What it looks like here

I realize that words are limited when describing a place that no one really has any idea about. I got the final word that I will not be able to post pictures for you guys, so I guess my words will have to do. If that bores anyone and you swear to never check this site again, no worries, enjoy the time away from the computer screen. But for those of you who would like to read on I will attempt to describe what it looks like here. Like I have said in past entries, McMurdo ("Mac Town") is like a little town displaced in an island bordering the coldest and most remote continent in the world. As for Mac Town, it is not what comes to mind when you think of a ski town or a village in the Alps. Think of a military post established and quickly assembled by the navy in the 70's. Many buildings here are shacks that have been pepped up a little bit inside. The buildings are cozy and the views out the windows are unreal. There is a water plant, power plant, coffee house (shack), basketball barn, science lab, dining hall, dorms, offices, a greehouse, a bar, and many warehouses. People are busy throughout the day going to work in their various jobs that support the scientists. There are about 1,000 people here at most times from all walks of life. It is very comapct and simple. I could throw a baseball three times and traverse all of Mac Town. There are gravel/pebble roads and they are usually covered with snow, although not all areas around Mac Town proper are snowcovered. There is only one road (not counting sea ice tracks) that leads away from McMurdo. It goes to the Kiwi (New Zealand) base about a mile and a half away. Less than 2% of the continent is not snowcovered, and we are considered part of that 2%. The Navy should have seen that as a warning sign that no snow meant the wind had blown it all away in BAD storms... It's kinda like being cold when you're driving but instead of turning the heat on you roll down the windows and stick your head out. Yeah, not exactly well-planned military strategies in positioning this place. There are no trees and very little color other than deep white, deep blue, and the black volcanic rock below the sections of snow. The views from town rock my world every day! The Royal Society Range is across the frozen Bay beyond the sea ice runway that I have been working at. The peaks are over fifty miles away, but they appear about 10 miles away because there is nothing in the air to block visiblity. They rise over 14,000 feet above the sea ice and remind me of the Alps or the Canadian Rockies. From the sea ice Mt. Erebius is visible. It is the only active volcano on the continent and it is constantly venting steam in a huge cloud against the blue sky. Some days, of course, you can see nothing, and you can barely walk because the wind is blowing snow into your face and freezing you to the bone. On those days I see only the edges of my coat hood, the inside of my ski goggles, and my feet beneath me. We sit about a mile away from large glaciers and crevasses, but they are covered in snow making them unseen and very dangerous. Pressure ridges often form on the sea ice around the peninsula. These are up to 30 foot tall ridges that have formed from sea ice pressing together over the years. Occasionally seals will emerge from these ridges, and I am told that later in the year penguins too. I can spot no open water here as the mass of ice covers this all to a thickness of over 6 feet. Last but not least is Observation Hill. This the classic Mac Town hike. It is a huge hill (small mountain) shooting up on the South end of town directly between us and the Kiwi base. Sledding on dinner trays is popular at the base to reward summiting the steep trail. The view from the top is unbelievable! Being the highest point for about 4 miles, it looks over all of Ross Island and makes one want to simply start hiking as far as possible in any direction. One last thing you must remember about this place; it's light all the time. The sun rotates around the sky in a circle, but never goes down in the summer. I hope that gives you a little better idea what it looks like here. Please know that I cannot describe to you how wild, vast, empty, and just plain HUGE this land is. It is like nothing I could have ever imagined.