The sea ice outside Scott Base forms large pressure ridges as it’s forced against the land. These make for a very interesting icy landscape. McMurdo residents are only allowed there on guided tours. Luckily for us, Anne from LDB is qualified to give these tours. She was kind enough to take us out, at 4am a couple days ago.
It was very cold, which makes for poor photography and intermittently frozen lenses (and excuses, apparently). The weather was Condition 3 ("good"), otherwise we wouldn’t be allowed out. Still, it’s nice when Antarctica occasionally demonstrates its extreme environment, rather than being a sunny (if slightly cold) summer paradise.
(See also last time I visited the pressure ridges in 2012.)
A full set of ECW gear
Modelled by Anne
A well-bundled group
Off we go
Following the flags
Into the white
Ice and rock
Seals come up through cracks in the ice
Anne (our guide) demonstrates how the gnaw holes to widen them
Don
Sasha dance
Me
And yellow pants
Anne's cool polar bear hat
Sea water seeps up through cracks to form pools
No nametags
Can you tell who's who?
Flag, ice, windmills
Bill
Onwards to the coolest ice formations
Ice tunnel
Climbing
Tall ice pillar
Crossroads
Anne uncovers
To adjust her goggles
Lorenzo
Jeff
Along the flags
Blue ice
Getting a closer look
Cynthia
Johanna
Crossed flags
Back through the ice tunnel
Blue flag
Marks fuel lines, in this case the old fragment of one
Hair frozen everywhere
Eyelashes too
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