Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station
10 May...icebreaker redux. The Russian company cancelled the USAP icebreaker contract for next season. Here we go again...(news).
7 April...it got cold. 300 club weather, the earliest in the history of Pole!
Jarle Andhøy and his vessel were detained by Chilean authorities in Puerto Williams on 2 April... Meanwhile, the contract has turned over to Lockheed-Martin.
At Pole it was getting dark...the sunset dinner was on the 18th, although the weather was raunchy until after the dinner...when the sun kept making appearances for more than a week. By 7 April, the windows were being covered.
A serious power plant fire at the Brazilian station on King George Island killed two men and destroyed the base.
The Green Wave reached McM on Valentines Day...and departed on the 25th, Watch the ship offload archive photos....
15 February, the last two flights were scheduled at 1050 and 1150. There is a skiway webcam....(click on USAP webcam link above) but it wasn't on line. There are 50 winterovers. The biggest news last week came from 800 miles away from Pole...at Vostok, the Russians have successfully drilled into Lake Vostok.
The icebreaker and fuel tanker reached McM (and more recently, the NBP)...fuel offload is complete, and the cargo vessel will show up in a few days. Ship offload will be a bit different (and take longer) this year because of the pontoon causeway. The ice pier was blasted away from the shoreline this past weekend and towed out of the way to Hut Point.
The surviving members of last season's Berserk tragedy obtained a yacht in Auckland and are heading for the Ross Sea with plans for ?? Their quad bikes and other equipment are sitting at Scott Base...
The last batch of NGO visitors showed up at the end of January--the Arctic Trucks/South Pole Race folks. And as well, members of the Lockheed Martin transition team.
17 January...100 years ago, Scott showed up...second...and he never finished the trip home. This year, there are airplanes, tourists, a visitor center, and an ice bust of Amundsen around somewhere. Meanwhile, just when you thought it was safe to apply for a job...comes news of a contract protest.
11 January...a 167-foot Korean fishing vessel caught fire in the Ross Sea...the NBP raced to help...and rushed to McM with seven of the most severely injured crew members.
Christmas Day at Pole was hot. Literally. A new high temperature...9.9°F. Above! And New Years was marked by a marathon!
Yes, it was a busy tourist season...some of the Brits and Norwegians showed up...the visitor center was ready for the big day on the December 14th...and the Prime Minister of Norway arrived on the 12th. He and his entourage stayed in the elevated station...on the 14th the PM went out a few miles out and skied to Pole with some of the Norwegian venturers. And then the big ceremony happened...with 233 USAP folks and 93 NGO tourists on station...a new record!
On Monday 24 October, the first passenger Basler with 16 passengers arrived. But...the Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday flights were cancelled due to weather. Friday brought good weather but the Herc was cancelled due to mechanical issues. Saturday...yes. The Herc took off with 40 pax, and got to Pole in time for lunch.
The C-17 carrying Renée-Nicole Douceur arrived in Christchurch around 2200 on Monday 17 October. Yes...the winter site manager suffered an apparent stroke on 27 August. It is in the world and national news. The Baslers arrived at Rothera, and after a crew rest they continued to Pole on Monday morning, after a day of weather delay...and flew her to McM...from where she was flown to ChCh. Yes, Renée's story was covered here with photos! Meanwhile, the first flights of the summer season arrived at McM on 4 October.
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 11 May.
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