Blog 2 - Off to The Ice!!!

OK, so we arrived in Christchurch, NZ on Wednesday March 3, or Tuesday March 2 for all those living across the International Date Line, at about 1 in the afternoon. We all got off the plane and collected our luggage at baggage claim; well at least some of us collected it while others visited the counter to see if their bags made it to Finland instead of New Zealand.


After that was taken care of we headed through Customs, which had a pretty long line, but they separated you into different lines and some people got asked questions and maybe searched, while others, like I, were sent through the line where you put your luggage into this big X-ray, scanner, sniffer, detector machine and that was it. Worked out pretty well for everyone!

We headed out of the Airport and caught our ride to our hotel. We were staying at the Hotel So in Downtown Christchurch. Now Hotel So is a little different than most hotels you find in the States. In the states you can get the cheapest room at a Motel 6 and it’s still a pretty decent size room. Well the rooms at Hotel So are a little different, they are small. Let’s just say that luckily it was just me and my luggage, because at a room about 10’x6’, with a small bathroom with glass walls and doors, you wouldn’t be able to fit much else in there. Oh, and no windows!!! I must admit it wasn’t that bad, and if you were traveling it would be good, but at least windows!! Here’s a little diagram of the room the best I can:

The group of us spent two nights in Christchurch, with only some sightseeing and collecting our ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) Gear to do. We had all of Wednesday to ourselves and then we had to meet at noon on Thursday to go and get our gear. We all headed to the CDC (Clothing Distribution Center) and collected all that was set out for us. As a regulation by Raytheon Polar all employees are to be outfitted with certain types of ECW for their trip to Antarctica. Now you need to wear this stuff on the plane to Antarctica, but once here you are at your own discretion if you want to continue to wear it.


Here’s a list of what we get:

2 Large Goose Down Parkas
1 Pair Wind Pants
1 Set Extreme Thermal Underwear
1 Set Medium Thermal Underwear
2 Pairs of Gloves
1 Neck Gater
1 Balaclava
1 Hat
1 Pair of Goggles
2 Pair Wool Socks
and finally the best of the best, 1 Pair of Bunny Boots!

                                                                    Some ECW Gear

The Bunny Boots I’m sure are everyone’s favorite item because they are sooooooo big and cumbersome that I don’t think I’ve seen many people wear them since arriving, except maybe when they go out on hikes?

                                                                        Bunny Boots

We collect all our gear, get a little video to watch about being in Antarctica, get a lowdown on what the morning routine will be when we arrive at the airport, and then we were off again back to the hotel and for our last night in Christchurch, we hoped!!

When you head to Antarctica for the winter you are allowed to bring three bags, but the total weight of all your gear, including the ECW, can not be more than 150 lbs. You are allowed two carry-on bags like normal and you also have to set aside what is called a Boomerang bag. A boomerang bag is one you fill with a day or so of clothes and toiletries so if they plane goes half way there, and then has to come back because of weather, or boomerangs, they don’t have to unpack all the other pallets, they just pull those bags off the top and hand them to you. We hoped that we wouldn’t have to use this, but we still had to get it together none the less.

So our Thursday night was kind of short, since we had to be down at the curb and meet the bus at 0500 hours. Well 0500, or should I say, 0400 arrived pretty early for all of us, but we were all excited to get this last part of our trip moving, since we kind of had been traveling and waiting for this since we left Denver that Monday (US time) afternoon.

Well everyone made it on time, got on the bus, and we were all on our way to the airport. Now the CDC is connected to the airport so we headed there, got the gear on we needed to wear on the plane, made sure all our baggage was marked correctly, and then went through the check-in/weigh-in process to get our boarding passes. All gear, and yourself, had to be weighed to get on the plane, since they need to know how much will be going, so they might be able to put “Extra” stuff on there if needed.

Once checked-in we waited for a bit, got a little talking to by a customs person, watched a video, and then waited some more. Finally, the crew of the plane was ready and we were loaded onto the bus to take us to our plane.

So what plane we were going to fly in was still a wonder to us. There are usually 3 types of planes they fly to Antarctica. One is the old fashion LC-130 Hercules, used for lots of cargo, big cargo, and lots of people. Not a very comfortable ride I’ve been told, and there aren’t any windows in there. This flight takes about 8 hours to get to McMurdo. The next type of plane is a regular C-130, which is a little smaller, but is still not very comfy and still no windows. This plane takes about 7 hours to McMurdo. Finally there is C-17 Jet Powered plane. This is the Big Mother of the three. This sucker can carry a lot and fly even more. It can go from Christchurch, almost land, then Boomerang around, and make it back to Christchurch, about 4600 miles! This plane takes about 5 hours to get to McMurdo.


                                                                   C-130 Hercules

Regular C-130

C-17 Jet

Oh, I just found out that they also fly a regular commercial type aircraft down to McMurdo. This plane is a regular commercial jet, an Airbus A319, and this has all the amenities of a regular flight and it takes only about 4 hours to get to McMurdo. This is the plane most people want to take, but most people don’t get to take. It’s comfy, quiet, and there’s actually a flight crew onboard.

                                                            And Good Little Airbus A319

Well the time came for us to make it to our plane and luckily we found out it would be the lovely Airbus taking us to The Ice. This was a very nice luxury since we would all have comfy seats, a window to look out of, in flight service, Oh, and did I mention there was a large First Class section we could all sit in??? In any case it was a great plane to take to the ice and having lots of windows to look out of, on a very clear day, was a blessing for all us “First Timers”!!

The flight was great and didn’t seem very long. We all walked around, looked out of the windows to see the ocean, find icebergs, or to finally catch glimpse of Antarctica, and we all took lots of pictures of inside, and outside, the plane.

While flying the pilots kept the cockpit doors open so we could go up there and look out the front windows to see what we could, and to also ask them any questions we had about the flight and anything else. It was great to have the opportunity to see what was coming toward you from the front and to have a chance to ask questions about where we were heading.

This is where all the photos come in from the flight. I was excited to see my first Icebergs, got a chance to see Balleny Islands, a small bit of islands in the Antarctic Polar Sea, that is usually covered with clouds and usually not seen, lots of ocean, and then finally LAND!!! You couldn’t mistake it, lots of white land, with lots of mountains coming up on all sides of us and getting everyone very excited. From here I’ll just let the photos talk about what we saw.

                                                                       First Icebergs

Large Iceberg

Balleny Island

Antarctic Coast

Antarctic Mountains

Well the plane was finally starting to descend and we all were getting our gear ready for us to head out onto the ice. The landing was smooth, just like at an airport, I guess since we were landing on hard ICE that pretty much resembled concrete for all extenuating purposes. So we land, the door opens, and down the stairs we get to go. Out in the distance are a bunch of little buildings, lots of vehicles, and lots of people. It was a little cold, but not very bad with all our gear on. Once out of the plane we headed to one of the vehicles that would take us to McMurdo proper, a nice 45 minute drive, since you can’t really drive faster than 25 or 30 mph along the path to base.

                                 Where the Open Water and Shelf Ice start getting closer together

McMurdo Shelf Ice/Runway

                                          Getting off the plane! OK, not us, but what it's like.

                              OK, these are people actually waiting for us at the Pegasus Air Field

As we were loading onto the vehicles someone said our local welcoming party was over by the fuel tank. A single Emperor Penguin, who was alone and finishing his molting of feathers, was there to say Hi, let us take come photos, and just there to let us know we were actually in Antarctica! Now the penguin was away from water on the solid ice shelf, but once his molting was done, we really didn’t have very far to go to get to the ice edge where he could find a spot or a hole to make it back into the water for the winter.

                                                                      Emperor Penguin

So that about did it. We safely arrived at McMurdo Station, Antarctica and were now on a little trip to the town itself. The ride was interesting and exciting. We made it to town, had a little welcoming meeting at the Chalet, and then were whisked off to our luggage and our dorms so we could get settled and organized.

That pretty much describes the first day here on The Ice. That evening there was a little gathering in the Galley, the Finally Flight toast, where everyone got together and toasted off the last flight for the season with a little champagne and company.

Now is when the real world starts to kick in. After that first day, and first weekend, the rest of the time here in Antarctica is about work and seeing all that this place has to offer. Soon I’ll get photos together of what the town looks like, the fire department, and just basic life here on The Ice in winter. There are a total of 198 people here this winter with 149 men and 49 women. Everyone seems pretty nice and approachable, which I kind of would think that since if you weren’t you really most likely wouldn’t be here???

OK, so keep checking in and I’ll keep updating you all on what goes on down here in McMurdo in the middle of winter. One more thing, we still have plenty of sunlight, but we are loosing it at about 15 minutes a day and we will completely loose it on April 24th at 1:36 in the afternoon. After that we won’t see the sun again until August 19th at 12:24 in the afternoon. I’m really looking forward to the complete darkness, but I’ll have to see how “Complete” it really is.

Enjoy and I’ll update soon!