While on shift the other day, I got the word that I was being offered a trip to the South Pole for an hour or so (better known down here as a "Sleigh Ride") in the morning (Saturday 07 Feb). Despite the sudden warning and not much time to prepare I was pretty stoked! I had said for a while that I had no desire to do any type of discernible tour down there but going down for a day or so would be pretty neat. So in the later part of the evening, I drove our ambulance over to my room to pick up some extra cold weather gear in preparation for the next day.
In the morning, I left shift early for the MCC (Movement Control Center) to board our shuttle heading out to Williams Field. For the first time since I've been down here (both this year and last), I went to Williams Field as a passenger and not an employee working out there. We went straight from our shuttle van to board the plane (an LC-130). Within 30 minutes of grabbing our seats, we where in the air heading south. Now for the past two years, I could always see the mainland of Antarctica from a far (the Royal Society Range for instance) but I had never flown over it let a lone set foot on it. Our flight path took us straight over the
Transantarctic Mountains (TAM) which took my breath away. My seat in the bell of the 130 was right in front of one of the emergency exits that had a view port in the door it self so I didn't have to move much to get a good view:
Eventually our small group got to go up on the flight deck one at a time to get an even better view of the TAM:
Our flight from McMurdo was just shy of 3 hours. When we started our decent we were told to be prepared for the temperature outside (-40s) and not to overly exert ourselves considering the pole sits at an altitude of about 10,000 feet (note: because of the density of the atmosphere at the pole in comparison to equitorial atmospheres, the pole's "10,000" feet of elevation actually "feels" like 13 or 14,000 feet elevation). Anyways, when we touched down on the ground we were rushed pretty quickly considering we only had about 30 to 45 minutes to spare on the ground. One of my friends and a firefighter at the pole grabbed me from the rest of the group and [literallly] ran me from the flight line to the poles, and from the poles throughout the rest of the base.
The
cerimonial South Pole is the big ball surrounded by all of the flags of the 16? original nations that signed the Antarctic Treaty. About 100 feet away was the actually Geographical South Pole. That's right, 90 degrees S Latitude. I wish I had more time than what was alloted for that trip because I really wanted to soak in the fact that I was
literally standing at the bottom of the world. I sorta wish it were night so I could see the entire sky spin around me. I went straight from the pole(s) into the elevated station:
The dome that at one point housed the old station and it's buildings is still used to day for storage and the occasional party or two (so I hear). I really had wanted to take a peak inside that thing but I didn't have the time to do so:
The inside of the station was very impressive. I wish I had more photos but the batteries in my camera died. Myself and my friend rushed through the first and second floors of the station, the ice tunnels that carry water and sewage away from the station (into what I haven't the slightest damned idea), and to the post office so I could get my passport stamped. While nearing the end of my impromptu tour, I got the word that my chariot awaited to fly me back to McMurdo.
Hoping that I'd get another chance to visit the pole in the future, I passed opportunities for photos to get back on the plane to get home in time for dinner. Our flight back with a much hoped for tail wind took only 2 hours. I landed on the ground and realize that I had just been to the South Pole but I hadn't really taken it in yet. Hopefully next time, I'll be able to spend more than 30 minutes there.
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