Monday, December 16, 2013

Skiing Adventures

December 14, 2013
McMurdo Station, Antarctica


It is perhaps a stretch to call these adventures.  Our first attempt at skiing was on the Armitage Point trail.  It loops around Observation Hill to Scott Base on the sea ice.  When we checked out of the station at the Firehouse, we were told that the trail was closing at midnight for the season.  When we got on the ice we found it very wet.   You could see some small cracks, and when I saw Neil ski over some patches I'm pretty sure I saw the ice flex.  When we also realized that the flags marking the trail had been taken down, making it impossible for us to know which route was safe, we turned back.  It was quite an ordeal to get all of our gear on to only ski a few yards from the station, but we resolved to try again tomorrow.


 December 15, 2013
Scott Base, Antarctica

It was a beautiful day to get outside.  We hiked about 30 minutes over the hill to Scott Base, where we checked out their store before heading off for our ski.  This wasn't really an adventure either, as we stuck to the wide and gently sloping ski road.  However, it was great for getting our ski legs, as it had been a while since either Neil or I went skiing and Grace's first time cross country skiing.  We all had a great time and would love to fit in the Castle Rock Loop, 10 or so miles (and climb) before we leave.

Mount Erebus was billowing on the horizon.  It has been more active this year than usual, causing some excitement among the volcanologists.

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