The South Pole

How does that saying go???  Oh yeah – If at first you don’t succeed try try….try ….try….try…try try again.  Well perhaps not quite that bad, but getting to the South Pole was a challenge.  As you already know from my last posting, we have a little engine trouble and had to abort the first attempt.  First two flights were cancelled and things were looking bleak on Saturday (your Friday) but all of a sudden the phone in my room rings!  The woke me from a mid-morning nap (yes, well…I was tired) and out the door I went to building 140 to catch a ride to my LC-130 that was cancelled off another trip and was now set to take about 10 of us to the South Pole!  I have to say, there couldn’t have been a better day for flying if you could order them up!  It was so clear you could even see the top of Mount Erubus, the most active volcano in Antarctica that overlooks McMurdo and Ross Island.  The picture below says it all with the smoke and steam flowing from the top of Erubus – it was a great day to fly!

 

 

Now on our way, the flight went well and was very smooth.  The 109^th crew from the NY Air National Guard were spectacular as always…..and look!  The Engines on my side were both working this time!!!

 

Looking back at the plane at Pole

 

So what’s so special about being at the South Pole you ask?  Well, first, having to land on the skis is too cool as shown above.  More importantly, this place is amazing.  There is nothing living here other than the 137 of us who now occupy the station and surrounding buildings.  It is also incredibly beautiful on a clear day where you can see only a flat ice desert in every direction.  No mountains, no natural topography at all for hundreds of miles.  Just this station and some of the most incredible science being researched on the planet!  The station itself (below) is an amazing feat of architecture and science too!  If you look closely you’ll see how the station is elevated and has an aerodynamic shape on the bottom.  First, understand that there is almost no snow fall here.  This is the largest desert in the world and has the least precipitation and lowest humidity of any place on the planet.  All of the snow you see blows with a constant wind covering everything in its path.  There are buildings under the snow that were on top just over ten years ago.  Now they are twenty to thirty feet under.  This presents a huge challenge!  Now that you understand the basic problem, back to the aerodynamics.  The building was constructed to speed the air underneath the building.  This airfoil effect causes the snow to simply blow away and not collect under the building.  The picture you see below illustrates how this space is open without any bulldozing needed unlike all of the surrounding structures.

Why is it a big deal?  Well, there are some buildings that are covered and at a certain point they are no longer structurally safe.  Some were built with this in mind and every year new tubes are added to get up to the surface.  So where’s the issue with that?  Several years ago, one of the under-ice buildings was slightly compressed and the door slightly opened.  Since these buildings are heated, the warm air seeped out of the once front door and created a huge pocket of air, a bubble, under the ice.  When one of the people here went to dig out the hatch, the now one-foot thick ice gave way with his first strike and he fell thirty feet.  He was rescued easily and was fine, basically, but this is why there is particular attention paid to keeping structures above ground.

If you paid attention to the pictures (hint – the overall station picture), you saw something quite extraordinary.  I took that picture from the geographical South Pole, the real spot of convergence; yet the big pole and flags (ceremonial South Pole) are a good distance away!  When this station was built these were in the same spot, directly in front of the station.  Remember though, I’m sitting at 9300’ish feet elevation.  That isn’t because of a mountain, it’s because there is about 1.8 miles of ice below my feet and this station….and it moves.  It is moving about thirty-feet every year in fact, so that actual South Pole marker needs to be moved every year to be accurate.  Next year, in a few months in fact, it will be moved even further to the left from the vantage of my picture, thirty feet to the left in fact.  You can see yellow flags if you look close, they mark the different markers through the years since this station was built.  This year’s marker is below in fact.

 

At this altitude there is less oxygen, so acclimatization has been fun…  Well, we’ll go with fun.  Let’s put it this way, I was talking at an All Hands meeting last night for about half-hour and had to lean and stop talking a few times to catch my breath.  Made for a good comic show for the acclimated, let me tell you.  Something about seeing little flashes in front of your eyes and an ever darkening room really isn't reassuring….but it is funny!  When I say there is less oxygen, keep in mind that there is still 21% oxygen at this level.  This difference is what is called “thin” air.  What that really means is that there are fewer molecules at this level to breathe than at sea level, which lowers the amount of oxygen in your blood because you have less coming in with each breath.  There is also what is called physiological altitude.  This relates to the barometric pressure - the lower the barometric pressure the higher altitude your body is actually experiencing, because there isn’t the pressure to keep the density of molecules near you.  Hence, since I’ve been here, the physiological altitude has been between 10500 – 11000 feet.  Short story, 30% less oxygen to inhale than for those of you at sea level and 10% less than those of you in Denver or similar location/altitude.

Science lesson over…I promise...and yes, I'm aware that I oversimplified my explanations...no need to email me on this one.  J  Let’s look at some more pictures!  This first picture is very special to me.  First, it took me 20 minutes to make this 5 minute walk, stopping to breathe several times, and was worth every bit of the pain.  Yesterday was Veterans Day here, your Saturday, and we had a special ceremony at the Geographical South Pole for all those who served and specifically for the twenty or so Veterans here at Pole right now.  With the wind chill it was about -72F here yesterday, so the ceremony was short, but it was very moving and the colors were presented by a member from each service and their experiences spanned from a Vietnam Vet all the way to a young Marine who just got back from Afghanistan a few months ago.  I stepped away to take this picture.  I wanted to make certain it appeared in my blog, this really was one of the most touching ceremonies I’ve seen anywhere.

 

I’ll add some short captions to the next few vanity photos, but I’ll answer the question that will pop in your head when you see the photo of me in my FD Sweatshirt.  Yes, I was very very very very cold.  There are ice crystals on my face and eyelashes for a reason.  -72 is no joke and I was only uncovered for a few seconds to get this shot.  Same goes for any picture where my face is exposed, I dropped everything down to my neck for the pictures.  It is amazing how cold it actually is here…..truly an amazing experience.

I took this myself right after the Veteran's Day Ceremony.  It was cold... :)

The Ceremonial South Pole.  All of the flags are from the

nations who have signed the Antarctic Treaty.

Fun fact, if you stand over the pole in this picture,

your body is in every time zone at the same time.... :)

Everywhere you look....just ice...and the curvature of the earth.

 

At the end of a hard day, Melissa's Catbert was waiting to keep me company.

 

Oh, the rooms here are nice, but tiny.  I'm standing in the doorway taking this picture.  There is a cabinet/dresser to my left for clothing storage with is very functional.  I can't complain.  Besides, I'm not here because it's a five-star resort, I'm here to work and have a little fun!  :)

 

Until next time!  More to come soon, from here and McMurdo before I leave the Ice!