We left Christchurch on the C17 Globe Master around 8:30am this morning and arrived at Ross Island 5 hours later. The C17 is a cargo transporter. There is no asking for a window seat on a C17 - there are only two portholes in the cargo-passenger section - for checking the status of the "runway" before the ladder is lowered. I guess one could make oneself comfortable during the flight.
I could not tell that we landed on a sea ice runway. It felt like a regular landing. We were picked up in a van, and it slowed down as we approached McMurdo Station. It turns out that the tide is about 0.5 meter, and there is some give in the sea ice at the coastline!
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| C17 on sea ice runway. In the summer, the ice thins and this sea ice runway is not usable. A runway on the ice shelf (far distance) is used instead. |
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| The T-junction is where the sea ice meets the coast. In the summer, this is a port, and tankers deliver supplies and take away garbage and recycling. |
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