Random thoughts

The other day, I was walking home from band practice and looked up into the sky. A skua flying overhead surprised me....not because I hadn't seen the large predatory gull-type birds before, but because I realized how uncommon it is to see other life forms here.

Skuas aren't very welcome by most McMurdo residents; they dive bomb anyone carrying unwrapped food and are particulary attracted to the blue cafeteria trays.

In other news...the Pole Traverse mission departed McMurdo on 11/11 at 11 AM. They are driving a tracked bulldozer-type vehicle across from here to the South Pole in order to (eventually) create a permanent surface route. They probe for crevasses and fill them in with snow along the nearly 1000 mile proposed route. After the route has been flagged (with bamboo poles and red or green flag), we will start sending cargo to the Pole by vehicle. This will free up the aircraft currently running these routes to support more trips to support scientists in field camps.

The Traverse Convoy - complete with living and dining units, scientific equipment and machines to blast enough snow to fill crevasses along the way.



It has been very warm lately - which has brought more snowfall than I've ever seen. McMurdo isn't a terribly attractive place, especially as the snow melts and the volcanic and rocky surfaces of the land become exposed - so the snowfall was a welcome respite from the dirt and rubble.