It's Time to Batten the Hatches

"Winter is nature's way of saying, 'Up yours.'" ~~Robert Byrne

Current Weather:  

-12°C|10.4°F Temperature
-18.7°C|-1.7°F Wind Chill
Skies: Clear  

Visibility (miles): Unrestricted  

Winds (knots): ENE @ 16  

Station Pressure: 29.149 in.

On October 14th a Kiwi 757 Airbus gently set down on the seasonal Ice Runway at McMurdo Station. The door to that 757 swung open and I was hit with my first blast of frigid Antarctic air. My breath was taken away, literally and figuratively. 

 

The Kiwi 757 Airbus from way back in the beginning in October.

Here it is, February 21st and I’m scheduled to leave this continent in three days if all the pieces of the puzzle fall together. Those pieces being: the MV Green Wave, the supply ship and of course, the weather.

You see, Father Winter has reared his ugly head and is upon us. With winter comes fickle weather, the return of condition two and one weather, strong cross winds and blowing snow, all things that restrict a plane’s ability to land.

A month ago we received a rather important visitor. The Russian Ice Breaker, Vladimir Ignatyuk. This is the very same vessel that saved the day this past summer and became the replacement for the Sweden Ice Breaker: Oden. Without the Vladimir Ignatyuk we wouldn’t have had an Antarctic season. I wouldn’t have had a job. I wouldn’t be here right now, writing this. 

 

The Ice Breaker coming in for one of the first rounds of cutting the channel.

The whole mission of the Ice Breaker was to come in and cut a channel through the ice pack to Winter Quarter’s Bay so the fuel tanker and supply ship could dock at the ice pier and unload. Once the Ice Breaker had cut out the channel, it would then create a tear dropped turning basin so the ships could back out of Winter Quarter’s Bay and turn around in the turning basin and then make their way out the channel to open water.

It was a memorable day when the Ice Breaker arrived. I had taken one of the first Pegasus shuttle runs of the day so I’d been out to the airfield for a few hours. I got back to the office and stepped up on the couch to look out our small window and found myself dumbfounded. There was a ship docked in our “harbor.” The Ice Breaker had arrived, sneaking in during the dead of the night. We had C-17’s and LC-130’s setting down on the ice out at Pegasus on a daily basis, but seeing that ship docked at the ice pier felt like we had suddenly been reached by the outside world. We were no longer secluded. We had open water after months of staring at a white sheet of ice. We had minke and orca whales breaching right outside Winter Quarter’s Bay, feeding on the krill in the water. The world had opened up to us.

With the arrival of the Ice Breaker came the realization that our season was nearing its end. First came the Ice Breaker, then came the Fuel Vessel to offload all the fuel McMurdo and the South Pole needed for the winter, and then came the supply ship. The supply ship was supposed to be loaded to the gills with all the supplies McMurdo needed to survive during the winter season. Once the supply ship arrived and was offloaded, McMurdo would batten its hatches and prepare itself to shut down for the winter. Just like that, the summer season would be over. The only people left would be the small population of “winter-overs” that would spend the winter here making sure that the station continued to operate and function. The last flight of the season is expected to fly on March 5th. When that flight goes, the people staying here won’t be reached by the outside world until late August with the first incoming flight of Win-fly. Win-fly is the first arrival of summer staff to McMurdo. At Win-fly the light is back and the weather is more forgiving, allowing flights the ability to land at McMurdo.

A week after the Ice Breaker arrived we received word that the MV Green Wave, the supply ship, would be arriving later than expected due to mechanical issues. This delay caused a stir amidst the population. It meant that there was a good possibility that redeployment dates would be pushed back. Even if the ship arrived late, they still needed the man power to assist with the offloading. For some this was a good thing because it meant another paycheck. For others it was a fearful thing because they already had plans for when they left the ice. For myself, I could have gone either way. I could have left when I was originally expected to redeploy and I could have stayed if they had asked me.

While we waited for the supply ship to arrive, we received a few other marine visitors. The fuel vessel arrived and spent about a week docked at the ice pier offloading all the thousands of gallons of fuel that had been on it. After the fuel vessel, the Nathanial B. Palmer snuck in and spent a couple of days in harbor. The Natty B is one of the two research vessels that the United States Antarctic Program operates. 

 

The fuel ship

The Nathanial B. Palmer--One of the NSF's research vessels

On February 16th, the much anticipated supply ship rolled in. The day we had all been waiting for had finally arrived. In days prior, well over a hundred United States Naval chaps and New Zealand Defense Force soldiers arrived to assist with the offloading. The day they arrived I experienced probably what all winter-overs experience with that first flight of Win-fly. Invasion. Our quiet small community had suddenly been overtaken by uniform clad, naive, fng’s (F’in new guysJ). I had easily forgotten that I had been that same naïve fng, minus the uniform, a mere four months ago. I felt seasoned, I felt like I’d been here forever. I felt protective of this dirty, rocky little island in this giant piece of ice for a continent. But yet, I still had a lot to learn. I was still green behind the ears.

The MV Green Wave, the supply ship. Photo courtesy of some unknown McMurdo photographer.

A few of the supply trucks bringing millvans down to the wharf in preparation of the offload.

With the first week of February came the first departure of people I had come to call friend. It was surreal watching my friends board that northbound flight, but I was still here and would be for a few more weeks. I had managed to extend my redeployment date until February 24th. I had wanted to stay longer, but I hadn’t realized that it would be hard watching friends leave without you. I’ve gotten to see all the ships arrive and depart. I’ve had the opportunity to see the last LC-130 of the season do a fly over McMurdo and dip its wings in farewell as it headed north for New Zealand. I was able to assist with the transport of the last South Pole winter overs for the final flight to the Pole before the station closed for the season. I’ve seen the ice pack break up and blow out to open water. And I’ve gotten to witness the first sunset of the season since late October. The only thing I won’t get to see is true darkness when it finally settles over Antarctica.

 

First sunset since late October.

Sunset shining through the stained glass inside the Chapel.