It takes a while to find solid landing sites next to thin sea ice like this; the pilots need a solid 30 inches to land the helicopter. By the time we found a spot and got sorted out for sampling it was getting late in the day, we are grateful for the helicopter crew’s willingness to stay out a little longer to get the job done!
Back home there was little time to rest. We had to re-sterilize our equipment and get turned around quickly for a trip to Taylor Glacier the next day. The weather didn’t look too promising from the McMurdo helicopter pad but we decided go ahead and try for it. We made it across the Sound and all the way up the Taylor Valley before high winds forced us to turn around. It was heartbreaking to look down on our sampling site and not be able to reach it, but the pilots here are an experienced bunch and we have to trust their judgment. Conditions continued to deteriorate as we crossed McMurdo Sound back to the Station. We were within 10 minutes of the helo pad when visibility and a rapidly descending ceiling forced us to turn back around and return to the west side of the Sound. Having just been chased east by bad weather it was a little like being caught in a vise. This sort of thing happens fairly frequently however, and as a result there’s a way out. A small fueling station and field camp is maintained at a site called Marble Point, at the foot of the Wilson-Piedemont Glacier. Three people staff the fueling station and they’re always ready for visitors. The crew of another helicopter, also trapped on the west side of McMurdo Sound, was already there. We sat down for a large, delicious hot lunch, cookies, and lots of coffee before deciding what to do.Marble Point is very close to our old sampling site on the Wilson-Piedemont Glacier so we decided to take the opportunity to collect fresh snow from nearby. This is a sample we were planning to collect later in the week. It didn’t take too long (it was probably the easiest sample we’ve collected on the whole trip), so we enjoyed the scenery while we waited for the helicopter to take us back to Marble Point for more waiting. And wait we did. Just as we were reconciling ourselves to spending the night at Marble Point (which with their cozy bunkhouse is not a bad thing) a brief weather window opened around McMurdo. We hurriedly loaded the helicopter and went for it. It was an interesting flight. A full ground blizzard was blowing at the sea ice surface as we flew into McMurdo, it looked like a vast river of snow moving underneath. At altitude the helicopter was riding on waves of air, it felt rather like being on a small boat in ocean swells. The motion was never alarming, just a constant reminder of the energy on the other side of the thin plexiglas windows.
Shortly after we landed the weather window closed. Our flight to Taylor was rescheduled today and canceled. We are now 0 for 3 on Taylor Glacier. Tomorrow we will try to visit our Tent Island site which should be easier than reaching a glacier deep in a windy valley. That leaves Friday and Saturday for renewed attempts at Taylor. After that we need to close up shop and get ready to head home!