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


Click to enlargeLifting the farfield flat onto the roof of MAPO.
Click to enlargeLifting the farfield flat onto the roof of MAPO.
Click to enlargeBLASTbus electronics.
Click to enlargeRemoving the 4 Kelvin stage from the cryostat.
Click to enlargeAn empty K1.
Click to enlargeJamie checks the tightness of some screws.
Click to enlargeThe farfield flat on the roof.
Click to enlargeRobert's flags on the roof of MAPO.
Click to enlargeColin, Clem, Robert, and Phil lift the farfield flat. It's both big and heavy.
Click to enlargeWalkng the flat into the groundshield.
Click to enlargeWalkng the flat into the groundshield.
Click to enlargeFit-check: can we get it through the groundshield door.
Click to enlargeYep. Looks like.
Click to enlargeThat was the easy part. Now the hard part: how to get it up on top of the telescope.
Click to enlargeSarah and Grant disassemble the K1 telescope.
Click to enlargeSarah and Grant disassemble the K1 telescope.
Click to enlargeYes, the humidity inside MAPO really is below 10%.
Click to enlargeA jug of I suppose we should call it "tea" that's been sitting in the galley window and steeping all season.

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(24708x2453, 10823.68 kb) One last 360 degree view of South Pole from the Dark Sector Road. There are stitching issues.

Click to enlargeInbound tourists.
Click to enlargeInbound tourists.
Click to enlargeInbound tourists.
Click to enlargeInbound tourists.
Click to enlargeTaxiing across the road.
Click to enlargeTaxiing across the road.
Click to enlargeTaxiing across the road.
Click to enlargeTaxiing across the road.
Click to enlargeTaxiing.
Click to enlargeTaxiing.
Click to enlargeTaxiing.
Click to enlargeTaxiing.
Click to enlargeTaxiing.
Click to enlargeNot quite sure that's the right word.
Click to enlargeThe sign on the emergency kitchen supplies cabinet in the Game Room (AKA the Emergency Kitchen).
Click to enlargeMy ride back to MacTown.
Click to enlargeMy ride back to MacTown.
Click to enlargeLoading cargo.
Click to enlargeThe fire truck waits on the side lines, just in case.
Click to enlargeLoading appears to be done; let's get a move on.
Click to enlargeOne last look at the dark sector.

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(8264x2408, 3405.82 kb) South Pole Station from Peligroso.

Click to enlargeMountains! My first view of geography in about a month.
Click to enlargeMore Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
Click to enlargeMore Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
Click to enlargeMore Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
Click to enlargeMore Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
Click to enlargeMore Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
Click to enlargeMore Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
Click to enlargeMore Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
Click to enlargeMore Transantarctic mountains from the plane. The flat part in the upper left is the Ross Ice Shelf. Foggy.
Click to enlargeMore Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
Click to enlargeMore Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
Click to enlargeMore Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
Click to enlargeMore Transantarctic mountains from the plane.
Click to enlargeOur flight number (Skier 23) and our mission designation (papa-one-six-four) on the side of the crew's lunch cooler.
Click to enlargeThose spools just fit.
Click to enlargeBack at Pegasus Blue Ice Runway.
Click to enlargeBlack Island.
Click to enlargeThe view of McMurdo from Pegasus. It's about a forty-five minute drive in a van, via a somewhat indirect rout.
Click to enlargeFlight crew.
Click to enlargeA ship in Winter Quarters Bay.

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(7438x2440, 2520.06 kb) Winter Quarters Bay, where the USNS Richard G. Matthiessen awaits lading, with the Royal Society Range on the horizon.

Click to enlargeContainers ready to be loaded onto the ship.
Click to enlargeContainers ready to be loaded onto the ship.
Click to enlargeA look back at the McMurdo dorms from Winter Quarters Bay, with Observation (Ob) Hill in the background.
Click to enlargeA burnt out shuttle van waiting to be shipped back. Looks like good times were had in MacTown this summer.

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(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.

Click to enlarge100 year commemorative plaque outside Discovery Hut.

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(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.

Click to enlargeDiscovery Hut's verandah.
Click to enlargeEnter at Own Risk. I still haven't managed to make it inside the Hut.
Click to enlargeDiscovery Hut plaque.
Click to enlargeIcebreaker on the horizon.
Click to enlargeVince's Cross at the end of Hut Point.
Click to enlargeThe Transantarctic mountains across the broken ice of McMurdo Sound.

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(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.

Click to enlargeOpen water at Hut Point.
Click to enlargeVince's Cross plaque.
Click to enlargeA trail marker.
Click to enlargeA freshies container.
Click to enlargeSalmon River Inn.
Click to enlargeRoyal Society Inn, where the USAF is housed.
Click to enlargeShackelton's Hut, where I spent the night.
Click to enlargeSarge's grafitti.
Click to enlargeI don't think these chairs were really designed for this porch.
Click to enlargeThe results of the South Pole Contingency Marathon posted on Highway One in McMurdo.
Click to enlargeMcMurdo General Hospital.
Click to enlargeThe HELO pad.
Click to enlargeJP-8 (jet fuel) storage tanks.
Click to enlargeVolcanic rock on Ob Hill.
Click to enlargeA view across the Sound.
Click to enlargeA 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.
Click to enlargeScott Base (green) and Willy Field and the Balloon Base (distance) from Ob Hill.
Click to enlargeChin-Lin at the summit of Ob Hill.
Click to enlargeMacTown.
Click to enlargeChin-Lin at the summit of Ob Hill.
Click to enlargeThe Ob Hill Cross.
Click to enlargeWindmills! (It's a pilot project investigating other forms of power generation.
Click to enlargePegasus Runway from the top of Ob Hill.
Click to enlargeSeals among the pressure ridges.
Click to enlargeOne more seal.
Click to enlargeThe Ob Hill Cross plaque.
Click to enlargeLooking back up after descending the Hill.
Click to enlargeCurling Equipment.
Click to enlargeNo horseplay, okay guys?
Click to enlargeThe icebreaker and the Chapel of the Snows.
Click to enlargeAnother picture of the Chapel of the Snows.
Click to enlargeThe icebreaker with impressive fata morgana in the background.
Click to enlargeMinna Bluff amplified by fata morgana.

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(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.

Click to enlargeInbound HELO.
Click to enlargeInbound HELO.
Click to enlargeInbound HELO.
Click to enlargeJust checking: yep, fata morgana still going on.
Click to enlargeWaiting to load the 17 back to New Zealand.
Click to enlargeA very strong groundling loads a palet.
Click to enlargeA crewman consults with the loadmaster before taking off.

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(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.

Click to enlargeA map on the C-17.
Click to enlargeThe view from the flight deck.
Click to enlargeThe flight deck.
Click to enlargeThe view from the flight deck.
Click to enlargeMe on the flight deck.
Click to enlargeChin-Lin investigates the loading ramp.
Click to enlargeChin-Lin investigates the loading ramp.

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(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).

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(6537x4474, 5984.26 kb) And the view noseward. Still lots and lots of room. Also some panorama generated re-arrangement of heads.

Click to enlargeSunflower Crunch ...?
Click to enlarge... or delicious, all natural Sample Only?
Click to enlargeMy last freshie. Back in New Zealand, it's just fruit.
Click to enlargePlaying Scrabble on the plane.
Click to enlargeUnloading in Christchurch. A speedy operation.
Click to enlargeEverything must go! Including the seats.
Click to enlargePower confusion at the CDC in Christchurch.
Click to enlargeA duck paddles under a bridge across the Avon River.

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© 2011 D. V. Wiebe. Generated Wed 2024-12-04 03:22:14 UTC