Flight delays are not uncommon at the South Pole, which can be frustrating. But sometimes there’s an upside, as there was for a recent cohort of IceCube personnel waiting to leave the Pole. They were rewarded for their delay with a flight out on a Basler aircraft (much smaller than the Herc they were waiting on), which gave them fantastic views on the way to McMurdo Station.
There were different groups of South Pole visitors last week—some human, and some not. The nonhuman visitor came from Japan—IceCube-san, seen here on the snow outside the IceCube Lab. The other visitors were adventure travelers, who were based at a campsite not far from the station.
Last week at the Pole started in 2018 but ended in 2019. What better way to launch into the new year than by unveiling something shiny and bright? That’s the tradition at the South Pole, with a special ceremony held each January 1 to reset the marker at the geographic South Pole.
There are so many different ways to celebrate the holidays around the world, but there’s only one special event that actually takes you around the world. It’s the occasion of the annual “Race Around the World” at the South Pole—a fun run that circles around the South Pole, traversing all of the world’s time zones.
The second South Pole Overland Traverse (SPOT) arrived and toured the IceCube Lab last week. Defueling the SPOT bladders can be a rough job, especially if the weather’s bad.
Another action-packed week at the Pole. IceCube was relatively quiet, but some amazing sun dogs garnered folks’ attention. The station celebrated the 107th anniversary of Roald Amundsen’s arrival at the South Pole, with the station manager dressed up as Amundsen for a photo shoot at the geographic South Pole.
An action-packed week with summer activities in full swing. There was lots of work in the field—digging, measuring, installing equipment.
What better way to spend a nice sunny day than lying on a blanket enjoying an ice cream cone. That’s what IceCube’s winterovers thought. No matter that the nice day is at the South Pole, sunny maybe but definitely not warm.
Last week, two of three large cargo crates holding new servers and other equipment were delivered to the IceCube Lab, or ICL. Extra hands helped with opening and unloading of all the temperature-sensitive equipment.
IceCube’s new winterovers, Benjamin and Kathrin, are now fending for themselves as they said goodbye last week to Johannes and Raffaela, who finally left the Pole after some delays. (Thanks, guys!)