Part 4: McMurdo Station

December 13, 2024

Quick overnight

Our stay in McMurdo was unusually short-- less than 24 hours. After arriving at the station around 1AM, we went straight to the dorms to go to sleep. In the morning, breakfast is served from 4:30AM to 7:30AM, so we were up early to catch the end of breakfast. Everyone arriving on station has a short orientation at 8AM, then we visited IT to get our laptops connected to the wifi networks, and visited the gift shop to get postcards and souvenirs. We also visited the medical clinic to get medicine that prevents altitude sickness before heading to the South Pole. 

Mini-excursion

In the afternoon, we took a walk down to the water to see the seals hanging out on the ice. 

Departure

After dinner, we packed up to leave, since our departure time from the station was 11PM for the one hour drive back to the airfield. Then we left at 1AM to embark on the 3 hour flight to the South Pole!