November 2003   -   Waddles Trip To Scott's Hut

The science team I am part of in McMurdo has been working hard to get all the cargo and equipment together for the flight to Dome-C.  Rich and his friends repacked all the gear in 24 boxes and it weighs 1417 lbs. With the passengers, the small Twin-Otter plane will be loaded to within 83 lbs of capacity, and will need  to stop halfway to Dome C at a cache to refuel.

On the day we were supposed to leave, a snowstorm struck.  McMurdo posts three weather conditions. Condition 3 means all outdoor activities are allowed, Condition 2 means you can only go between buildings with friends, and Condition 1 is for when the winds are over 50 mph, visibility is only 50 feet, and no one can go outside at all. Before the storm advanced to Condition 2, Rich, three friends, and I checked out the key to visit Captain Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery Hut, near McMurdo, which Scott used for his 1910 expedition to the South Pole.

That same year a Norwegian group lead by Roald Amundsen also set out for the South Pole from a camp on the Ross Ice Shelf to the west of McMurdo. Amundsen's group was the first ever to see the South Pole, and made it back with hundreds of pounds of food to spare, using dog sleds to pull the loads.  Scott's group did not use dogs, but rather walked, pulling the sleds themselves. They made it to the Pole after Amundsen, but they starved to death during their attempt to return to the Discovery Hut on McMurdo Sound.

Click on any picture for supersize version!

Scott's Dicovery Hut in the distance.  It has porches around it to protect supplies.

It's cold in here, but better than outside.

Some of the old packing boxes for dog food and lamp oil are interesting.

Rich shows me a harness used for pulling sleds, and the old kitchen area with blubber still on the stove. YUCCH!

Rich and me back in our room. I really appreciate the modern facilities as its now condition 1 with the storm at it's peak! Looks like we wont be flying anytime soon...