And the flight was big, to say the least. A C-17 is not your average commercial airline. Once inside, we were exposed to the innards of the massive aircraft. Wires, pipes, cables, and all sorts of electrical entrails lined the walls and 25ft high ceiling!
It was quite a suspenseful plane ride (despite this picture). Without any windows nearby, there was no gradual gradient between the calm ocean waters of New Zealand, and rugged, ice landscape of the Antarctic. As we flew closer to McMurdo, I got lucky enough to check out the cockpit and make friends with a navigator (Our flight crew was based out of NAS Whidbey back in Washington!). Here are some pictures of the crew, and looking down at an iced over ocean!
Five hours after takeoff, the sun was shining bright, Mt. Erebus beamed atop Ross Island, and the TransAntarctic Mountains spanned across the continent’s edge. Stepping out onto the ice is an amazing experience, nothing any photos, films, or stories could ever reenact. Antarctica is an unbeatable continent!
We hitched a ride from “Ivan,” and now I’m finally at McMurdo! I’ve been situated in my dorm (have a roommate, but have yet to meet him), dinner was actually pretty tasty (pizza night), and right now, Im looking out across the frozen over Ross Sea from the Lab Library. Tomorrow I’ll be out at snowcraft training, with a night in an igloo ahead of me!
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