Picture Gallery for Fri 2011-02-04 05:21:05 UTC

	Lifting the farfield flat onto the roof of MAPO.
	Lifting the farfield flat onto the roof of MAPO.
	BLASTbus electronics.
	Removing the 4 Kelvin stage from the cryostat.
	An empty K1.
	Jamie checks the tightness of some screws.
	The farfield flat on the roof.
	Robert's flags on the roof of MAPO.
	Colin, Clem, Robert, and Phil lift the farfield flat. It's both big and heavy.
	Walkng the flat into the groundshield.
	Walkng the flat into the groundshield.
	Fit-check: can we get it through the groundshield door.
	Yep. Looks like.
	That was the easy part. Now the hard part: how to get it up on top of the telescope.
	Sarah and Grant disassemble the K1 telescope.
	Sarah and Grant disassemble the K1 telescope.
	Yes, the humidity inside MAPO really is below 10%.
	A jug of I suppose we should call it "tea" that's been sitting in the galley window and steeping all season.
(24708x2453, 10823.68 kb) One last 360 degree view of South Pole from the Dark Sector Road. There are stitching issues.
	Inbound tourists.
	Inbound tourists.
	Inbound tourists.
	Inbound tourists.
	Taxiing across the road.
	Taxiing across the road.
	Taxiing across the road.
	Taxiing across the road.
	Taxiing.
	Taxiing.
	Taxiing.
	Taxiing.
	Taxiing.
	Not quite sure that's the right word.
	The sign on the emergency kitchen supplies cabinet in the Game Room (AKA the Emergency Kitchen).
	My ride back to MacTown.
	My ride back to MacTown.
	Loading cargo.
	The fire truck waits on the side lines, just in case.
	Loading appears to be done; let's get a move on.
	One last look at the dark sector.
(8264x2408, 3405.82 kb) South Pole Station from Peligroso.
	Mountains! My first view of geography in about a month.
	More Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
	More Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
	More Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
	More Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
	More Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
	More Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
	More Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
	More Transantarctic mountains from the plane. The flat part in the upper left is the Ross Ice Shelf. Foggy.
	More Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
	More Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
	More Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
	More Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
	Our flight number (Skier 23) and our mission designation (papa-one-six-four) on the side of the crew's lunch cooler.
	Those spools just fit.
	Back at Pegasus Blue Ice Runway.
	Black Island.
	The view of McMurdo from Pegasus. It's about a forty-five minute drive in a van, via a somewhat indirect rout.
	Flight crew.
	A ship in Winter Quarters Bay.
(7438x2440, 2520.06 kb) Winter Quarters Bay, where the USNS Richard G. Matthiessen awaits lading, with the Royal Society Range on the horizon.
	Containers ready to be loaded onto the ship.
	Containers ready to be loaded onto the ship.
	A look back at the McMurdo dorms from Winter Quarters Bay, with Observation (Ob) Hill in the background.
	A burnt out shuttle van waiting to be shipped back. Looks like good times were had in MacTown this summer.
(11021x2500, 5905.41 kb) Chin-Lin checks over the operations in Winter Quarters Bay from Hut Point. The prominent hill at centre is, of course, Ob Hill.
	100 year commemorative plaque outside Discovery Hut.
(6798x2423, 2864.13 kb) Scott's Discovery Hut at Hut Point. It was a pre-fab outback cabin from Australia. Apparently it works quite well at keeping things cool, which wasn't really what they were after.
	Discovery Hut's verandah.
	Enter at Own Risk. I still haven't managed to make it inside the Hut.
	Discovery Hut plaque.
	Icebreaker on the horizon.
	Vince's Cross at the end of Hut Point.
	The Transantarctic mountains across the broken ice of McMurdo Sound.
(23976x2406, 8452.10 kb) A 360° view from the end of Hut Point, where Vince's Cross would be had I not cleverly removed it from this image. At left, looking roughly west, you can see the inbound icebreaker on the horizon. Hills on the left are known as Danger Slopes (where Vince fell to his death); on the other side of White Dome, the hills are known as Arrival Heights. Discovery Hut is in the midground, with Winter Quarters Bay behind it, and McMurdo behind that. Then you can see Ob Hill, behind which is White Island, and next is Black Island, with Royal Society Range at right.
	Open water at Hut Point.
	Vince's Cross plaque.
	A trail marker.
	A freshies container.
	Salmon River Inn.
	Royal Society Inn, where the USAF is housed.
	Shackelton's Hut, where I spent the night.
	Sarge's grafitti.
	I don't think these chairs were really designed for this porch.
	The results of the South Pole Contingency Marathon posted on Highway One in McMurdo.
	McMurdo General Hospital.
	The HELO pad.
	JP-8 (jet fuel) storage tanks.
	Volcanic rock on Ob Hill.
	A view across the Sound.
	A new box partway up Ob Hill. I think it's supposed to have a climber's logbook in it, but it wasn't there. There was a broken pencil, and a non-working pen, however.
	Scott Base (green) and Willy Field and the Balloon Base (distance) from Ob Hill.
	Chin-Lin at the summit of Ob Hill.
	MacTown.
	Chin-Lin at the summit of Ob Hill.
	The Ob Hill Cross.
	Windmills! (It's a pilot project investigating other forms of power generation.
	Pegasus Runway from the top of Ob Hill.
	Seals among the pressure ridges.
	One more seal.
	The Ob Hill Cross plaque.
	Looking back up after descending the Hill.
	Curling Equipment.
	No horseplay, okay guys?
	The icebreaker and the Chapel of the Snows.
	Another picture of the Chapel of the Snows.
	The icebreaker with impressive fata morgana in the background.
	Minna Bluff amplified by fata morgana.
(10486x2497, 3767.30 kb) The icebreaker parked in McMurdo Sound, with crazy quantities of fata morgana on the horizon. This was taken from the "beach" down below the Station. At left is Cape Armitage, the foot of Ob Hill. At right is Hut Point, where you can see the roof of the hut itself.
	Inbound HELO.
	Inbound HELO.
	Inbound HELO.
	Just checking: yep, fata morgana still going on.
	Waiting to load the 17 back to New Zealand.
	A very strong groundling loads a palet.
	A crewman consults with the loadmaster before taking off.
(13155x2568, 7564.29 kb) PAX redeploying from McMurdo to Christchurch on a mostly empty C-17. This was the view from my seat, shortly after take-off. This is why you always opt for the cargo seating along the sides if possible: infinite leg room.
	A map on the C-17.
	The view from the flight deck.
	The flight deck.
	The view from the flight deck.
	Me on the flight deck.
	Chin-Lin investigates the loading ramp.
	Chin-Lin investigates the loading ramp.
(6737x4593, 6111.23 kb) The view tailward. As you can see, people have made themselves as comforable as possible. (The two sleeping bags are for crewmen).
(6537x4474, 5984.26 kb) And the view noseward. Still lots and lots of room. Also some panorama generated re-arrangement of heads.
	Sunflower Crunch ...?
	... or delicious, all natural Sample Only?
	My last freshie. Back in New Zealand, it's just fruit.
	Playing Scrabble on the plane.
	Unloading in Christchurch. A speedy operation.
	Everything must go! Including the seats.
	Power confusion at the CDC in Christchurch.
	A duck paddles under a bridge across the Avon River.