Michiel's First Winfly season. (August 2010)

A sunset on the mountains, with the airstrip in the foreground.

Winfly, which stands for Winter Fly in, starts at the beginning of August and is supposed to bring McMurdo a small group of people who will be making the preparations for the masses that follow in October. Personally I think that the reason is also to be able to ship some people off continent who misbehaved, didn't perform well, got (home)sick or otherwise needed to leave as soon as possible.

I cannot believe that I have always been so reluctant to come at this time. It has proven to be a great way to start my new season. The nights are still real nights, with real darkness and stars and a chance to see auroras (no luck for me there) and beautiful nacreous clouds. There are very few people on station, compared to summer time and you can find terrific skua** stuff. I also found it interesting to be apart from Sheri for the first time in years and had to get used to rooming with a stranger. Having been away for a season, I felt a new appreciation for this place and all its little perks and quirks which I hoped would last for the season. (which, in retrospect was a very naive wish).

Nacreous Clouds

**A Skua is a scavenger seabird - one of the few types of birds we see on station and is mostly known for dive-bombing unsuspecting carriers of blue trays with food from the dining hall.  Skua is also known in McMurdo as an item that has been donated to the community for re-use.  There are "skua" bins on every hall and pretty much anything that hasn't been nailed or chained down and doesn't have a sign on it saying "NOT SKUA" is skua.

Uses:  "I found some great skua today.  Check out this sweater!" 
Can also be used as a verb:  "I skua'ed this North Face jacket.  It is in almost new condition!"

Skua is a way-of-life and an obsession for many (including Michiel, who cannot pass a skua bin without peeking inside)  We've all talked about how great it would be to have skua in the "outside world".