Theoretically, I was supposed to be in McMurdo today on R&R, but out plane boomeranged back to pole due to whiteout conditions at Williams field. I’m told this is the 3rd time this has happened in memory. So pictures of penguins (hopefully) and seals will have to wait until we get to fly out, but in the meantime, please enjoy this post on New Years.

New years at the pole is a special time.  While there is no big dinner prepared (the galley deserves at least a bit of a break), they serve brunch on both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day since everyone gets both of those days off.  Except BICEP – they worked through New Year’s day to get some extra work done.  The festivities started New Year’s Eve with a roaring 20’s party, where we were all able to toast at midnight.

New Year’s Day is a very special time at the pole, because it is when the geographic pole marker is moved to it’s new, correct, location.  The ice under the station flows at about 30 ft per year, putting the marker in not quite in the right spot by the end of the year.  So each winter, the winterovers design and vote on a new marker design, and it is planted on January 1^st.

As part of the ceremony, everyone there (including people touring the pole from the camp) comes and forms a big spiral around the pole.  The marker is then passed, covered, from person to person until it reaches the middle. 

This year, we had one person from last winter still at the pole, and he placed the marker in the ice when it got to him.

When everything was done, we all went and got a quick picture with the new marker and went inside.  It’s going to be there for a year after all.

I went back out to take a better look later – the marker is very nice and very shiny.  They inscribed the names of the winterovers on the pole below it.