The team digging out a tent. Note the Twin Otter peaking through the ground blizzard, on the skiway at the base of the nunatak.
We all woke up to strong winds hitting our tents. It was -23° C with around 20 knots wind – windchill around -35° C. My first thought was “Well, we might not be flying today”. Around 7:30 am, Brian came and told us that our flights had been activated. Yes, flights! Basler flights for 6 people and gear bound for McMurdo. Twin otter flights for staging some gear to the Dominion Range main icefield for next season (two round trips between DW and DOM, then return to McMurdo).
Davis-Ward camp is now a ghost town- the mine is all played out. All that’s left behind is some curious square holes in the snow, and a bamboo pole to mark the location of our GPS base station. Well, maybe a cache of fuel drums as well, in case a passing plane might ned them.
Our final packing started as soon as we heard this news. Tent box, kitchen box, food box, stove box, lovely giant “Feathered Friends” sleeping bag, mats, floor, wood boards, and our personal items. All of them held a lot of memories of the last three weeks in Davis-Ward. It was a bittersweet time to pack them away. But we didn’t have time to soak into those memories. The clock was ticking for the flight arrivals. Since the wind was so strong, the tent stakes we dug out yesterday were all buried again. One by one, our lovely homes went down. Hauling items into two separate piles for two separate flights. All in the constant strong wind. We worked hard as a team (as we always did this entire 2023-24 season – so grateful to have such a wonderful team!).
Now boarding through gate A1, flight KBB 003 to McMurdo.
We kept one tent up as a safe resting place from the wind. The first arrival was the Twin Otter, then the Basler arrived shortly after. Loading the 600 lb groomer was killer! As time passed, the wind got stronger. By the time of our departure, it was 30-35 knots with wind-chill about -40° F (= -40° C!). We were all exhausted, and cold- some of us suffered fogged-up snow goggles (more you cover up your face more you fog…). Some of us also ended up getting frostnip (nothing minor). 7 hours later, we finally got onto the Basler and finally had time to sit down and rest. It was hard to leave DW because we enjoyed every moment of our life there over the last 3 weeks. At the same time, we were so ready to leave because of the last 7 hours of harsh conditions. I felt like it was Davis-Ward’s way of telling us to go home.
The 2023-2024 ANSMET field team on a calmer day, with Mt. Ward and the Davis-Ward icefield in the background.
Our flight home to McMurdo was short; 2 hours 40 minutes with a strong tail wind. Most of us had a well-needed power-nap. When we arrived back at Willy Field, Mount Erebus greeted us. It was a beautiful calm day. The Delta ride back to Mactown was rather slow and bumpy, but we were all smiling. Seeing buildings and other people! YES, we are back to civilization. We got back just in time for dinner and took a wonderful hot shower (it felt SO GOOD!).
It was a wonderful field season despite the long delay and short field time. We wish a sincere thank you to Jim, Brian, Ralph, and John for your hard work to make our season successful. Thank you to Daniela, Erin, Jon, Lauren, and Robert for being awesome teammates. Thank you to my family for their tremendous support.
-from Minako in McMurdo.