Week 51 at the Pole

By Jean DeMerit — Friday, January 2, 2015 - 1:00pm
Friday, January 2, 2015 - 1:00pm
gingerbread house
Image: E. Beiser, IceCube/NSF

The year wrapped up nicely at the South Pole, with the traditional holiday dinner and the Race Around the World on Christmas morning. Both of IceCube’s winterovers participated in the run. Other winterovers were busy constructing a handsome gingerbread house for seasonal charm. And greeting cards from all the other Antarctic bases were put up on display.

Apart from the holiday celebrations, the other big event on station was moving the “cryo” building. This involved hooking up several tractors and the traverse to pull the three-module structure forward by about 50 feet. The building had been sinking unevenly into the snow, and the move was a measure to extend the structure’s life span.

xmas feast
Image: E. Beiser, IceCube/NSF

xmas dinner
Image: E. Beiser, IceCube/NSF

ICL
Image: C. Kendall, NSF

picture wall
Image: E. Beiser, IceCube/NSF

vehicles
Image: E. Beiser, IceCube/NSF

 

winterovers ,
Week at the Pole ,
South Pole