Learning how to build a snow anchor during the basic deep field safety lecture in McMurdo.

Yesterday, the ANSMET crew finally arrived on the Ice after several delays, including one final one. We boarded the bus and headed to the airport across the street from the terminal.

We pulled up to the aircraft, only to turn back around because of a one hour delay. A mini boomerang.

Soon enough, we were back on that bus and in front of the plane again. We grabbed our packed lunches—sandwiches, apples, water and other treats— before climbing into a Royal New Zealand Air Force plane, along with other scientists and support staff working across the continent. A few hours after we took off from Christchurch, we started getting our first glimpses of this magical continent. At certain points, ice-capped mountains were breaking through the clouds. At others, it was clear skies and you could see the white expanse for miles, until it met the horizon.

It’s one of the most special sights in the world. And we all felt extremely lucky to see it.

Slightly-less-special sight; the backside of the Galley and the backsides of ANSMET field party members Jim, Minako and Daniela.

When we landed, the beauty continued. Mt. Erebus, the southernmost active volcano, was right in our line of sight on the walk from the plane to Ivan the Terrabus. When we got to McMurdo, we finally met up with Brian and the team was reunited for the first time since boot camp. Only Johnny was missing-though we called him before we boarded our Ice Flight.

Today, our safety trainings began. We learned about some of the dangers that abound here- frostbite, exhaustion, weather- and how to mitigate them. We pitched a tent, learned to light a small stove safely and got an intro course for GPS navigation. Some of us went to the store to get souvenirs.

Jim looks unimpressed by these souvenirs, the high-end poly coolers we affectionately call “isopods”.  They arrive in McMurdo full of meteorite collection gear and leave full of meteorites.  Thank you,  Cecilia Satterwhite! 

Tomorrow, our adventures continue. Stay tuned for more Antarctic updates!

-Daniela,  in McMurdo

BUT there’s more: here’s a little bit from Lauren.

Lauren’s Tree Farm, proving the holiday season with ANSMET is always festive!

We did field safety training and learned about the survival kits, stoves, and tents, and this morning a few of us checked out the cage and cargo that has arrived for ANSMET. Seeing all of the Scott tents stacked up reminded me of a Christmas tree farm. 🙂

-Lauren in McMurdo.   Snarky photo captions by rph.