The “Race Around the World” is a fun run around the South Pole that crosses through all the world’s time zones.
The holiday season is often a busy time of year for many people, and things are no different at the South Pole.
It was a fairly busy week at the Pole. IceCube’s new winterovers made their first IceTop snow measurements, an outdoor task that requires daylight to perform.
The sun provided all sorts of photo opportunities at the Pole last week. Here we see IceCube winterover Josh framed nicely in front of a sun halo with faint sun dogs.
More planes (and more fresh faces) arrived at the Pole last week. With five planes total during the week, most of the winter crew has departed.
The first Basler plane arrived at the South Pole last week, bringing a few newcomers and carrying away some outgoing winterovers.
Last week it warmed up a bit at the Pole, rising from about -45 ºF (-43 ºC) to about -15 ºF (-26 ºC) over the course of the week. Much more summerlike.
Last week, IceCube’s current winterovers, John and Yuya, officially completed a full year at the South Pole, and they’re still going. Their new replacements have not yet arrived, but they are on their way.
It’s a harsh environment at the South Pole. And on windy days, you can really feel it—even in the photos. The flags at the ceremonial South Pole really take a beating.
The scene outside the South Pole station—now that there’s sunlight to see by—is rather changed from how the winterovers remember it last summer. There’s quite a build-up of drifted snow around the tower end of the station.