One thing you get used to here in Antarctica is that like the weather, schedules can change very quickly. I had expected to spend another week at Cape Royds, but my team was ready for me at South Pole. In addition the ice near McMurdo Station was thinning and they were moving the runway, so flights between McMurdo Station and South Pole were being stopped for a couple days while the move took place. That meant either I fly out on Friday, November 30 or wait until Monday. The problem is it takes 3 days to acclimate to the elevation at South Pole (equivalent to about 11,000 feet above sea level) before I'm permitted to go out into the deep field with my team. After considering possible weather delays, I decided to start heading toward the Pole rather than risk getting caught up in delays. I said goodbye to my good friend and excellent host Jean Pennycook and hello to the helicopter pilot, and headed back to McMurdo Station Thursday morning.
Most missions to South Pole use a C-130 Hercules. This is a military transport aircraft. It's noisy and the seats are a little rough, but it gets the job done. Oh and the bathroom … there's a small curtained off area right next to the seating area … that's where you go if you got to.
I arrived at South Pole Station around noon on Friday, November 30. Wow … talk about cold … I've never experience temperatures this low or snow that crunches this loudly below my feet. The outside temperature was -24 F with a wind chill of -47 F. I was warned from the very beginning, "When you arrive at South Pole move slowly … between the thin air and extreme cold temperatures it doesn't take much to find yourself short of breath and a bit wobbly." And those were very good words of advice. I like to think that I'm in pretty good shape, but what I normally would do physically was completely out of the question here. The lack of oxygen in the air is something your body can acclimate to in time, but when you're going from sea level and 20 F at McMurdo to 11,000 feet and -24 F at South Pole in about 3 hours, it's something you definitely notice.
The Ceremonial South Pole Marker … I made it!
Once here I was meet by Shelly Hynes who was kind enough to show me around the facilities. I knew Shelly from the Einstein Fellowship at the National Science Foundation. My research team was still out in the field, so it was nice to see a familiar face. I took it real easy Friday afternoon and evening. Other than attending snow machine training, and getting my gear over to the hut where I'm staying, I spent most of my time relaxing and learning the layout of the Station. Unfortunately due to limited bed space I did not get a room in Amundsen-Scott South Station. My room is in a heated hut with an outhouse about 150 yards from the main station. Most of the time walking 150 yards is rarely considered exercise, but this evening … when I finally made it to my room … I considered it a significant accomplishment.
My team should be in tomorrow from the field, so I'm looking forward to reconnecting and planning the next field expedition.
Check out the two live web camera at South Pole Station and get the current weather conditions at - http://www.usap.gov/videoclipsandmaps/spwebcam.cfm