A trip through the ice.

Every year the best training we do is our dive locker brief followed, often the next day, by a check out dive. This dive is to make sure that everyone is comfortable in their gear and ready to go off and science. As this is my 9th dive season down here, I was able to jump in the water first to shake off the cobwebs.

I got to dive with my friends and colleagues Alex Brett, Steve Rupp, and Rob Robbins. Alex and Steve are the dive supervisors down here, and Rob is the dive safety officer who oversees the whole Antarctic Dive program.

Somewhat entertainingly, this was also Rob’s check out dive - although he has dove here more than 2,500 times. Needless to say, none of us were surprised that he was pretty comfortable in the water and for me, it was like returning home. I love this place.

As a check out dive, we don’t bring any cameras along since the goal is to become either acquainted or re-aquanted with the cold water. But on a subsequent dive I was able to capture some images of the amazing underwater animals and landscapes.

Spreading our wings South-bound, Antarctica

How does the Cold Dark Benthos team gets to McMurdo Station, Antarctica? Behold one of the few Ice Runways in the world: Phoenix Field!

Phoenix Runway in Ross Sea Ice Shelf, Antarctica

On the early hours of the day, we made our way to the U.S. Antarctic Program Passenger Terminal, ran by the U.S. Navy. The check-in for the flight is slightly different, where while there's no limit to the number of checked bags, we get a weight cap of 85 pounds per person. This includes from our cold weather clothing to our cameras and dive gear. We even wore our cold weather exposure gear on the flight to be ready for the -20F ahead of us!

Aboard a C-17 military plane, we had a smooth 5 hour ride ahead of us, including a sneak peak on the pilot cabin.

Once we arrived, words cannot describe our excitement of seeing the eerie white ice shelf in contrast with the Royal Society Range mountains for the first time. After two years of trainings and weather delays, we made it to Antarctica!

¡Versión Español!

An Intro-duck-tion to New Zealand

After arriving in Christchurch on our way to Antarctica, getting our ducks in a row for the season, we had an unexpected extension to our layover. Some mechanical issues with our plane, coupled with a huge storm rolling into McMurdo Station, meant we had an 11-day stay in New Zealand.

There are worse places to be cooped up. Even after a large earthquake that devastated the city in 2011, Christchurch has beautiful landmarks, botanical gardens, and museums to explore.

The food selections were certainly not limited, with influence of cuisines from around the world. From coffee shops to public markets, we feasted like royalty. We explored the city while catching up with past, current, and future colleagues heading to the frozen continent.

We also stopped by the International Antarctic Center, where we caught glimpses of what this season would hold. Experiencing polar fowl weather, daydreaming of diving, and familiarizing ourselves with the stations and history of research in Antarctica.

We also took advantage of the extra days to get out of town and catch a bus to Lyttelton. Leaving a trail of bread crumbs behind us, we climbed up to Mt. Pleasant, catching views of the port town, over the ridge into Christchurch, and meeting the spring lambs.

Also, did I mention New Zealand has a bunch of ducks? Well, other water birds too, but everywhere we went we were met with friendly and photogenic friends. Next, we'll spread our wings and dive into the journey of how we get to Antarctica.