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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Warehouse23" data-source="post: 3147504" data-attributes="member: 27941">It's been a busy day in the sky above McMurdo. The clear, crisp air must make for fine flying, as helos (helicopters) are buzzing about left and right, and the ice run-way is in constant motion with LC-130 cargo planes coming and going. Here's a link to an image of an LC-130 "Hercules" aircraft:<a href="http://www.sarahandrews.net/antar_images/LC-130_2.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.sarahandrews.net/antar_images/LC-130_2.jpg</a>We're scrambling down here to get the first field team (a tiny, mobile camp of two grad students) deployed tomorrow. The day after, my team (five of us, growing to six on Friday, and eight later next week) will be loading all of our gear into a Bell 212 "Huey" helo and making for Beacon Valley. Most of our gear is ready to fly, though, which means we had a little free time yesterday afternoon for some R&R (Sunday is the offical "off" day in McMurdo, else folks work six ten hour days a week, making a stint on the ice hard, but lucrative work). My team put on our ECW gear and headed to Observation Hill, an old, extinct cinder cone (volcanic feature) on the edge of McMurdo station. The wind was howling, and the trail was icy and steep, but we finally made the summit and were rewarded with spendid views of the Ross Ice Shelf, Scott Base (the New Zealand station on the other side of the hill from McMurdo), Mac Town itself, and of course, the mountains across the sound. I've included three photos today. The first is a view up the imposing face of "Ob Hill." These photos definitely fall into the category of images I can't show my parents (they very specifically said, "Do not go near the edge"--I fear the trail up Ob Hill counts as going near the edge). The second, On_Ob, is a view at the summit. You can see David Shean, our group leader and an old friend of mine, leaning into the wind, a wooden cross (which is a memorial to the victims of a helo crash a few years back), and some of the Royal Society Range mountains in the background. Finally, Mac_Town is a view looking back on base. With some luck, I'll be around to make one final posting tomorrow. Else, I'll be in touch some time in January if all goes well, and will pick the thread back up. Enjoy the Game Days between now and then, and stay warm this winter!PS--If anyone is going to be somewhere warm, feel free to send me a post-card (which will be delivered by a resupply helo) at:Joseph LevyMcMurdo StationProject G-054PSC 469 Box 800APO AP 96599-1035Because it's APO, postage is just like sending mail in the US.</blockquote>

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