There are many well-established traditions at the South Pole, and the “Race Around the World” (above) is one of them—a fun run that covers about a two-mile circumference around the South Pole, crossing through all the world’s time zones. Costumes optional, but part of the fun. Last week at the Pole they celebrated Christmas, with […]
The holiday season is often a busy time of year for many people, and things are no different at the South Pole. Last week, the IceCube winterovers had their hands full with some detector troubleshooting and maintenance—below they are seen testing batteries and swapping them out at the IceCube lab—as well as clearing snow from […]
It was a fairly busy week at the Pole. IceCube’s new winterovers made their first IceTop snow measurements, an outdoor task that requires daylight to perform. Driving around the detector in a PistenBully helps take care of business more quickly and easily. Since it’s summer there, the weather is rather mild (for the Pole!), but the skies […]
The sun provided all sorts of photo opportunities at the Pole last week. Here we see IceCube winterover Josh framed nicely in front of a sun halo with faint sun dogs. […]
More planes (and more fresh faces) arrived at the Pole last week. With five planes total during the week, most of the winter crew has departed. […]
The first Basler plane arrived at the South Pole last week, bringing a few newcomers and carrying away some outgoing winterovers. […]
Last week it warmed up a bit at the Pole, rising from about -45 ºF (-43 ºC) to about -15 ºF (-26 ºC) over the course of the week. Much more summerlike. […]
Every year, the IceCube Collaboration sends two winterovers to the South Pole for at least 12 months. Their special duty is to keep the IceCube detector running smoothly. This year, we are delighted to have one new winterover, Josh Veitch-Michaelis, and welcome back a veteran winterover, Martin Wolf. […]
Last week, IceCube’s current winterovers, John and Yuya, officially completed a full year at the South Pole, and they’re still going. Their new replacements have not yet arrived, but they are on their way. […]
It’s a harsh environment at the South Pole. And on windy days, you can really feel it—even in the photos. The flags at the ceremonial South Pole really take a beating. […]