Antarctica Photos

Christchurch, New Zealand - The First Leg of the Trip

Excursion to the Ice Caves

At McMurdo Station

C. Laurie at Roll Cage Mary, a statue of the Virgin Mary surrounded by a cage-like frame (hence the name). This statue is in memory of Richard Williams, the first U.S. serviceman to lose his life ntarctic. He was hauling building materials over the sea ice during the initial construction of McMurdo Station when, as the accompanin the Aying plaque states, his tractor broke through the ice and he "plunged 350 fathoms to the bottom of McMurdo Sound."

D. Liz at Roll Cage Mary.

E. This is a picture of an Antarctic bird called a skua. One of the few animals in the Antarctic, the skua is a scavenger and will eat almost anything -- penguin eggs, dead seals, leftover peanut butter sandwiches.

F. Laurie tries her hand at the craps table, but later we had good luck at the black jack table.

G. Liz with the t-shirt she won in the raffle. They also won a glacier hike in New Zealand.

H. Laurie with the t-shirt she won in the raffle.

I. Liz in front of the Scott tent she slept in at Snow school.

J. Liz warming up in the kitchen during dinner time at Snow school.

K. Laurie at the Scott Base sign. Scott base is the New Zealand Antarctic station.

L. Liz at the Scott Base sign.

Discovery Hut and Scott Hut

The Scott and Discovery Huts were built by the Scott expedition party in 1902, the Scott Hut on Cape Evans and the Discovery Hut in McMurdo Sound. The Discovery Hut is the one right next to McMurdo Station and was never used as living quarters. The Scott Hut was built on Cape Evans, about 15 miles away from McMurdo, was used as living quarters and so is larger than the Discovery Hut.

A. Laurie at the cross near Scott Hut.

B. This is the Discovery Hut built by the Scott Antarctic expedition in 1902 that is located on Hut Point adjacent to McMurdo Station. Although it looks like a fairly sturdy structure, it provided such inadequate insulation from the cold that it was never used as living quarters; instead, the expedition party lived on the ship. In fact, when you're in the hut it often feels colder than it does outside.

C. Laurie at the Discovery Hut.

D. An inscription in pencil on the wall next to one of the bunks in the Scott Hut . This was written by R.W. Richards of the Aurora Expedition and states
RW Richards
August 14, 1916
Losses to date
Haywood
Mack
Smyth
Shak (?)
Referring to the deaths of Haywood and Mack (Mackintosh), lost on the ice, Rev. Smith, and the unknown fate of Ernest Shackleton (Shak)

E. One of the bunks in the Scott Hut. This one is located in the corner of the hut that was used as a pharmacy.

F. This is the table and chairs in the famous photograph of Scott and his men.

G.Some of the original artifacts located in the Discovery Hut. We were able to check out a key to the hut so that we could tour it by ourselves, which was an incredible experience. Considering that, as with the Scott Hut, they only allow 2000 visitors in the hut every year, we felt it was a priviledge to be able to walk around inside and experience the cold solitude for ourselves.

Enjoying the Scenery

A. The Transantarctic Mountains next to Lake Fryxell with a ventifact (wind-sculpted rock) in the foreground.

B. The Commonwealth Glacier and Laky Fryxell.

C. The wavy blue ice of Lake Fryxell with the Transantarctic Mountains in the background.

D. The permanent ice cover of Lake Fryxell. The ice near the shore is relatively smooth due to annual melting, but the lake ice in the center of the lake is, as shown in this picture, amazingly convoluted and textured and is often strewn with sand or rocks.

E. One of many naturally-occurring ice formations that I saw on Lake Fryxell. These ice sculptures result from a combination of the strong katabatic winds through the Dry Valleys and the partial melting of the lake ice cover during this time of the Antarctic austral summer. This one looks like a statue of a goat to me!

F. The mountains surrounding Lake Fryxell as seen through an ice formation on the lake.

G. An ice formation on Lake Fryxell.

H. This is a picture of Don Juan Pond, the only unfrozen body of water on the entire continent of Antarctica. It's located in the Wright Valley of the Dry Valleys and the "water" in the pond is an almost-saturated solution of calcium chloride. Don Juan Pond is so salty that it doesn't ever freeze, even in the dead of the Antarctic winter.

I. A picture of a reflection on Don Juan Pond.

J. Laurie in front of a ventifact. One of the interesting features of Don Juan Pond is that it is littered with a large number of ventifacts, rocks that have been sculpted by the wind. Some of these ventifacts are huge boulders like the one shown here with graceful wind-sculpted curves, but others are rocks that might fit in the palm of your hand and have spent so many centuries being sand-blasted that their edges are razor-sharp.

K. Liz in front of a ventifact.

L. A ventifact with the mountains in the background.

M. Matt standing on a boulder trying to get a better view.

N. An Adelie penguin with Mt. Erebus, an active volcano, in the background.

O. Matt with another Adelie penguin on Lake Fryxell.

P. Mike with an Adelie penguin on Lake Fryxell.

Q. Matt on top of Observation Hill.

R. Mike on top of Observation Hill.