Historical McMurdo

I have had so many conversations with Old Antarctic Explorers (OAEs). They tell amazing stories about the way things used to be or some random adventure they got to go. It really increases the romanticism of this place because so many of those adventures seem so far away from our current experiences. One woman that I was chatting with, has been working here or in Greenland since 1981, four years after my birth.

As many stories as I hear, few things truly make Antarctica like the pictures. The pictures tell stories on their own and make me hunger for my own adventures. Of the pictures below, from 1965, my favorite is the one that shows open water around Hut Point. I've heard it talked about so much, but I have never seen a picture of it. I never would have imagined that ships, that look like warships, could be that close to shore in an area I identify as being covered in ice.











Dogs were banned because they were giving penguins distemper.


For perspective, that is Hut Point on the right and yes, they did dump their garbage there.


This is the open water that we all hope for and that Scott first sailed.