Exploring Antarctica

Unfortunately, they did make me work while I was in Antarctica, but I still had plenty of time to explore. Between hiking, wildlife, field trips, and occasionally wandering into other departments, here are some of my favorite things I got to see and do around McMurdo.

The blue marker is Building 155, where I worked and lived, the red marker is Central Comms, the green marker is Scott Base, the purple marker is Hut Point, the orange marker is Castle Rock, the yellow marker is Observation (Ob) Hill, and the black marker is Mount Erebus.

On the flight from Christchurch to Antarctica, I was able to go into the cockpit and get my first glimpse of the ice!

Hiking

There are 3 classifications for weather at the US Antarctic bases. Condition 1 is normal weather, condition 2 is moderate weather, and condition 3 is severe weather. In condition 2 weather, you are supposed to limit your time outside, and in condition 3 weather, you aren’t allowed to leave the building you are currently in.

I was able to get time off work to take a field safety training course! It was very interesting and now I feel prepared to go camping in the Antarctic wilderness.

Observation Hill, commonly known as Ob Hill, was a popular hike right outside of town, and had amazing views of the sea ice, the Transantarctic Mountains, Mount Erebus, and McMurdo. I hiked it for the first time at 1am to watch the last sunset of the season.

Ob Hill Loop was probably my favorite hike. It went around the perimeter of Ob Hill and was a good place to look for orca whales and Weddell seals.

Castle Rock is a 4-mile hike each way to a huge rock. Since this hike goes far away from station, you are required to hike with a buddy and get a radio from central comms to update them on your progress. Weather in Antarctica can change extremely fast. There are a few little structures called “apples” along some of the hiking trails. They are places to escape the wind and hide during a storm. It’s surprising how much warmer it feels without the constant wind.

I spent New Year’s Eve on Castle Rock with some friends! I hiked up with a guitar and performed the only song I know, “Wagon Wheel”.

Hut Point is a short walk from McMurdo and is home to Discovery Hut. Discovery Hut was built in 1902 for Robert Falcon Scott’s Discovery Expedition, which occurred between 1901 and 1904. Unfortunately, the hut was built using Australian design, and most Australian buildings were designed with a cooling effect. It is said that the inside of the hut was actually colder than outside, and it ended up being primarily used for storage.

The Cape Armitage hike is only open for part of the season, and this is because it is on the sea ice. Halfway through the season this trail completely melts and becomes part of the ocean. This is where I saw my first sundog, which is caused by the refraction of sunlight through hexagonal plate-shaped ice crystals suspended in high-altitude clouds or whatever.

You can reach Scott Base (New Zealand’s base) on the Cape Armitage hike or by simply walking down the road. Scott Base has an excellent display of pressure ridges, which are formed when sea ice collides with land (or the McMurdo Ice Shelf). Weddell seals love pressure ridges because they can use the cracks to access the ocean while also having access to land to care for their pups.

I attempted the super loop with my friends Charlotte and Michelle. This is when you complete every official hike in one go, which ends up being around 18 miles. Luckily the wind wasn’t too bad, but we did get caught in whiteout conditions.

Michelle is insane and hiked the entire thing in sandals!

Hiking up Castle Rock! The climb is quite steep.

Definitely tired by the final stretch.

Wildlife

Antarctica is home to the vicious skua. While these birds are beautiful, they’ll try to eat just about anything in sight. It didn’t help that my hat and our issued coats were both red, making me look vaguely like a giant, bloody penguin. I had one claw at my hat during a hike.

Weddell seals are extremely cute and are all over the sea ice. They look like big blobs.

Emperor penguins (left) and Adélie penguins (right two) both visited McMurdo! Emperor penguins are about 4ft tall, while Adélie penguins are only 2ft tall. I love how Adélie penguins look like they have googly eyes.

Icy Excursions

I was able to climb down a tube and go under the sea ice! Seeing the ice I had been walking on above me was really cool! I was able to hear seals and whales communicating.

I also got extremely lucky and had the chance to snowmobile to the base of Mount Erebus! My friend Holly won a lottery and was able to bring a buddy. We had a perfectly clear day. Mount Erebus is the southernmost active volcano in the world, and the only phonolite volcano that is currently erupting. It has a persistent lava lake that has been active since at least 1972, making it one of only five long-lasting lava lakes on Earth.

Exploring Other Departments

Two of my favorite departments (besides the galley) were the fire department and the power department. The fire department was simply fun, but learning about the power that McMurdo runs on was very interesting.

One of the coolest research spots I got to see was the Arrival Heights Lidar Observatory. Powerful laser pulses are sent into the sky, and the returning light is used to measure how the atmosphere is behaving and changing. It turns out climate change doesn’t only affect the air near Earth’s surface, but also the atmosphere way above us. The upper atmosphere can help us understand how Earth’s entire climate system is changing. My roommate, Jess, was on this team, working under Dr. Chu.

I got to fly a helicopter!! Just kidding, I just sat in the chair. At least I knew where to find them just in case an alien creature started imitating life forms and I needed to make my escape like in The Thing.

I also got to tour the US Coast Guard icebreaker. This ship came to break the ice, allowing the huge vessel behind it to deliver all the supplies McMurdo would need for the upcoming year.

Final Thoughts

There were definitely times, especially during whiteout storms, when it felt like I was living in a frozen apocalyptic wasteland!

My final hike up Ob Hill to watch the sun ~almost~ set. The ocean was completely frozen the first time I did this hike.

More pictures!

Although Antarctica was extremely beautiful, I definitely missed trees. I was a bit afraid of birds afterwards because I forgot they weren’t all after me. Living close to an active volcano, hiking on huge volcanic rocks in a frozen desert, learning about groundbreaking science, seeing penguins slide on their bellies in their natural habitat, and watching orcas in the ocean were all amazing experiences.

This quote mysteriously showed up on the whiteboard at Willy after being closed for a few days and we never figured out who wrote it… perhaps it was an orca.