All Roads Lead to Ice

Back in McMurdo

2009-02-21T05:01:00.000-08:00

So I am back in McMurdo for one week and this is what I saw.

I only got to see two of them, but it was pretty neat!

2009-02-12T05:13:00.000-08:00

Hero shot.

The South Pole from the Air

2009-02-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

I was chosen to go on the Aerial Photo Mission and this is what I shot...

Above is the Flight Deck, where us fuelies work.
This is "Summer Camp", where half of the population of South Pole lives in the summer. I live in Jamesway 4, which is the bottom left unit.

The new elevated South Pole Station.

This is a shot of the "Dome" that was the main station from the early 70's till just a few years ago. Next to the Dome is the new elevated South Pole Station where most activites, business and meals(most important) take place.

Have you ever thought to yourself, "I am in the middle of nowhere!" That was the first thing I was reminded by when we got up in that plane. I have been at the South Pole since October 27, but very much had forgotten where we are or are not until I got up in the air to see our little station.

Frosty Me.

2009-01-26T06:42:00.000-08:00

My black & white series of the South Pole.

2009-01-26T06:34:00.000-08:00

LC-130 taking off.

Two Piston Bullies coming to get us after a night of camping a couple

of kilometers away from the station.

"Fuel Arch", with a capacity of 450,00 gallons.

We have to have it full by close of station for winter.

Offloading fuel from a LC-130.

Two LC-130's on deck at the South Pole.

Living Situation

2008-12-16T06:20:00.000-08:00

This is my bedroom. Jamesway 4 Room 6. Looks cozy, I know. It's a mere 6' x 8' in floor space.

This is Jamesway 4 from the outside. It is Antarctica.

2008-12-16T06:12:00.000-08:00

Why not wear orange is the real question here....

This is down in the LO arch. This is where medical and other facilites were located before they built the new station. Now there is some remodeling going on. Those two snow hills came in through a hole in the arch over the winter.

They said it would be cold.

2008-12-16T05:41:00.000-08:00

To the left: The South Pole International PAX Terminal. I don't know that we actually fly international without a stop in McMurdo. But anyways it's really the fuels office. It is a "solar shack". On the outside of the plywood is all painted black to "warm" us up. It helps, but the space heaters do the job!

This is my fellow fuelie pulling the aviation hose away from the LC-130. Look close and you can tell that the props never stop running during this operation. Naturally it's because of the cold, they don't shut the engines down.

That's me, walking from under the plane. Best part of the job!

This is the fuelie crew at the geographical South Pole of the whole world! You can see some black dots under the sign, that is the cermonial South Pole. The station looks so good after the siding has been put on, that darn siding crew was good last year! But for this year, fuels rules!

Tunnels

2008-12-16T05:34:00.000-08:00

Well it's been awhile! Here are a couple of photos from the ice tunnels under the South Pole. Ponder that one for a minute. They are all man-made tunnels for water/sewage pipelines. If you will notice the thermometer is a brisk -65 degrees. Amazingly enough that is not the coldest I have experienced this year. When we got off the plane at the South Pole on Oct. 27, second flight in, the tempature was -68 with a wind chill of -93. Remember, I have an outside job! :)

2008-10-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

All fuelies from the Winfly/Summer crew. Three of us are leaving here very shortly to make our way to the South Pole for the rest of the summer season. I'm back row right.

MAIL

2008-10-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

I even have a mailbox at the South Pole.
If you want to utilize it, here is my address:

Andrew V. Williams, RPSC
South Pole Station
PSC 468 Box 400
APO AP 96598

It's beautiful down here!

2008-10-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

Another cold frosty day working out on the Ross Ice Shelf. The faint black line leading into the distance is our 6" fuel line, marked by flags. The hill on the left is Observitory Hill that looks over McMurdo. McMurdo is located just on the other side of that small pass.

This is our early season, "WinFly" group of fuelies in McMurdo.
Mt. Erebus in the background, with an elevation of just under 12,500 feet. I was standing on the Ross Ice Shelf on my way out to Williams AirField.

This is a Piston Bully track vehicle that we primarily use to get around on the snow and ice. We use it to "strap" the 6" fuel line, or just get it out of the drift.

This is a photo of McMurdo from Observitory Hill. McMurdo can hold up to 1,200 people at a time, but usually only maxes out during the peak
of the Summer season. If you notice the four large tanks central right of the picture, they are each 2 million gallon holding tanks for fuel. Here in Antarctica we use three types of fuel, JP-5, AN-8, or MOGAS. JP-5 and AN-8 are both diesel fuels with AN-8 having an additive for colder weather.

I am on the right Delta vehicle. The center one is used to take fuel out on to the Ross Ice Shelf to fuel everything. We have to keep a number of buildings running out a the airfields. The Delta's tire is about 5' tall and 2.5' wide. They are a lot of fun to drive, but top out at about 10-15mph. They look a lot older than expected. I would have thought these vehicles were built in the 1960's, but were really a product of the last 1980's.

One more mode of transportation in Antarctica!

I've been in McMurdo now for almost seven weeks. Time has gone by swiftly, which is a good measurement of my experience down here. Temperatures are already warming up here in McMurdo for the summer season. Today we are at a temp of around 10º. That might sound a bit chilly for the common folk, but to us here down under under that is balmy. I am scheduled to leave for the South Pole this upcoming Friday, Oct. 24. I will be flying into the South Pole on a Bassler Airplane over the Transantarctic Mountains. From what I remember it is one of the most beautiful and breathtaking things I've ever laid my eyes upon. The sun is now to a point where it is continually light out all day. Some of my recent tasks have been filling fuel bladders to go on the South Pole Traverse. We are fill 62 different bladders, most having a capacity of 3,000 gallons. They are pulling more than 180,00 gallons of fuel. They will be using it for their transportation, setting up fuel cashes and leaving the rest at the South Pole to fuel the South Pole Station. That will be one of my major jobs once the traverse arrives to the South Pole. This fuel has a freezing point of about -51º and with an additive it is even cooler. If too much is spilled anywhere on the body, it will induce the frostbite process faster. I have done my best to be fuel free, but wherever I go on station people often take to the smell and remind me that I'm a fuelie. In a short period of time I became immune to the smell of fuel. I'm logging off for now, but if you have any questions or just want to say hello, please email me at AVW1025@hotmail.com

---Andrew

2008-09-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

I'm king of the day tank! Just me atop one of the many tanks we fill on a weekly basis.
I am out with "Delta Sharean", our off road fueling truck. We were on the way back from Willy Airfield when I caught this shot of the sun. It reminds me of scenes from Star Wars.
Mount Discovery with an accent of nacreous clouds. My trainer Jennifer showing me tank 13.
The long sunrise on the Royal Society Mountains. In McMurdo we are experiencing normal days/nights until October 21. Then it will be 24 hours of Daylight.

The pass between Scott Base (New Zealand) and McMurdo (USA) during sunset and one of the many windstorms.

2008-09-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

Hello. I have once again found myself in Antarctica. This year is different though. Different job, different location, different time, different people. This year I am officially a fuel operator, aka "fuelie". I came down on September 8, 2008 and will be staying in McMurdo for about two months. McMurdo is the United States Antarctic Program's largest Station located on Ross Island. Below is a picture of the coastline of Antarctica not far from Ross Island. We are just coming out of winter and headed towards warmer temperatures. Right now we are averaging around -5 F.
The second time around has been a blessing. I am so much more relaxed and in the groove of things. There was virtually no stress in planning and flying to Antarctica. I am not really sure why everyone comes here, and not even sure why I am here. Although, I really enjoyed myself last year and they are paying me to work/live in Antarctica. I find that I have a very hard time staying put for too long without some adventure in my life or another "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity". Many people have been very supportive of these opportunities, starting with my family, and that makes it easy to take a step into the unknown.
From Christchurch, New Zealand we flew down on a C-17 operated by the U.S. Air Force out of McChord Air Force Base in Washington. To the left is a photo that I took of a C-17 that just landed on the Ross Ice Shelf.