Out for a walkabout.

A couple Sundays ago Dave, Ryan, Holly, Ali and I went for a hike up Ob hill above McMurdo. It was the best day I have seen down here. Clear blue skies slight breeze at the summit and a high of 17 degrees F. It felt hotter then that. Dave, Ryan, Holly,and Ali work for PHI as Helo-techs. PHI has the helicopter contract down here for the National Science Foundation. They have 2 Bell 212's and 2 Astar B2's . They move alot of people and cargo to some of the remote field camps.

L to R: Ryan, Ali, Dave, and Holly. Here we are at the summit of Ob Hill.

This is the town/base of McMurdo. In the upper left/middle is sea ice that might break up all the way to the base. If it does we will have whales in the bay. As you can see the fuel tank farm. There are about 5 or 6 you can't see in this pic. Just to the right of the tank farm is the New Zealand Scott Base road.

180 degrees from the last pic. Looking at the Kiwi green Scott Base (They must have got a good deal on the paint). Past there base is Ross Sea Ice. You can see the ripples in the ice, they are pressure ridges. They are formed by the tides moving in and out and brakes up the ice then it refreezes. They grow and change each day.

This is the cross at the top of Ob Hill.

Up close pic of the pressure ridges. You can see all the layers from the break and refreeze cycle.