To South Pole

The summer season at South Pole was supposed to have started November 1. When we got delayed in Christchurch for three extra days, that schedule was already thrown off. So by the time I got to McMurdo on Nov. 1, there were already other Pole people there anxiously awaiting our arrival so that the first flight of summer personnel could get down there as quickly as possible. Instead, I got to learn first hand how very difficult it can be to reach the bottom of the planet. I guess that's appropriate, but holy moly! It was a Saturday when we arrived at McMurdo, and no flights are scheduled for Sundays. So first flight into Pole was on deck for Monday, and all day Sunday we were checking the flight monitors outside the galley as rumors about mechanical problems with the planes that fly to Pole were flying.

Monday morning our flight was still on the scroll, so the 35 of us who would fit on the plane with all of the cargo (including a snow melter, as the water system at Pole had been malfunctioning, plus many boxes of "freshies"--fresh produce--for the winter-overs who were probably desperate for it) got on a bus that headed away from McMurdo...

...and past Scott Base (which belongs to the Kiwis)...

Only to get a radio call saying the flight had been canceled. So the bus turned around and took us, dejected, 20 minutes back to McMurdo.

On Tuesday we tried again, and this time all the stars seemed to be aligned. We made it out to the airstrip (note Mt. Erebus, an active volcano, as the backdrop--and note that this plane is outfitted with skis, as it cannot land on the snow at Pole on wheels!)...

...onto the plane (significantly less comfy than the one to McMurdo)...

...and flew three hours to Pole, over this unspeakably magical, beautiful landscape. Sigh.

 Through our ear plugs, we finally heard the loadmasters tell us to get buckled in for landing at Pole, and we could feel the plane descending, descending...and then suddenly pull back up and circle around. And then again, descent, only to pull back up. After that second try, the decision was made: though we were only 300 feet off the ground, there was not enough visibility to land and the flight (as they say) "boomeranged" back to McMurdo. I guess I have nothing to complain about, as there are people who pay tens of thousands of dollars for the kind of flight-seeing tour I got that day! But it was a weary-ing six hours in the air. Mostly I was getting tired at the routine of every morning stripping my bed at McMurdo, lugging all my stuff up to the transport spot, and then in the evening going back to remake my bed and do it all over again the next day.

Wednesday we were scheduled to fly and then canceled and scheduled and canceled again without ever even getting on the bus to the airstrip. Not good weather at Pole, apparently.

But finally, on Thursday, with almost 50 passengers (room for more since the water situation at Pole had been fixed and the bulky snow melter could be left behind), we got back on the bus to the airstrip, back onto the plane, headed back over the vast whiteness of the continent...

...and this time, after three hours, the wheels touched down! There was cheering. I might have been involved. They opened up the back cargo door and shoved all our luggage and other cargo out as we taxied across the snow...

..and then we all stepped off the plane at South Pole.

The thermometers read -32F as we walked from the plane to South Pole station.

Incredible. Incredible to be here.

So that is the end of the story of my journey TO South Pole. Now, for the next 3.5 months, I'll be sitting still here and will make regular posts sharing glimpses into life at the bottom (ha, ha).

In the meantime, mail takes awhile--and definitely don't send boxes, which can take months--but I would love to hear from you if you'd like to test the APO mail system (will be US domestic rates for you) and am happy to send postcards in return with the South Pole cancellation stamp on them! The address is:

(My name), ASC
South Pole Station
PSC 768 Box 400
APO AP 96598

Also, though I will keep posting my own pictures here, it's totally worth checking out the USAP's free on-line collection of Antarctic photography at www.usap.gov.

'Till soon!