The day before I was working on packing the Pegasus Road with a Delta, driving back and forth along a 6 mile section to compact the road in preparation for the following day's transport and to help repair the damage from the blizzard. It was nice to be out there again for one last time. Without passengers. Without a deadline. With the clearest and most crystalline skies anyone could imagine.
We transported at 0400 on Sunday, the 27th. Waiting for people to appear the skies were pinkish with morning glow, something not seen around here for a long time. Amusingly, 2 people on the manifest did not show up and will presumably be escorted to Monday's flight by someone holding their hands to make certain that they make the plane. Unconsciously wanting to overwinter?
Pegasus was -11 degrees Fahrenheit with no wind. Bitter but bearable. When the sun finally came up over White Island it was spectacular. Something I've come to expect of this place. A tinge of sadness at leaving.
We flew in a US Air Force C-17. What an experience! So noisy that earplugs were really needed, not just recommended. Spacious, cavernous. Seating along the outside wall, but rows of 5 seats from the front back to the cargo. Sort of like theater seating. No windows to savor the views.
Landed in Christchurch and had a few hours there to turn in our ECW gear and, for some people, to stash gear for their future seasons in Antarctica. Then it was off in a RNZAF Boeing 757 humanitarian flight to Auckland. The idea was to prevent us being a burden on the already stretched resources of hard hit Christchurch. There were already approximately 60 of us in Christchurch or the South Island before we arrived and they all had to be accounted for and assisted. Only 1 person had a slight injury, though a number of people had to flee their rooms with what they wore. Some people lost everything in hotels too dangerous for reentry. It would have been bad form to drop another 200 of us on the community.
Auckland is such a contrast to McMurdo! Warm and humid. Green. Lush. First visit was to the amazing (and free) botanical garden.
Thanks, readers, for being part of all this over the last 5 months.
Addendum: I ran across this picture after getting off the Ice. It's taken from the ridge separating Christchurch and Lytteleton a few moments after the earthquake.
 |
| A last view of the Royal Society Range, part of the Trans-Antarctic Mountains. What appears like a cliff is a pretty well-developed Fata Morgana mirage. |
We transported at 0400 on Sunday, the 27th. Waiting for people to appear the skies were pinkish with morning glow, something not seen around here for a long time. Amusingly, 2 people on the manifest did not show up and will presumably be escorted to Monday's flight by someone holding their hands to make certain that they make the plane. Unconsciously wanting to overwinter?
Pegasus was -11 degrees Fahrenheit with no wind. Bitter but bearable. When the sun finally came up over White Island it was spectacular. Something I've come to expect of this place. A tinge of sadness at leaving.
We flew in a US Air Force C-17. What an experience! So noisy that earplugs were really needed, not just recommended. Spacious, cavernous. Seating along the outside wall, but rows of 5 seats from the front back to the cargo. Sort of like theater seating. No windows to savor the views.
Landed in Christchurch and had a few hours there to turn in our ECW gear and, for some people, to stash gear for their future seasons in Antarctica. Then it was off in a RNZAF Boeing 757 humanitarian flight to Auckland. The idea was to prevent us being a burden on the already stretched resources of hard hit Christchurch. There were already approximately 60 of us in Christchurch or the South Island before we arrived and they all had to be accounted for and assisted. Only 1 person had a slight injury, though a number of people had to flee their rooms with what they wore. Some people lost everything in hotels too dangerous for reentry. It would have been bad form to drop another 200 of us on the community.
Thanks, readers, for being part of all this over the last 5 months.
Addendum: I ran across this picture after getting off the Ice. It's taken from the ridge separating Christchurch and Lytteleton a few moments after the earthquake.
Thanks for sharing your adventure! I have learned a lot about a part of the world I will most likely never explore. I hope your travels home are uneventful! Again, thank you.
ReplyDelete