17 November, 2000

Still Here

The reporting time for our flight was supposed to be 7:30 am but in the morning it was postponed until 11. Soon after, the flight was cancelled for the day. A look outside revealed the reason. The falling snow along with the wind had reduced visibility to less than a quarter mile, a situation known as Condition 2. This is a disappointment but it is not an unusual occurrence. Waiting to travel is part of life in Antarctica.

This view out the window toward the ice runway shows why we aren't flying today.

Even though there are no penguins around McMurdo Station right now, I did find a few in the science library that were willing to pose. This is a male Emperor penguin and its chick. They are the largest of all penguin species standing over a meter tall. The male incubates its single egg through the frigid, dark austral winter while the female is frolicking in the ocean.

The smaller Adelie penguin is displayed with one of its eggs. In the back is the larger Emperor egg. I don't think the fuzzy, multicolored chick is really an Adelie penguin.