3590 meters above sea level
With a sense of accomplishment, this noon we bid farewell to the packed snow and the lone temperature array transmitter, which is all that was left to mark our drilling site 91. Under a cool, cloudless sky, the horizon looked identical in all directions: flat and white, with lighter sky near the horizon fading into a deep blue straight up.
Very small patterns formed by drifted snow, less than ten centimeters high, now provide the major surface features. Such a huge expanse dominated by the smallest of features! The calm, clear, sunny day makes the ice sheet seem so docile, such a tranquil place to be.
After driving for a short while, the only pieces of evidence to give one a sense of perspective in this broad expanse are our tracks and the vision of the vehicles following us in the train. We settle into an afternoon of driving, with passengers reading, listening to ipods, working on their computers, or simply pondering the horizon. Tonight we will stop at a point about 50 km away that will likely look almost identical to where we are now.
This contribution is from the log of the Norwegian-US Scientific Traverse Team, who are en route from Troll Station to the South Pole Station. Much more information can be found here.
Photo credit: Mary Albert