When traveling to the South Pole, you have to be prepared for delays. But last week it was the station, not the travelers, that was not quite prepared—with a summer population close to its limits, it had to creatively house dozens of passengers left behind from departing planes that boomeranged. The gym was put to use, as was the lounge and other common areas with chairs and sofas. The weather finally behaved toward the end of the week and the stranded folks finally made it out of there

Photos show the spot of the geographical South Pole, just before and after the old marker was removed—as we mentioned last week, at the beginning of each year a new marker is situated at the current location, which shifts constantly due to the movement of the ice sheet.

Last week saw the arrival of IceCube’s second winterover, Mack van Rossem, finally (an unusual glitch this year left IceCube with only one winterover until now). Mack got to jump right in, driving the scout for the regular December snow survey.