Pegasus airfield, looking out at Mt TerrorI now see why people from the Pole don't like McMurdo. It is not that the McMurdo station is a bad place. You can actually go on hikes, there is a nice gym, and a lot of social activities going on. 24-hour internet access is nice. They have a homey coffee bar.
The reason Pole people don't like McMurdo is the reason I don't like McMurdo right now - I don't want to be here! We were supposed to have a straight-through flight yesterday, flying from Pole to McMurdo, then on to Christchurch in the same day. Even though the weather an McMurdo was pretty nice, they cancelled the flight to NZ. Today the weather was pretty bad here, but they still managed to get one flight in. Unfortunately it wasn't my flight, so some people got out but not us. The weather tomorrow is pretty iffy, so I might be stuck here over the weekend.
Trying desperately to look on the bright side, we saw 6 emperor penguins from the windows of the bus yesterday on the way back from the air strip. Man, I don't know how those things survive! They were a few miles from any open water, way out in the middle of the Ross ice shelf. We also saw quite a few seals lying out on the ice, just hanging out.
To pass the time, Ross and I went on a hike today. We walked up Observation point, a 400 ft climb to start. It was super windy, I'm guessing 30-40 mph winds, with gusts over 50. Pushes you around quite a bit. Also pretty cold, when the temps are (guessing) in the low teens to start with. From the top of Observation Point we descended towards the Kiwi station, Scott Base, then worked our way around the point back to the station. Took about 2 hours. I was quite cold by the end, even though I was wearing my Big Red jacked - fully insullated thigh-length down jacket. Hot chocolate in the galley was much appreciated after the hike.
**Update from Feb 12**
Last night Ross and I found the climbing gym. It is in the corner of the regular gym, and is a 15 foot wide by 20 foot toll wall. You have to put on harnesses and belay, but it isn't too bad. I think I still prefer the severly overhanging bouldering cave of the Pole - better strength and endurance training. But there were two people at the wall, and Ross and I climbed for 2 hours. Great way to pass the evening!
Today the weather looks beautiful, so I am hopeful that we will make it to New Zealand. Then I can disappear into the wilds. Looking forward to that very much!!
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