Since my last post...

So it has been a while since my last post, over a month in fact, and lots of things have happened since the end of January.
The cargo vessel came and went, though not without some drama. While it was here we had a big storm blow in, which kicked up a lot of waves and caused the ship to early. All there cargo made it off, though a lot of stuff that was supposed to get back to the States is stuck in McMurdo for another year, including some science samples.

Big waves crashing into Hut Point during vessel

The next day, Hut Point covered in frost and spray

After that the summer season was more or less over, so people began trickling out and heading for warmer climes. I definitely had a rough time with all the goodbyes, so by the time last flight came I was ready for winter to start.

Waiting for the last flight to take off on a blustery Sunday morning

Sharing the sparkling wine/cider toast with Admiral Byrd. Winter has officially begun!

Sometime in there we also had our first sunset. At this point we are well on our way to Antarctic night, with 13 hours between sunset and sunrise. We should be up to 24-hour darkness in a few weeks.

First sunset!

In the meantime, we’ve had some beautiful weather, with steam rising off the water as the air temperature drops. We’ve also had some pretty windy, overcast weather. No Con 1 weather yet, but I’m hoping for some of that later in the season.

A beautiful (if windy) day at Arrival Heights, with mist rising from the water below.

And a blustery day at Arrival Heights. The winds were at about 30kt here.

Also, with that big storm back in February, we had some pretty heavy erosion and undercutting of the shoreline. Right now we’re not suppose to go within 10 ft of the water and Hut Point has lost its point.

Hut Point is falling apart! It kind of looks like a fish.

Other than that, things have started to settle into a winter routine. The station is much quieter, which makes sense since we're down to 142 people, compared to 800+ for most of the season. The family table has returned to the galley, so while meals usually seem pretty empty, there is usually a "big" group eating there, with a scattering of others elsewhere in the galley and a lot of people eating in their rooms. I'm still getting used to the change in energy around station, but I've got a couple of things to keep me active. A group of us are doing strength training after work. I'm volunteering in the craft room, and today I'm getting orientated to the espresso machine, so that I can be a barista one evening a week. Then there is the usually soccer night, and SAR training once or twice a week. I'll be putting up some more about that in a future post.