South Pole!

   The flight from McMurdo to the South Pole was on a smaller plane, a LC-130. We left from the same runway that we had come in on the previous day, out on the sea ice right in front of McMurdo.

When I got in the plane I found myself conveniently seated near one of the small round windows. This meant I wouldn't have to get up to look out the window, although I did have to lean over a big tough looking guy’s shoulder to see. I hope he didn't mind too much.

   The plane headed inland, up the large ice sheet that I had seen from the top of Ob hill the day before. For a while the scenery out the window was featureless; just white snow as far as the eye could see.

Eventually, we turned west and crossed the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM). That’s when things got interesting! The plane was flying lower than the C-17 had, so the glaciers and mountains looked bigger than the day before. As the ice from the polar cap pushes out towards the sea it creates immense glaciers, which pour over the mountains. There were numerous ice falls and seracs, making the movement of the ice apparent.

   After the mountains we began crossing the polar cap. Its elevation is about 9000 feet but almost all of that is ice. The weight of the ice pushes down the earth below. Flying over the cap was less interesting than the mountains, but in only three hours we were at the Pole. The landing was so smooth you could have missed it if you weren't paying attention. I'm impressed that the landing was smoother than most commercial flights, even though we were on skis at the South Pole.

  

   We were greeted outside by all of our collaborators that were already at the pole. It was really blowing though, so we quickly went inside. The main station is elevated to keep the snow from piling up in the winter. Even so, it seems like most of the summer is spent plowing snow away from the windward side.

   The station itself is really nice: warm, three meals a day, and it almost has a futuristic feel. There is a store, a post office, a game room, a green house, a galley, a sick bay, a tv room, a full sized basketball court, an arts and crafts room, a reading room, and a sauna

   The building where Keck is going to be located is across the runway, in what is called the 'Dark Sector' since radio communications are limited there to prevent interference. The Dark Sector contains three main structures: a building called DSL (which contains BICEP2 and the South Pole Telescope), the Ice Cube drilling camp (an experiment looking for neutrinos), and a building called MAPO (which wil soon contain KECK).  After we dropped off our stuff we went over to get a look at MAPO and DSL. It is amazing how well stocked these labs are, even though we are at the South Pole!

   I've been down here for over a week, and life has been good. Walking back and forth from MAPO takes about 10 minutes and is actually pretty enjoyable. Besides when I go for a run, it is pretty much the only outside time I get. As I walk back and forth I am sometimes struck by the fact that I am walking on 2500 meters of ice. The horizon is perfectly flat, so it gives one the impression that he or she is on the ocean, only the ocean is frozen and the buildings are ships that have gotten stuck in the ice.