I had an adventurous weekend! I was able to take of tour of the pressure Ridges at Scott Base. Scott Base is the New Zealand base about 3 K's from McMurdo Station. The pressure Ridges are these huge ice blocks that form because of the current under the ice that pushes the sea ice up against the coastline. The hike thru the ridges is about a mile long. We were out there for about 2 hours hiking and taking pictures. It was a beautiful night - about 19 degrees and no wind chill!
The next night I was chosen via lottery to go to Cape Evans! We took a Delta (a large, weird looking vehicle) out to Cape Evans. It was 1.5 hours of rough, bumpy ride both there and back! Once there we had to walk 3K's, past 2 icebergs to get to Robert F. Scott's Terra Nova Hut. Scott landed on the point by ship, the Terra Nova land there on January 4, 1911 and by January 12th the hut was constructed and ready to be lived in. The hut was used for experiments and exploration of the area. Inside we saw dead penguins, a lab, the kitchen, a stable, bunk beds and even a bicycle. It was thrilling to be in one of the furthest south museums in the world!
Iceberg!
Scott's Terra Nova Hut
This evening I had my first IFE or in flight emergency. It was an LC-130 on it's way to the South Pole and it had a fuel leak in the left fuel compartment. It h ad been on it's way to the Pole and had to turn around and come back to McMurdo. everything went fine and it landed safely. Thank goodness I have that first one under my belt!
