shuttles and Cargo.


Bob...one of the shuttle drivers who was driving
one of the large passenger vehicles called a
Delta, saw me taking photos of the plane coming
in and asked if I wanted a photo of myself with
the plane. Sure...it would be good to send to
Lynn I thought...so here it is!


Driving back to town was just as windy and
mushy (road wise) due to the blowing snow,
but was fun because I now had 10 passengers
in the back of the van. That smoking mountain
in the back of the photo is Mount Erebus, the
very active volcano. There's a good chance
I'll be driving out to Pegasus later this week
so I'll hopefully take some more photos then.

Not Feeling Driven

I was asked yesterday to drive an Airporter out to Pegasus
Runway today to deliver passengers to the Kiwi C-130 for
the trip north to Christchurch. It turned out that the Terrabus,
Ivan, was repaired in time and they didn't need me as a driver.
No big deal since I was probably needed more in the office.
I think Susie probably asked me if I wanted to drive just to get
me OUT of the office...so I wouldn't kill someone. Mini-meltdowns
seem more possible these days as I've entered my last of 13 months
here with only 5 weeks off. Susie is a smart cookie and knows that
she needs to keep my mind occupied.

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.

Just Smurfy!

Remember the Smurfs? They were those creepy little
guys back in the early 80's. I could never
understand their popularity, let alone why there was
only one old Smurf and only one girl Smurf and all
these other "young" smurfs that all looked alike
except one had glases... Yeah, those guys. Anyway,
there's a Smurf here at McMurdo and it's called the
"Smurf Shack" or "Smurf Hut" depending on who you're
talking to and in what context. Anyway, this is the
"Old" Smurf Shack and it's used primarily as a warming
hut for folks working out at Pegasus. It even has
skis on it so it can be towed around when needed. A
newer version went out on the South Pole Traverse
this year. Right now it's the only light you can see
outside of town for miles and miles away. It's
kind of spooky looking out there and knowing that no
one is there and that little shack is kind alone...
except for one old man Smurf and one girl Smurf,
making little...wait...just my imagination running
away from me again. Why is it called the Smurf Shack
you ask??? Because it's blue...that's why! Duh!

Captain of a Sinking Ship

A sure sign that WINFLY (Winter Fly In) is on the way
is Fleet Ops plowing the road to Pegasus Runway. These
aren't your ordinary, average plows and snow blowers.
These guys move mountains of snow, all in the dark and
certainly in the cold. On a related note, I was in charge
of the station yesterday for almost two hours. Well, kind
of. My two bosses drove out to Pegasus with the Fleet Ops
Foreman (Bob) to check out the condition of the runway. When
you leave town this time of year, you have to radio to the
Firehouse who is leaving, how long you'll be gone and who
your contact person is in case there is trouble. I was the
the contact! So with both of my bosses gone and
driving on a road with Bob (no explaination needed there)
over a treacherous road on ice covering hundreds of feet of
water...Think of the possibilities! Alas, they returned
(I don't mean to sound disappointed) and I returned to my
normal job. Sigh.