I climbed Ob Hill (short for Observation Hill) for the first time this season on my Wednesday night off. This is a volcanic mound of earth that sits about 900 feet high right next to McMurdo Station. Last year, it was covered with white snow. This year, very little snow settled in McMurdo over the winter, and the hill has been nearly entirely bare. From the top, we have a great view over the rippling sea ice and across to the continent and the huge mountain ranges it hosts.
My friend, Aaron, a photographer (first and last picture on this post are by him), took the climb with me. We enjoyed the gorgeous view of sea ice and mountains with the sinking sun. The temperature in town was +5F and the temperature at the top was probably about -5F. Even at the top of the hill, the wind was all but gone which provided us with one of the nicest evenings to take in our part of the Ross Sea.
In the cold air, it did not take long for my sunglasses to fog up and freeze. There is nothing more annoying than glazed and frozen glasses; especially in Antarctica where the UV rays are especially strong. Thankfully, for most of the climb, we were on the shadowed side of the hill. I had fun watching the frost grow on my hat and scarf. I even felt my eyelashes sticking together with ice.
One of the most intriguing pictures from Aaron was one of my eyes in the low sunlight. I like the color, but it is surreal. I fiddled around with the image in Photoshop and came up with a black and white photo and the crazy eye color. The white on my hat is a frosty coating of my breath.
I climbed Ob Hill (short for Observation Hill) for the first time this season on my Wednesday night off. This is a volcanic mound of earth that sits about 900 feet high right next to McMurdo Station. Last year, it was covered with white snow. This year, very little snow settled in McMurdo over the winter, and the hill has been nearly entirely bare. From the top, we have a great view over the rippling sea ice and across to the continent and the huge mountain ranges it hosts.
My friend, Aaron, a photographer (first and last picture on this post are by him), took the climb with me. We enjoyed the gorgeous view of sea ice and mountains with the sinking sun. The temperature in town was +5F and the temperature at the top was probably about -5F. Even at the top of the hill, the wind was all but gone which provided us with one of the nicest evenings to take in our part of the Ross Sea.
In the cold air, it did not take long for my sunglasses to fog up and freeze. There is nothing more annoying than glazed and frozen glasses; especially in Antarctica where the UV rays are especially strong. Thankfully, for most of the climb, we were on the shadowed side of the hill. I had fun watching the frost grow on my hat and scarf. I even felt my eyelashes sticking together with ice.
One of the most intriguing pictures from Aaron was one of my eyes in the low sunlight. I like the color, but it is surreal. I fiddled around with the image in Photoshop and came up with a black and white photo and the crazy eye color. The white on my hat is a frosty coating of my breath.
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