The Flight To Antarctica

From October 10th :

We were finally were able to fly out!  We packed up out of the hotel, lugged our gear to the CDC (Clothing Distribution Center) in Christchurch and went through the pre-screening, weighing, and safety briefing. After checking everything in, and preparing our "boomerang bag", we were shuttled over to the Christchurch Airport. A Boomerang Bag is a duffel bag of clothing and accessories we would need in the event that the plane couldn't land and we would boomerang back to Christchurch due to bad weather at McMurdo.

Once we took off, the flight was great! Though I really wanted to fly in the C-17 Cargo plane, the AirBus was really awesome and allowed for some incredible views over New Zealand, then the sea ice, and finally over Antarctica. I've never seen such a beautiful landscape upon landing! Truly breathtaking. The flight crew was great and let us go up to the flight deck to see the views and have a chat. Our Pilot has been flying to Antarctica for 36 years! After a smooth landing on the ice runway, we deboarded the plane and went straight on to Ivan the Terra Bus, the people-mover whose wheels were simply huge, wider than my armspan, and as tall as my shoulders! There were several returning McMurdo summerers who gave us lots of tips and insights along our bus ride to the station. We went straight to an inbrief and were sent off to collect our luggage.

It's overwhelming to take everything in. The sites and scale of the land and mountain ranges are vast. The brisk air is breath-taking. The people are incredibly kind. The learning curve is swift, though, and that's what I'll be doing for the next week.

36-year veteran Captain in the Flight Deck on the AirBus.

Snow drift patterns.

Sea ice fractures. 

More sea ice fractures.

Sea ice crack patterns.

Sea ice crack patterns.

Sea ice crack patterns.

Sea ice. 

First look of Antarctic land.

Antarctica landscape as we were descending for landing.