At the station, we were led up a very rocky, steep road through the buildings. They looked rough and uncomfortable on the outside, a lot like sheds. It was interesting to note that the ground was just loose rock and dirt, and little had been done to make it more like a standard base that you'd find in North America, for example. They were clearly leaving the terrain as close to the natural norm as possible. On either side of the roads there were large ditches, because th eroads were raised for the most part above the standard grade. Everything was steep up and down when moving inward from the shore, but quite level when going parallel to the shore.
We passed by the "Penguin Ops" building, where they coordinate the air traffic around the base. Then, we entered the new large, multi-wing, Crary Science Lab building. (That's the gray building near the middle of the base with several perpendicular wings.) Inside, it looked just like a modern hospital. I was amazed by the difference from the outside. Inside, you'd never know you were in Antarctica.
We were shown some of the offices and labs. The offices were very basic: Steelcase furniture and a computer or two in most. I noticed that the first computer I saw was a Mac IIci, which I found several more of throughout the offices. Other included Zenith and other PC compatibles. The labs were also fairly standard, with lots of equipment for chemical and biological analysis, hooked up to computers of various types.
Upstairs, we saw the telecomputing lab, where the big computers are and where the network is available. I saw two Sun SPARCstation 2 systems being used to satellite image processing and data analysis, a couple of small PC clones, another IICi, and a Quadra 950. The Quadra was running NCSA Telnet! I was fortunate enough to be able to meet a supervisor at the lab (David Walden), who gave me his business card. I'll be trying to contact him when I get back to Ann Arbor for sure.
After that, we went and visited "the chalet", the NSF headquarters in Antarctica. Outside, it looked like a little A frame ski lodge, maybe. Inside, it looked pretty much the same: wood construction with a narrow spiral staircase going up and several offices on each side, a good coffee stand, etc. Here we were greeted by the NSF senior administrator, who answered our questions about the NSF activities here.
Outside the chalet, we saw the temporary housing for people passing through the base (the Hotal California and the Mammoth Mountain Inn), and right next to them the Jamesway "nine pack" as Ethan called them: tents used to house more people, I guess. We also saw the land vehicles used on and near the base, and the crates containing the materials for the modular housing units that I read about before coming on the trip. These will be used to build two more housing units to house the people moving to McMurdo from Williams Field, one of the air strips nearby.
Finally, we went to the Coffee House, which also contained the souvineer shop! While it was closed yesterday, they actually had it open for us today, so we all crammed in and started browsing and buying. They must have sold thousands of dollars worth of sweatshirt, T-shirts, books, postcards, mugs, sweatpants and socks, boxer shorts, pins and pendants, patches and bumper stickers. I noticed tha the first thing you saw when entering the shop was a big display of men's underwear (regular stuff, nothing fancy) in a window. I guess that's a big item for the people on the base. They also had lots of stereo headphones, CD players, and canned food.
This is where many people spent most of their time, I think. The lines was very long. I bought two sweatshirts and two T-shirts.
Since we seemed to lose our group in the shop, grandma decided to go back to the zodiac landing area to go back. I chose to go to observation hill to try a climb.
Observation hill was much steeper and higher than it had looked from below! I got directions for a shortcut from one of the staff members on the base when I left the shop, but I had to give that up when I lost my way near the back of the base. I started up the rocky trail on my own after going back down by the zodiac landing area, dropping off my bag of souveneers with Susan, who was standing there.
The trail was very rocky and irregular, with plenty of lose gravel and dirt underneath the stones. It also zigzagged up the hill from side to side and around the hill, much farther than was evident from the ship or from the ground. I was gasping by the time I made it to the first bend. Eventually, I got up to the power station. (Ethan later told me it was the site of the old nuclear power plant.) I stopped there to rest, and took lots of pictures around the base, up at the peak, and back down toward the ship in the Sound. Then, I conceded defeat and went back down. I was very disappointed that I hadn't made it up to the top, but I didn't want to be left behind either. I understood that while I might enjoy myself for eight months, people back at SILS might not understand so readily...
We waited for about fourty-five minutes for a zodiac, and then motored back over the water to the ship. It was very cold now, and the waves were much worse. When we got to the ship, the wind nearly tore us off the raft, and the waves nearly knocked us out. Our driver, Stina, did a great job bringing us in. The raft and the docking area on the ship were all coated with ice, and my jacket and carying bag were pretty well coated as well.
Back here on the ship, I was a mess, but it was a great time!
Replaced roll D with roll E (Canon).
We just passed the Nathan P. Palmer, a support and supply ship for McMurdo station, on its way back to the base.
Replaced roll E with K4 (Canon).
Dave handed out a large packet of information from the New Zealand Antarctic Program and the Antarctic Heritage Trust. It's got some very interesting information in it, and he said that we can reproduce it as we please. I believe a direct quote was, "You can do whatever you like with it." So, maybe I'll be able to include it in my Antarctica exhibit.
Unfortunately, the weather is looking pretty bad right now. There are very high winds, and very rough water, so we may not be able to make a landing here. The wind is whistling loudly through all the outer doors of the ship.
Lars-Eric just announced that we will wait here at Cape Evans to see if the weather gets any better, and if it doesn't we'll just have to move on. He said that it's certainly impossible to put a Zodiac in the water as it is now and expect to be able to get to shore safely.
It was a little strange to see a U.S. Coast Guard ship so far away from the United States. Of course it makes sense, but it was a little unusual feeling anyway.
The captain reported that the winds are from 35 to 40 knots, which is almost as bad as they wee in the Drake Passage. Thankfully, there's not enough open water here to generate the waves that we had then...
I'm beginning to feel that this will not be my last trip here. I've discovered a lot of interest in this place, and there are several things that didn't get done while I was here, like seeing Mt. Erebus or visiting the pole, climbing Observation Hill, seeing the Ross Ice Shelf, etc. I'm not complaining: I've had some incredible experiences on this trip, and I've seen far more than most people in the world. Even most tourists who've been to Antarctica before haven't reached McMurdo. But it still feels slightly unfinished, and it may nag me over the years ahead. I've got time... Maybe I'll come back here someday to work at McMurdo, or maybe just to visit. One way or another, I think it's likely that this won't be the last I'll ever see of Ross Island.
Thanks Toby!
Also, several people have commented on the inaccuracy of the Grand Antarctic Circumnavigation tour map. It shows Cape Royds and Cape Evans on the far side of the Ross Sea, when in reality they are on Ross Island, on the east side of McMurdo Sound. I'm looking for a better map to replace this one with. Bear with me!