Our Friday morning C-17 flight to the ice went smoothly; we got away a little later than planned, but the seating and temperature in the plane were comfortable, and the crew let us visit the cockpit! Our flight had something like 110 passengers, just about all USAP folks bound for McMurdo station. Disembarking on the Phoenix airfield felt very familiar, bright white and crisp cold, no smell except burning jet fuel, fata morgana at the horizon. We had gorgeous weather for this time of year - calm and mid -20s C, and the view never gets old. Some folks had driven a Haaglund (a “hag”, as we tend to call them) out from Scott Base to meet the kiwi contingent, and something like half an hour later, we arrived at Scott Base!

Here’s a little video clip from this Sunday evening, in much flatter lighting conditions than we had Friday evening: