MORE OF SHARON'S ANTARCTICA PICTURES

CLICK ON THE THUMBNAILS TO SEE FULL SIZE WONDERFUL PHOTOS

NEW photos from INSIDE Scott's Hut! I was lucky enough to go inside on my last trip to Antarctica, winter of 97/98. These 2 photos are inside.

This photo shows some of equipment hauled down on the boat in 1907. Many of the suppliers donated the equipment with the caveat that they could use the "donation" for advertising purposes. It served both sides well. Scott got his equipment and the suppliers got more promotion.

Again, this photo shows some more of the stuff Scott packed down to the ice.

This shot gives you an idea of the size of the balloon. In this photo, the balloon is fully inflated, and has not been released from the "spool", the large drum that keeps the balloon from rising and lifting off. You can see the solar panels below and beside the payload, they supply power during the 15-25 day flight.
This is NOT a black and white photo, but it gives you an idea of how the color is simply washed out by the sheer open-ness of the continent. That is Castle Rock behind us.

This shot is not long after the first shot, after the balloon has been released from the spool. It is still held captive by a pin on the top of the crane, above the payload. Until we release this pin, the balloon will hang suspended above the crane and payload. When the balloon is away from the crane, we release the pin, and the balloon lifts the payload off the crane and away. The dark area between the balloon and the crane is the parachute that the payload comes down on after flight, after we pull a panel out of the balloon to deflate it.

This shot is looking at the dorms at McMurdo Base, from Scott's Hut point. You can see the area in the foreground that looks like a road, that is the boat dock. The ice area behind it will melt in January, allowing the ice cutter and the ships to dock there. The red buildings on the right edge are the power plant.

This shot is looking right down "main street" McMurdo. You can see the Chapel at the end, the gym and rec building on the left, and a dorm entrance on the right. I lived on the 3d floor of this dorm one year.

This the window in the Chapel. It holds all services of all denominations. All the materials and labor were donated for this building. The window was made on site and hung at the last moment. When the sun comes shining thru for about 3 hours, it lights up the entire building with an amazing glow!

This postcard, photo by Mark Jones, is a group of Chinstrap pengiuns on an iceberg in the southern sea of the Antarctic Peninsula. The ice takes on the different hues from the compositon and age. Darker ice is believed to be older, since it is denser and the color seems to deepen with more dense ice.

This is another postcard, photo by Chris Rudge. This is an excellent shot of both Castle Rock and Mt. Erebus. The interesting formations in the front of the hills are "heave ice". These are about 20-100 feet off the edge of the land mass. The ice starts to melt, freezes again, and the moving pieces are often heaved upwards in the cracks formed. They take on amazing shapes and forms as the season passes, eventually sinking and melting in the melting bay.

This is a postcard, photo by Colin Monteath. These are also Chinstrap penguins, at Paradise Bay, on the Antarctic Peninsula.

This shot shows part of the Antarctic food chain. On the left are a trio of Adelie penguins up from the sea. They are watching the Wendell seal on the right side, making sure they do not become lunch. When the seal finally moved, they were quickly back into the water. This photo is in late January, just below Hut Point, after the ice has broken up well.

This is a postcard, photo by Janet Bertaud. This is Scott Base, the New Zealand Royal Air Force's base, about 7 KM from McMurdo. It is on the way to Williams Field. Originally built in 1956/7 for the Trans Antarctic Expedition, it is the center of the New Zealand Antarctic Research Programme. Mt Erebus rises behind it. You can just see the "road" to Willy in the center of the photo, leading to the right along the base of the ridge. The hills below Mt. Erebus are full of crevasses and ice caves, and yet the last face on the right also houses the ski slope and trail from Castle Rock, the black point on the left. You can walk from McMurdo base, over the hill to Castle Rock, down the hill and back to Scott Base. This is about a 4-6 hour hike, depending on your pace and weather. You MUST travel in pairs, and check out and in at McMurdo, or they'll come lookin for ya!

This shot is of Scott's Hut. This is the humble abode he built and lived in alone in 1907 (I think). Pretty primative, but it kept him alive. You can tour the hut on Sundays from 1-3, but we were always working or sleeping, so I never got to see inside.

This cross is just above Scott's Hut on the point. One of Scott's adventurers fell into the water and was lost here. The cross reads: "In the memory of George T. Vince, of the Discovery"

Here is where I work while in Antarctica. This is the TM (telemetry) shed. It is really just a huge meat locker. The walls are 12 inches thick and the door has the meat locker "push rod" door opener. You can see the shipping boxes we ship stuff down in the "conex boxes" to the left of the white "sprung structure". We called this the "Hershey dome". In the winter of 94, just before we got there, the wind tore this building to shreds as they were putting the canvas back on the metal ribs. We abandoned it and built another building in Willy Field, behind this photo. You can see how tall the vans are, the building is 8' tall inside. This was taken in 1992, by 1994, the snow had built up to almost the top of the roof on the left side where the shipping boxes are; you could walk onto the roof from the snow bank. Made it easier to put up antennas...

Welcome to beautiful downtown Willy. You can see the Hercs on teh runway ramp. The cat tractors are the ones they push snow with to clear roads and keep the runway smooth. There is a Delta vehicle just below the Hercs, this is the main mode of transporation other than the vans. The building behind the first red building behind the cats is where we raised a 60 foot high addition to use for our payloads.
As of today, the only buildings left at Willy are the red cat Barn, our building, our TM shed, and the radar dome and crew building for the Hercs.

I hope these photos give you a little insight into the crazy world I have. Antarctica is an incredible place to visit. Since most folks don't go, I hope this gives you a little idea of what it is like.

Send me some Thanks for dropping by.

This page was last updated on - 02/14/00.
Copyright © - 11/24/96 - ruckomatic.

Many thanks for wonderful graphics from: