Beck’s Blog 1-Greetings from McMurdo Station Antarctica!

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Michael Beck
  • 349th Civil Engineer Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The Royal Society mountain range, Mount Erebus and the clear, unobstructed hundred-mile views from the top of observation hill are simply breathtaking beneath a crystal blue sky. The 24 hours of daylight fades faster now, as we slip into the winter months of 24 hours of darkness.

After two months of relentlessly preparing the station and ourselves for winter and the sometimes unexpected twists of Mother Nature, the community is enjoying an extended two- day weekend, as we know tomorrow good weather is not promised. There will be new challenges, and opportunities to overcome, as we continue to fight back the freezing temperatures and frosty nights of subzero temperatures.

Our weather here has been relatively mild as we transition into our official winter months. But we have had small snap shots of what may come. This season, we've already experienced one storm that halted all traffic, and required people to use rope lines to get from building to building. The storm was so drastic, it contributed to the sinking of the Norwegian Adventure Yacht "Berserk" and the sad loss of three crew men.

We lost some of the permanent ice shelf used as the road base to travel from McMurdo Station to the Pegasus Airfield, extending the 30 minute, seven mile trek into more than an hour, 18 mile road trip.

We also lost our ice pier built earlier this year which was projected to last ten years. The choppy waters fueled by high winds broke the pier into many pieces, then pulled it away from the shore, snapping all the supporting cables, casting the small chunk of sea-based staging platform free in the open McMurdo Sound. Since then we have enjoyed relatively calm weather...for now.

Darkness falls quickly here now. When I first arrived the 24 hours of daylight made for the perfect backdrop of station activities. There was the ever present bustle of Air Force and Navy personnel, rushing to unload and transfer supplies before bad weather and nightfall shut them down.

The nights are even longer as we have adjusted our clocks back an hour for daylight savings time. We are now a day and five hours behind Travis AFB. However, nightfall is also welcomed, as it delivers an endless stream of beautiful paintings, the brilliant auroras that unfold against the backdrop of dusky starlight.

The medical preparations for my Arctic adventure were just as brutal as any military deployment. The constant poking and prodding, chest x-rays, dental exams, look here, look in there, I almost felt violated at times. Heck, every winter over, employees here have to pre-qualify with an extensive physiological review, because of the constant darkness, the living within a community of only 151 people, no way to leave until the air flow begins in August. You have to be somewhat stable to endure this environment.
What to bring was easy, my various military deployments have prepared me for that. Although I have never experienced the drastic cold weather conditions such as these, it was fairly simple: Clothes, toiletries and medication, enough for six months. Pack any special or favorite snacks you may cherish. The variety of items at the station store or commissary is somewhat limited but the supply is plenty enough to last throughout winter. Any special request or mail order items have to wait until "Wind-Fly" in August, and the arrival of the first Joint Base Fort Lewis-McChord based C-17.

Ah, but you need something to wash down the austerity, and feeling of remoteness. The station is a wet station, so alcohol is available for purchase at the store or the local pub, called Gallagher's. The rule for alcohol consumption is simple, if the alcohol choices don't meet your standards....lower your standards.

Chief Beck's disclaimer: This blog reflects my observations and opinions. It is in no way to be construed as official information. The views expressed here are not the views of Raytheon Polar Services Company (RPSC), the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), the National Science Foundation (NSF), or any other entity acting in an official capacity in Antarctica.