Miscellaneous from McMurdo Base

Here are some pictures I have taken since being here at McMurdo.  They are in no particular order or subject:

Scott's Discovery Hut and its relation to McMurdo Station (in the background).

The interior of Scott's Discovery Hut.

100 year-old hay for Scott's ponies.  Just inside the entry door  of the Discovery Hut.

Dog Biscuit box for Scott's dogs.  By treaty, no more dogs are allowed in Antarctica.

These are the (blurry) dog biscuits themselves.

Fur hats and gloves from one of the many groups that used this  hut for supplies over about a 20 year period.  These are probably seal skin.  No more seal hunting either, fortunately.

The center-pole roof design of the Scott Discovery Hut.  This structure was made in England, disassembled and reassembled in Antarctica.  It proved so cold that no one ever used it for living quarters - preferring the ships that were nearby.  The frost on the ceiling is probably from the breath of visitors.

Right outside the Discovery Hut is McMurdo Sound.  The Prince Albert Mountains are  across the Sound.

This is a pathway down to the Sound from the Hut.  It is strictly forbidden to walk out onto the ice as there are open leads and thin ice between the pressure ridges.  In order to venture onto the ice you must have a two-day Sea Ice training course.  This is the area where the Observation Tube is placed in the ice most summers.