Yesterday evening Matt, Juan, Mark, and I walked up Ob(servation) Hill. Like the undersea observation tube, which I plan to visit tonight, Ob Hill was high on the list of things I must do while here.
Back at the highbay, Mark had brought in his camera and small collection of lenses—including a very wide angle fisheye lens that I had some fun with. There was also a big HazOp, to attach the primary and secondary mirrors, but that’s much less interesting than hill climbing and cool lenses.
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- Ob Hill, at the partway-up sign-in box
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- The sea ice airfield, just outside McMurdo
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- Mark by the memorial cross at the summit
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- Nearby inscription describes how the cross commemorates the Scott expedition
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- Town
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- Juan reaches the summit
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- Juan takes a break during descending. Matt curses his shoes and their poor grip
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- More descending
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- I start the day with a fixed-length portrait lens. Here’s Juan starting on the scoop
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- Portrait of the Soldering Station
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- And of Elio
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- And Joseph’s SIP work station
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- Fisheye view of the lab, from mezzanine
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- And Juan, in a curvier-seeming section of the scoop
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- Elio (and Mark) lay out the mirror’s blanket, to keep it nice and cool
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- Helium tank, used for leak checking
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- Matt decides to rock a chin strap for the day’s hazardous operation
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- We use special lifting cables to grab the mirror
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- Ready to lift
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- Lifted
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- Moving into place, where Nick and Matt can guide it up
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- Elio reluctantly has to let go. Also, Juan takes pictures from the mezzanine
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- Matt guides the mirror above its spot
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- Mark gets underneath and tries to fit the bolts through holes in the blanket
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- Water Drop, from the visiting teachers’ class. To fly with us
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- Juan is safe: wearing safety gear to watch from the Mezzanine
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- After removing the mirror to make new holes, Mark works on bolting again
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- The pivot assembly hanging from a crane that can no longer rotate (thanks to white tape and a piece of wood)
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- Nick rests in the pyramid. That is one of the best ways to acquire pyramid power
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- Suspension cables hanging from the pivot. Vic gave us bolts to secure them, rather than the pins we usually use
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- I spend some time working for a change, rather than taking pictures
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- Somebody (Nick?) decided to photograph me attaching the pivot’s electrical cables
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- Elio admires the product of the day’s work
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- I take the opportunity for more wide angle pictures. Like the downstairs work area
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- The long drop is truly surrounded by nothingness. Also, I need to fix that blob that appears whenever I go outside
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- Tracks, and Mt Erebus surrounded by clouds
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- Most of LDB. Main buildings on the left, random stuff on the right
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- The mostly nothing filling the view back towards McMurdo
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- Shipping containers, as far as the eye can see
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- The main LDB buildings
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- View of the random stuff at LDB, including the front decks for the highbays
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