12.16.2003
FIRSTS
>>> First Emperor
First photo of bathing beauties in Antarctica with an Emperor Penguin.
Debbie -- fellow DA and photographer from Philly.
We immediately sent 6 DAs out with one of the shuttle drivers for a look when we found out that there was an Emperor Penguin out at the ice runway. He was the first of his kind (we've seen Adelies) to wander in from the ice edge, now 8 miles away. He's now been more or less in the same spot for over a week -- so we made a special trip out for the photo shoot.
If it melts completely, there will most likely be innumerable Emperors and Adelies right outside of town, and even killer whales if we're lucky.
Flying solo with Mount Erebus in the background.
>>> First Person to Fly a Home-built Single-engine Plane Over the South Pole
You may have seen a story in the news about Australian Jon Johanson who was "forced" to land his RV-4 plane here when it ran short of fuel. Johanson flew over the South Pole after travelling 5,880 km in just over 24 hours from New Zealand. His plane is shown here with Kimber, another DA.
The rumor is that he planned to land here, as his plane wouldn't have enough fuel to get him to Argentina, (his supposed final destination) with or without headwinds (the reason he claimed he didn't have enough fuel). We have a policy against tourism here, so he camped out for a few days out on the ice in fuel huts. At first he was heralded as a renegade hero, and we all felt bad that the US and Kiwis wouldn't give (or sell) him the 150 gallons of fuel he needed to return.
Eventually we lost our love -- he turned out to be pretty arrogant. He pissed in one of the fuelie's water bottles one night -- and it's pretty warm now, so he had no excuse; he was pretty un-apologetic and gruff with our management about his lack of contingency plan. In the end he was able to buy fuel from a woman pilot with a fuel cache here when she cancelled her trip to the Pole.
Just another guy with a list.
>>> First Ever Antarctic Cyclo-cross Race
Erik raced (and came in second in his heat; 5th overall) in the first-ever cyclo-cross race here in McMurdo this past weekend. Since no one hurt themselves (there's a BIG focus on safety here), they'll probably do it again.
>>> First Sighting of Santa in Antarctica
Santa kicked off the Christmas season with an early trip to Antarctica just in time for the galley holiday party. He still has plenty of time to get back to the North Pole to pack the sleigh for his Christmas trip, so no worries.
Here's Santa asking Sandwich if she's been naughty or nice.
>>> First Emperor
First photo of bathing beauties in Antarctica with an Emperor Penguin.
Debbie -- fellow DA and photographer from Philly.
We immediately sent 6 DAs out with one of the shuttle drivers for a look when we found out that there was an Emperor Penguin out at the ice runway. He was the first of his kind (we've seen Adelies) to wander in from the ice edge, now 8 miles away. He's now been more or less in the same spot for over a week -- so we made a special trip out for the photo shoot.
If it melts completely, there will most likely be innumerable Emperors and Adelies right outside of town, and even killer whales if we're lucky.
Flying solo with Mount Erebus in the background.
>>> First Person to Fly a Home-built Single-engine Plane Over the South Pole
You may have seen a story in the news about Australian Jon Johanson who was "forced" to land his RV-4 plane here when it ran short of fuel. Johanson flew over the South Pole after travelling 5,880 km in just over 24 hours from New Zealand. His plane is shown here with Kimber, another DA.
The rumor is that he planned to land here, as his plane wouldn't have enough fuel to get him to Argentina, (his supposed final destination) with or without headwinds (the reason he claimed he didn't have enough fuel). We have a policy against tourism here, so he camped out for a few days out on the ice in fuel huts. At first he was heralded as a renegade hero, and we all felt bad that the US and Kiwis wouldn't give (or sell) him the 150 gallons of fuel he needed to return.
Eventually we lost our love -- he turned out to be pretty arrogant. He pissed in one of the fuelie's water bottles one night -- and it's pretty warm now, so he had no excuse; he was pretty un-apologetic and gruff with our management about his lack of contingency plan. In the end he was able to buy fuel from a woman pilot with a fuel cache here when she cancelled her trip to the Pole.
Just another guy with a list.
>>> First Ever Antarctic Cyclo-cross Race
Erik raced (and came in second in his heat; 5th overall) in the first-ever cyclo-cross race here in McMurdo this past weekend. Since no one hurt themselves (there's a BIG focus on safety here), they'll probably do it again.
>>> First Sighting of Santa in Antarctica
Santa kicked off the Christmas season with an early trip to Antarctica just in time for the galley holiday party. He still has plenty of time to get back to the North Pole to pack the sleigh for his Christmas trip, so no worries.
Here's Santa asking Sandwich if she's been naughty or nice.
