When we left McMurdo it was a fairly overcast day. We returned to Pegasus Field (the same airstrip on which we arrived on the C-17) and boarded a C-130 Hercules to fly to the pole.

Three C-130’s side-by-side at the airfield. They are the only heavy-lift aircraft equipped with skis in the world and they are operated by the New York Air National Guard.

The C-130 as we boarded the plane.

Soon after we took off I saw something in the snow from the window and I took a photograph of it. When I zoomed in on the photo I discovered that it was a crashed plane!

“The Pegasus” wreck (in upper left part of the photo) from the air.

It turns out that what I had photographed was “The Pegasus.” “The Pegasus” was a C-121 Lockheed Constellation aircraft which crashed on Oct 8, 1970 in horrendous weather. None of the 80 people on board were injured. The plane had passed the “PSR” (“Point of Safe Return”). Many of the planes which fly from New Zealand to McMurdo do not have enough fuel to get back to New Zealand if they cannot land at McMurdo, so a decision gets made mid-flight whether or not it is safe to proceed to McMurdo. Because the weather in McMurdo is so changeable, “boomerangs” back to New Zealand are quite common. I have actually boomeranged twice in my six trips to Antarctica. In fact, once we must have come close to passing the “PSR” because we ended up having to land in Dunedin (on the southern tip of New Zealand), since we did not have enough fuel to safely get back to the more northern Christchurch airport.

And that’s how the ice runway being used at McMurdo is called “Pegasus”, named in honor of this crashed plane.

A close-up of the Pegasus wreck. Photo courtesy of sandwichgirl.

Another view of the wreck. Photo courtesy of sandwichgirl.

For more on the plane and its story, click here.

As we flew onward, I took a photograph of a GPS. It is roughly a 3-hour flight, and as you can see, we were indeed headed southwards.

The weather at the South Pole was great. Having just arrived, here I am (in the middle) with colleagues, some who are leaving and others who are arriving.

Soon after I arrived, I took this photograph of a spectacular sundog (caused by ice crystals in the air). You can see part of the “parhelion” (the horizontal line), which was particularly bright on this day.

As you can tell, it can be an adventure getting to the pole. For me, everything went on schedule, and it still took a week! Now it’s been several days since I arrived, and the weather in McMurdo has been pretty bad of late. A C-17 boomeranged from Christchurch to McMurdo a couple of days ago, and additional attempts yesterday and today have had to be canceled due to weather. The flights from McMurdo to the South Pole have also had to be canceled due to weather – they have been trying hard to get a flight to pole because there is a person here who got sick and they need to do an emergency medical evacuation but they have so far been unable to. It looks like a plane just took off again headed this way, so I hope the folks waiting to leave will get out of here tonight. Currently IceCube has close to 10 people trying to fly to Antarctica from New Zealand, and close to 10 people trying to get to New Zealand from either McMurdo or the South Pole.

Nathan Whitehorn, a coworker of mine, and I flew down on a US military heavy cargo aircraft called a C-17 “Globemaster”.

The C-17 “Globemaster.”

The spacious interior of the C-17. It’s large enough to hold four Black Hawk helicopters.

The views from the plane as we flew over the mountainous interior and icepacks are always spectacular.

The mountainous interior of the continent.

An aerial view of the sea ice.

It is always pretty awe-inspiring when you get off the plane and one of the first things you see is Mount Erebus with its volcanic plume.

Arriving at McMurdo. In the background is Mount Erebus.

After we arrived in McMurdo, the first thing we did was get checked out safety-wise to climb Castle Rock. Every time I go to McMurdo I have wanted to hike this famous spot, and this year I finally got my chance. We were able to get checked out, and the weather was good.

It is a 4-mile hike to Castle Rock across the ice.

Castle Rock with Mount Erebus in the background.

Castle Rock (with a warming hut in the foreground).

You actually climb Castle Rock with the help of some prepositioned ropes.

Me climbing up Castle Rock.

Nathan climbing.

The view from the summit is amazing.

Nathan climbing back down.

Another one of Nathan climbing back down.

The path back towards McMurdo.

The two of us after we had climbed the Rock.

It was a really fun day. We returned from climbing Castle Rock at 1:15am (at this time of year, it never gets dark).

As we took off from Madison I took this photograph of the University of Wisconsin campus and Lake Mendota – we had a big snow storm earlier in the week which actually closed down the university for the first time in decades.

On the flight from Los Angeles to Sydney I flew down on the new Airbus A380, a double-decker plane that can hold lots and lots of people. Many of my colleagues have already flown down on this plane, and at least one of them said the plane was airborne for an hour before she realized that it had taken off. I particularly liked the tailcam where you could watch the plane takeoff on the monitor in front of your seat.

The Airbus A380.

Sydney (from the tailcam) from just before we landed.

I also took this movie of the tailcam feed as the plane took off – I am not sure I believe my coworker that she didn’t notice the plane taking off, but it was a neat flight.

In the 1970’s, an international effort to fly ice-penetrating radar over Antarctica resulted in the first rough maps of the sub-ice world.  A ski-equipped Navy LC-130 Hercules was outfitted with radar and flown for long distances.  This reconnaissance was invaluable, but the program went by the wayside after the specially modified airplane crashed doing other work.  The concept was largely put aside until the early 1990’s when glaciologists and geologists got together and tried again.  By this point, it was clear to some that critical additional information could be obtained by including other measurements, namely gravity and magnetics to help understand the geology beneath.  Incredibly, the scientists stuffed all these instruments and a laser altimeter (we didn’t have satellite laser altimeters then) into a much smaller aircraft, a deHavilland Twin Otter.  The Otter is much cheaper to operate and supportable at temporary field camps, so it was perfect for high-resolution studies of specific problems.  

A ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules with jet assisted takeoff (JATO).

Field camps were built each season and LC-130’s delivered fuel for the Twin Otter to use.  This went on until 2001 and then again in the 2004-05 season, and many discoveries were made; however, the Twin Otter just can’t reach the deep interior without heavy support, and this has become very expensive.  Such resources are also very limited.  LC-130’s are very costly to operate, are much larger than needed for this type of work, and require a huge ground crew to support.

The Twin Otter.

The Twin Otter flying over Thwaites Glacier Remote Field Camp.

Having outstripped the capacity of Twin Otters, what next? In my next dispatch, I’ll tell you about what might seem an unlikely platform for Antarctica research: a twin engine aircraft that first saw action during World War II.

Once at the terminal we had to weigh all of our bags and ourselves! Let’s just say it is a shock when you weigh yourself with an extra 40+ pounds of emergency cold weather gear and your carry-on! We were then given a boarding card and had to sit in a small theatre and watch a safety video! After waiting for an hour or so we got the green light to go through the security area and onto a bus. A short ride to the runway and there was our airplane! I think my jaw dropped when I saw the C-17! Soon I would be on a plane heading to Antarctica!

Outside of the Antarctica Departure terminal with my boarding pass.

The C-17 we flew to McMurdo Station, Antarctica

Luckily, our flight was loaded with cargo and the passenger load was minimal. In total there were 11 people, not including the loadmasters and flight crew. Normally the planes are crowded with 50+ people and cargo but we lucked out! These planes are incredible. It felt like sitting inside of a giant electronic whale stomach! Weird I know but there were wires, straps, gadgets and metal EVERYWHERE! The seats came out of the wall of the plane and there were only four small windows on this huge plane! You also have to wear earplugs because it is so noisy!

Here is our luggage on a pallet, ready to go to the ice.

Here is a strange shot of the ceiling of the airplane.

After five hours in the air we were finally descending! The clouds in the sky and the ice were seamless, creating a blanket of white. We were almost there! Soon the plane rumbled and we were gliding down a sea ice runway! Image that, a huge plane landing on sea ice! After we taxied for about 15 minutes, the door opened and we stepped off into the white magic that is Antarctica. The emotions and excitement were overwhelming. The view was truly breathtaking. Glacier-flanked Mt. Erebus, the southernmost active volcano in the world, loomed over the ice and the mountains seemed to just pop right out of the sea ice! I was standing in Antarctica and have now visited all seven continents on this fascinating planet. It is such a privilege to have an opportunity to conduct research on such a vast, remote, and untouched continent. With such a spectacular welcome to the ice I am confident that this trip is bound to be awe-inspiring and spectacular at every turn! Stayed tuned as the excitement continues!

The view from the plane door as we took on first steps onto the sea ice.

Heidi’s first minute in Antarctica! Let the icy adventure begin!

POLENET’s Stephanie Konfal gives us a look at Willy Field.