Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
17 June...NASA announced the next eight astronaut candidates, selected from more than 6,000 applicants. And one of them is fellow 2005 winterover Christina Marie Hammock! She is awesome...(news).
13 June...from Auckland we have inquest reports concerning the tragic Kenn Borek Air crash in January, and from Arlington, VA we have NSF's public release of the new McMurdo master plan.
The Coldest Journey, that British winter Antarctic crossing powered by two D6's, was supposed to reach Pole before midwinters day...but they're struggling in a crevasse zone far to the north.
Ulp...a second McMurdo medevac on 10 May, less than three weeks after the last one.
The winter has barely begun, and already there have been some awesome auroras...as well as a long weekend with 300 Club temperatures. And the tourist season for 2013-14 is heating up...it looks like it will be the year of the bicycle. Three separate expeditions are planning fatbike ventures to Pole--here's hoping they all make it! Oh, and there was also a medevac from McMurdo in April...
Okay, a new feature here...it's the hiring season for the Antarctic support contract, so on this page I've provided everything you need to know about (or at least where to find) how to get that job.
It's getting dark; the windows are covered...check out the latest Polie web site/blog links for lots of photos and details!
Yes...a day before the equinox and a few (?) days before the sun disappeared...we have the latest winterover statistics! And the sun did stay around for a few extra days.
Delayed from 5 March...the final flight of the season left McMurdo on 9 January. Earlier, on 26 February the cargo vessel departed. And in February...Pole was supposed to close on Friday the 15th, but it got moved up to the 14th! And on Friday the cargo ship took the place of the tanker at the pier.
A Twin Otter went missing on a 23 January flight from Pole...and on Saturday evening the wreckage of the aircraft was found. The crash was deemed "not survivable" and the three Canadian crew members were lost.
Happy New Year! Celebrations and athletic events were happening, as well as the unveiling of the 2013 Pole Marker! And construction was happening as well.
Thursday 25 October...the first LC-130 flight with about 30 Polies aboard was briefly scheduled but cancelled. Cancelled again on Friday, and an alternate on Saturday....and it happened, landing around midday Saturday. The second flight came in on Tuesday with no passengers, and the third flight brought 40 passengers on Thursday evening 1 November!
19 October...the Kenn Borek Basler showed up (for a refueling stop lasting about an hour)...the Twin Otter was delayed until the 22nd...when it showed up along with another Basler. On 1 October the first 2 main body flights reached McMurdo, and the LC-130's were headed south.
A Polie book hot off the press...one of my fellow 2008 winterovers, Josiah Heiser, has just released the ebook of his life story...almost free (blog and purchase link).
The dome is gone. And the most comprehensive web collection of dome deconstruction photos is here! And the message boards are still around...stop by the new home of Mike Poole's Antarctic Memories, which now includes the archives of Glenn Grant's Iceboard. If you have questions or problems with this excellent resource...the best place for info on jobs and life on the ice, ask me for help!
My second winter was in 2005 as the Title II Inspector (huh, what's that?)...and stayed on for a month after the 21 October station opening until the summer person showed up. I returned to the US on 21 January after 2 months in NZ/OZ. Hopefully before I left I wasn't too toasty to write a feature article for the 30 October 2005 Antarctic Sun..... Read it for yourself and decide...
More news updated 18 June.
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