Ah, penguins! Who doesn’t love them? Both of IceCube’s winterovers got to view and photograph penguins recently, but not at the South Pole—no animals can survive the extreme cold temperatures of the Pole.
Life at the South Pole is full of traditions. And as one year ends and another begins, anticipation always mounts for a special tradition: the unveiling of the new South Pole marker.
The last full week of 2019 was a busy one at the South Pole. Yes, there were the holiday festivities (and a group photo!), but plenty of work was going on as well.
It’s always a white Christmas at the South Pole. It was also summer solstice at the Pole, and the winterovers got outdoors for some nice shots of the station.
Why are the winterovers playing chess out on the ice? The answer might just be a question itself—why not? Yes, it’s cold outside...but you just can’t let the weather get in your way.
Last week, long-awaited cargo arrived, and just as exciting, the South Pole traverse also showed up. The traverse travels overland to bring fuel to the Pole that would otherwise need to be flown in.
IceCube was running smoothly last week. But it hasn’t been such smooth sailing this year for cargo arrivals (delays). On the plus side, a supply of IceCube beanie hats arrived!
Since it’s summer at the Pole, more people are arriving than leaving. However, last week two people departed who had been at the Pole for an extended time—yes, we’re talking about Benjamin Eberhardt and Kathrin Mallot, IceCube’s winterovers for the past year, shown here among the red parkas walking toward the plane above.
A plane landing in daylight means summer season and new arrivals at the South Pole. So far things have started off busy for IceCube’s new winterovers.
Things "warmed" up a bit at the Pole last week. And there were sun dogs back in the skies and some interesting snow formations on the ground.