29 November 2017 Flying Over the Southern Ocean

At 5:45 A.M. the shuttle arrived at the hotel and we loaded our bags in, heading for the Clothing Distribution Center. This time our pre-packed orange bags with ECW gear were ready to go and we quickly dressed in our bunny boots and snow pants.

Full ECW gear outside of the passenger terminal in Christchurch, NZ. (Photo credit: Scott VanBommel)

The U.S. Antarctic Program requires all participants to be in full ECW gear on the plane so we are ready for landing in Antarctica. We carried our equipment to the passenger terminal and weighed our luggage. Passengers are only allowed to carry 85 pounds to the ice. I was lucky to be quite a bit under the weight limit, but I will only be on the ice for about three weeks. The same weight requirement stands for those wintering over (spending 14 months on the ice).

Weighing bags and final check in at the passenger terminal in Christchurch, NZ. (Photo credit: Scott VanBommel)

We then had about 30 minutes of free time to grab breakfast while our bags were loaded onto the plane. After heading back to the CDC, we listened to a final briefing before proceeding to the buses that would take us to the plane.

Passengers boarding the LC-130 in Christchurch, NZ. Front view of the LC-130 aircraft in Christchurch, NZ. (Photo credit: Dillan Josland)

We boarded a Royal New Zealand Air Force LC-130 around 9:30 A.M. Our seats were cargo nets with rows facing each other, parallel to the direction of the plane. I was a bit nervous as we sat down in our seats, but Dillan Josland, a Canadian pilot contractor, was seated next to me and explained what was going to happen on the flight. He has ventured to the ice a few times and will be transporting people from McMurdo to the South Pole. After his reassuring words, the engines started with a loud roar. The deafening noise from the plane made it necessary to wear ear protection and also made conversation during the flight nearly impossible.

The inside of the LC-130 plane from Christchurch to McMurdo.

Using the "honey pot" toilet – a bucket with a curtain around it at the aft of the plane – was a first for me. But desperate times call for desperate measures on an eight hour flight, and I wanted to stay hydrated upon arrival at our dry destination.

The "honey pot" toilet on the LC-130.

Dave Cresswell of the Royal New Zealand Air Force made room for me in the cockpit so I could join the pilots with the first views of Antarctica from the sky. And boy was it breathtaking. Gorgeous blue peaks erupted from the white abyss as a mountain range came into view. Even at 27,000 feet going 500 km/hr, the mountains looked magnificent.

The first views of Antarctica from the cockpit of the LC-130. (Photo credit: Dave Cresswell)

The touch down was swift and the plane came to a halt on the the Phoenix air strip (the wheeled runway). Nothing could prepare me for the moments that followed as I stepped down from the LC-130 and touched Antarctica for the first time. I had chills, even a tear came to my eye, but that could have also been from the blinding brightness of the vast sea ice that surrounded us in every direction we looked. Mount Erebus, an active volcano, loomed ominously in the distance beyond McMurdo Station as we headed across the landing strip to our vehicle transport. Ivan the Terra Bus, as it is affectionately named, was driven by "Shuttle Bob" who is in his 11th season of driving people from the runway to the station and back. "I always meet the neatest people during my job," Shuttle Bob commented, "people are always excited to come and go. I love the enthusiasm!"

Ivan the Terra Bus, the transport from the Phoenix runway to McMurdo Station. (Photo credit: Scott VanBommel)

On our way into McMurdo Station, we stopped at the Scott Station, a Kiwi base, to drop off some New Zealand scientists. The two stations are quite close together and it is walkable in good weather conditions. As we left Scott Station, we notice large blobs sitting on the ice. As we got closer, we could tell that these were Weddell seals laying along the pressure ridges below Scott Station. They had come up through the cracks in the ice to bathe in the afternoon sun.

Our flight to the South Pole is scheduled for tomorrow. We are heading to a "bag drop" tonight to weigh all of our luggage again at 10:00 P.M. Fortunately in Antarctica in the summer the sun is still shining brightly in the middle of the night so we will hopefully make a quick trip up and back. Fingers crossed that our plane leaves as scheduled tomorrow morning!