Saturday morning we reported to the MCC for transport to the ice runway and the first of the four flights en route back to the US. As we drove from the MCC down to the runway I got a little bit nostalgic thinking again about the experiences we’ve had and what an amazing place Antarctica is, but make no mistake, I was ready, and thrilled, to be on my way home.

We got lucky in that we were to fly out on a Kiwi C-130, operated by the Royal New Zealand Air Force. This is a propeller-based plane, as opposed to the jet engine C-141 that we took down to the Ice. While the southbound flight was only 5 hours, the northbound flight would be a little over 7. However, the alternative was a US LC-130, which is the same as a C-130 but is ski-equipped, enabling it to land on much harsher snow-covered surfaces such as deep field camps. The LC-130 takes about 8 ½ hours, so the 7-hour flight on the Kiwi C-130 was the best option we could hope for (the C-141’s stopped flying in mid-November due to softer conditions on the ice runway).

I mentioned previously that we’d be stopping by the Italian base, Terra Nova Bay, on our way north, but that was cancelled due to the backups resulting from the big storm. There were two C-130 flights north on Saturday, within 30 minutes of each other, and each flight carried 49 passengers. The setup on the C-130 is very similar to the C-141 that we took south, in that we sat on cargo webbing bench seats, in four rows running lengthwise through the fuselage. Even though the C-130 is a much smaller airframe than the C-141, it seemed slightly roomier, as we weren’t completely interlocking knees with the people across from us this time.

Once we got in the air I went back to the cargo ramp and laid down for the remainder of the flight. If you’ve ever seen pictures of a military plane unloading cargo out the back of it, via a ramp, it was most likely a C-130, and the ramp on which they wheel out the cargo is what I was laying on. This section of the aircraft wasn’t heated, and at cruising altitude it’s about –70 degrees outside. Therefore, the metal flooring got very, very, very cold. I was bundled from head to toe in all my ECW gear and still froze my bum off, but it was better than the alternative, seven hours in a cargo sling seat staring at the person across from me. It was so cold that the juice box given to me in my lunch bag was frozen solid within 30 minutes.

Finally the captain came over the PA and announced that we should return to our seats and prepare for landing. Once again the landing was smooth, and stepping off the plane into the warm late spring New Zealand air was amazing. There was a nice warm breeze blowing, the smell of rain in the air, green trees and grass, and no snow or ice to be found. We had gone over five weeks without seeing so much as a single piece of vegetation – no trees, shrubs, grass, or anything, just rocks, snow, and ice. We hadn’t seen a single insect, person less than 18 years old, or animal aside from seals or skuas. To be back in civilization was a very nice feeling to say the least.

We were whisked into a waiting shuttle bus and taken to the international terminal at the Christchurch airport where we got in line for customs. This was pretty straightforward, since we obviously hadn’t been anywhere other than Antarctica since leaving New Zealand. After that we grabbed our bags, changed out of our ECW gear for the last time, and headed out of the terminal.

A member of the CDC was waiting for us with a cargo truck, into which we unloaded our bags and then walked over to the CDC. We unpacked our ECW gear bags, checked in our stuff, and then got our travel and accommodation packets from the travel office. We were thrilled to see that we’d be flying out the next day. Somehow the travel office came through for us, as most of our colleagues were told they were on a waiting list, with no definite departure date. The flights must have been extremely full, and Josh was actually on a different itinerary than Scott and I, though we’d all get to Denver on the same final flight.

We grabbed a shuttle back to the Heritage, called our wives with the great news, showered, and then met our friend Liz Kauffman from the Denver office. She was on her way south, as she’ll be finishing the season – through February – at McMurdo. We had dinner at Coyotes and then hit a couple of the local watering holes, exchanging stories about our deployment. This will be Liz’s sixth trip down and she knows the program inside and out. She and Scott also gave Josh and I a hard time about a few inconsistencies in our blogs. I’m supposed to inform everyone that while the South Pole Traverse is in fact building a traverse route to the South Pole, it won’t be done this year. They’re going about 1/3 of the way. So “sorry” to anyone that made travel arrangements or was otherwise adversely affected by that incorrect statement.

Sunday morning we all met again for breakfast, then did a little shopping. Josh had a 12:30 flight out of CHC, but Scott and I didn’t leave until 4:30. We all were able to finish the shopping we had put off on the way south, so we felt like we had accomplished our mission and were ready to head home. At 2:00 we grabbed a shuttle and headed to the airport, thrilled to death to be on our way.

The flights home were pretty standard. The only notable things were that on the 12-hour Auckland > Los Angeles leg I was seated next to a small colicky child. I love kids, and usually crying or even screaming does not affect me, but by this point I was fairly exhausted, and waking up every 30 minutes to a 200db shrill scream got a bit tiresome (pardon the pun). We were also woken up around 3am by the captain asking if there were any qualified medical personnel in attendance that could assist with an on-board emergency. That was a little bit scary. To top it all off we had some major turbulence for several hours in the middle of the night – some of the most extreme turbulence I’ve been witness to, with the plane dropping and lurching quite a bit. Despite all of this, or maybe because I’d enjoyed a melatonin tablet washed down by three beers, I was able to sleep pretty well.

Finally, at about 3:30pm local time on Sunday – an hour before we had departed Christchurch – we touched down in Denver. I was met at the baggage carousel by Sara and it was like the “Dream Weaver” scene in Wayne’s World, where she was walking towards me in slo-mo with her hair blowing in the wind and a light coming from behind her :-)

I had dreamed about this moment for weeks, and it was hard to believe I was actually standing in Denver and that was actually the real live Sara Stueve walking towards me. After hugs and kisses we waited an insanely long time for our bags to finally come around; once they did we got in the car and I drove for the first time in almost 6 weeks. Dexter was thrilled to death to see us, and after my first Chipotle burrito in 6 weeks I slept and slept and slept, not waking up until 12:30 today, grateful to be in my own soft cozy bed, with my family, and with a safe, highly successful Antarctic deployment behind me.

I’ve said it many times, but it was an amazing journey, one I’ll never forget. My mind has been opened so much to the world around me, and I have all kinds of hopes and plans for future world travel with Sara. I’ve met a plethora of amazing people and seen just as many amazing things. We were able to accomplish our mission, and more – the local POLAR ICE install wasn’t initially planned. The highlights for me would have to include the Polar Plunge, Cape Evans and Scott’s Hut, the Punk Party, and Happy Camper School. I hope this blog wasn’t too long-winded at times, though I’m sure it was. I appreciate all of the support you’ve all given me and I look forward to seeing everyone again. If our paths don’t cross beforehand, I hope you all have a very happy holiday season.

Over and out,
~Matt

P.S. I’ve posted a few final photos as well.