Winterovers at the South Pole are subjected to lots of training—some of it is in preparation before they reach the Pole but much of it is while they’re on site. It’s a small community that winters over at the South Pole, and they are essentially isolated from the rest of the world throughout the dark […]
There was plenty of activity last week at the Pole. IceCube’s winterovers attended a presentation by the Antarctic operations manager, did some maintenance tasks out at the IceCube Lab, and participated in ERT training, which involved a staged explosion in the generator room as a prompt for a mass casualty incident drill. The winterovers received […]
Last week at the Pole, IceCube’s new winterovers had occasion to visit the IceCube Lab, a short trek from the main station. That’s Kalvin testing out a pair of cross country skis while he was there. It was a busy week, though, with multiple outings to take snow depth measurements and extend stakes where needed. […]
It’s summer at the Pole, with new people coming and other folks leaving. IceCube’s new winterovers, Connor and Kalvin, are settling in well. They spent time with the previous winterovers on turnover training, which included a trip out to the IceCube Lab, and the IceCube detector remained quiet and well behaved for their introductory week. […]
The time has come for our current winterovers, Marc and Hrvoje, to pass the torch to the new winterovers that arrived at the South Pole last week. As a winterover, individuals brave the unforgiving environment to spend a year—sometimes longer—at the South Pole, half of which is enveloped in complete darkness. Every year, two winterovers […]
Seems like only yesterday when IceCube winterovers Hrvoje and Marc arrived at the South Pole to begin their adventure. And yet here they are, greeting their replacements as they prepare to hand over the reins. Bad weather delayed some incoming flights during the past week, but in the end IceCube’s new winterovers, Connor Duffy and […]
This could be IceCube winterover Marc’s last weather balloon launch at the South Pole. And what a nice image, with a sun halo in the sky as a backdrop. Marc has helped launch quite a few balloons during his time at the Pole, but that time is now dwindling, for both him and fellow IceCube […]
Summer season has begun—there were two flights in and out of the Pole last week. The first flight just stopped for refueling (below) after flying through South America on its way to McMurdo Station. But they left behind some fresh fruit (or “freshies,” as they call them)—a very welcome sight after 8 months of no […]
With the first planes of the summer season soon to arrive, it’s full steam ahead for readying the station for new arrivals. Among the many preparations, the winterovers reinstalled flags along the skiway. The structures off in the distance are the radio and satellite communications facilities for the Pole. A sunny day provided good conditions […]
Oh, we thought they were done clearing snow. Guess not—look at all that accumulation still on the front deck of the IceCube Lab. A few hours later, though, and most of it is gone. Phew! The IceCube detector was quiet last week, but IceCube’s winterovers kept themselves busy. Besides shoveling snow, they replaced outdoor flags […]