2016-17 Aerial Photos--December 2016 continued

Above, looking at the northeast corner of the elevated station, with much of the berm area visible behind it...along with the comms area. Winding off in the upper left background is the traverse route from the Leverett Glacier (link to USAP photo library original).

Zooming in closer...notice the second Twin Otter parked behind the station.

Another look at some of the berms, looking east from over the skiway. Looks like things are getting thinned out a bit.

Not to forget the dark sector...this view looks ENE, almost upwind...clockwise from left is DSL with the attached SPT on its left side and the BICEP3 instrument on the flat roof; MAPO with the Keck Array instrument on the right side (and WITHOUT the Viper structure on the left side); and the ICL [note that while BICEP is an acronym for Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization, Viper is not an acronym]. At the top of this photo is the nongovernmental ("tourist") camp facility, although I don't know about the single structure connected to it.

An interesting look at the skiway with its preparations evident. The caption of this photo (original is here) says that "heavy equipment operators groom the ski-way in a pattern that helps mitigate imperfections by carrying snow from the edges and filling across the direction of aircraft travel.

To finish up with the official photos, here we are looking downwind (southwest) at the IceCube laboratory.

This photo is unusual and unofficial...it was taken by Michel Gordillo on his overflight of Pole on about 10 November in a kit-built Vans RV-8 aircraft. The flight was approved by the Spanish Antarctic program but not by USAP or the Brits...he headed south from Mario Zucchelli station, and after unsuccessfully trying to negotiate fuel from Union Glacier and Rothera, he successfully continued on to Argentina's Marambio station.