Down to McMurdo Station

Inside C-17, helicopter in background

The trip down to Antarctica went smoothly.  We all showed up at the Antarctica Center at Christchurch airport early in the morning.  The commander and I had a quick breakfast and coffee before we boarded the giant C-17 US Air Force aircraft.

Interestingly on this tour, I will not wear a USAF Chaplain uniform.  This is because I am to support the civilian population here too, and they want me to seem more accessible to all the people.  So the New Zealander’s made me a special shirt for us chaplains to wear here.

Most of the passengers were civilians going down for the season (the Spring and Summer of Antarctica) and work for a company called Raytheon.

It was a fully packed flight.  Full of people and cargo, even a helicopter!!   I wondered if the people would want a prayer before we took off, but did not want to force it on them.  I asked the commander, he said it usually was not done.  So, as usual when I fly, I prayed silently before take off.

We could not see out, as the cargo bay has no windows.  In the middle of the cargo bay were seats, like an airline plane has, and people also sat on the side along the fuselage. 

The flight down was about 5 hours.  About 30 minutes before we landed everyone started putting on their extreme cold weather gear. We landed on an ice runway called Pegasus, about 20 miles out to sea, frozen sea that is!  

I put on all my gear and braced for landing and the cold air as I exited the plane.  When I walked down the stairs,  a cold blast wave hit my face.  The hairs in my nostrils promptly froze.   I lugged my bags across the ice to a giant bus with wheels larger than you have ever seen, and we were taken to McMurdo and in processed. 

McMurdo Station looks like a little town on a hillside.  It actually reminds me of a mining town, but has a college feel to it.  There are dorm buildings, a dining facility, a small store, a couple of bars, labs for research, a small hospital, three gyms, a chapel, many buildings....  I still have yet to explore it all.