Driving from Scott Base to McMurdo Station

[@roachtoasties]

Rush hour, Antarctica style.

[@zeus982]

Lol one thing I did not expect to see were people getting their exercise on walking between the bases

[@enermaxstephens1051]

Yeah I wonder why they were doing that lol... just doesn't seem likely

[@charlie2640]

@@enermaxstephens1051 I ran the equipment in the building you see about half way on the left. I walked there most days for a year.

[@charlie2640]

@@enermaxstephens1051 There was an add on a bulletin board at the school I was going to that advertised for a person with a science background to run the cosmic ray monitoring station. One position at mcmurdo the other at the pole. I had always been interested in Antarctica and gave it a try. The pay was not great but it was worth it.

[@MarkJoseph81]

​@@charlie2640Hold on - define pay not being great.

[@robertfaught5174]

Drove that road a few times in WO 80-81, SS 82, WO 83-84 Thanks for the flash to the past.

[@MKirchner2525]

Awesome! And apparently you were down there before I was born. :-/

[@pipgarden]

Walked that road a few times back 82-83 summer season I think it was. Kiwi stationed at McMurdo, sometimes we trotted over to Scott Base. Thanks for posting.

[@musicmakelightning]

Last time I did that drive was to go to "American night" at the Scott Base bar (on Thursdays I believe). Also hoofed it a whole bunch of times on Sundays when there was nothing going on. You probably have to have a permit to do it now, but back in the early 2000s you could hike ObHill and go to Scott Base (to the gift shop, anyway) at will. Brings back memories.

[@jhk6205]

Is the THING still down there?????

[@bkeen7013]

I'm not entirely sure why I watched this.

[@KevinStokes]

You watched it because you will never get to see what is like to drive there.

[@NoiseshockOfficial]

@Javier L It's possible to get a job there and get to know the place. There also are expeditions from Argentina and probably many other places too, a bit expensive but that whole "it's prohibited" is a fallacy from people who need to believe in something.

[@machoman1139]

Almost same here

[@MWcrazyhorse]

@@NoiseshockOfficial So why is still nobody drilling in Antarctica or scowering for gold and uranium? Why is Antarctica so forbidden?

[@MWcrazyhorse]

@@mecchamina ah but who made the treaty and why?

[@PerthSurfer]

Enjoyed the ride and the scenery, thanks!

[@CocoOPNY]

Thank you so much for posting this, what a great idea! I’m an Antarctica nerd always looking up as much as I can find on living there. I check out the live cam at McMurdo (like I said, nerd) so this brought a lot of that up close. Beautiful Drive!

[@gwugluud]

Antarctica is weirdly fascinating to me as well, lol

[@S.BYH2O]

Put the word Antarctica in the title and you may have a million views

[@mooseandsquirellfriend]

Add ASMR in title and you may have 10 million views

[@whyjustyesterday]

@@mooseandsquirellfriend And is it too cold to put a butt in the thumbnail?

[@turkey4957]

Seriously lol some people have no clue to provide context to others outside their own little world. Antarctica should be in the title for the mainstream viewer who doesn’t know the names of these spots

[@avicenna3994]

Looks like they drive on the right hand side of the road in Antarctica - or at least in that part of it. Nice little fact I've learned today. 😄

[@OAE7477]

Know this road well. Used to jog it in bunny boots or NZ wool lined military boots, back in the 70's when I wintered. We had something called the 200 mile club. Would jog so far a day and keep progress charted in the Special Services building. Operated ham out of a shack in the pass. RIP Greg Nickles. He was the USARP scientist who missed the turn to Scott and drove his truck over the cliff one of the winters I was there. We had to store his body in the old incinerator building on the road to Scotts Hut for the winter until Winfly first flight when they could take his remains to Christchurch and back to states. Made for a spooky walk to the Hut in winter.

[@NoiseshockOfficial]

It's like arriving at an early human settlement on another planet, with all the machines and vehicles, the type of buildings and all. To think that this could be what it feels like. Some day...

[@freedomforall5745]

walked that road many times to use phones to call back home great time and great people there

[@aitf99]

Gave this a thumbs up just from the thumbnail. Thanks for posting this for people that will never go there in their lifes !! You rock buddy. And it looks a lot like certain places ive been in Canada.

[@charlie2640]

Thanks for posting this. I wintered over in 84-85. Took care of cosray and arrival heights. Some things have changed. Much looks the same. Actually it looks cleaner if you can believe that.

[@McMurdoStation]

I was Cosray 82-83. Do you know what happened to Little House?

[@charlie2640]

@@McMurdoStation sorry just saw your post. Little house was still being used while I was there. I think Kay Driscoll was the person running it. They were having trouble with funding. I think that cosray is gone now. Makes me a bit sad.

[@McMurdoStation]

@@charlie2640 Kay was with me in the mid-80s. That was her first year. I'll try to track her down and gossip. I saw someplace that the Cosray equipment had gone to a French station. Cosray was from the early 1960s to not too much of a surprise if it had reached the end of usefulness. Makes me sad too though.

[@charlie2640]

@@McMurdoStation Don't know what happened to Kay. Her winter when I was there was stressful for her I think. She broke all ties with the US base and had a relationship with one of the Kiwis. Much to the frustration of the NSF reps. I became the winterover NSF rep which was kind of a pain. I was too young and wish I had handled it better. Kay did not make my work easier. Still I would blame myself more then her. She did make extensive use of the Cosray kitchen as I believe that she was a vegetarian and didn't like the food in town. The BF3 tubes in the neutron detectors should still be good the problem was the old equipment that was used to count the events. Those old discrete transistor ring counters and paper tape. It was scheduled to be replace by new electronics the year I left. Still they were not willing to go with a simple CPU based counter and it was TTL gates and paper tape. A big step from what was there but they could have gone that next step. My winter was also busy as they added a building at Arrival heights with at least 4 systems in it that needed some work every day. So Arrival Heights, Cosray, and SSL. Sigh, Still I was not too busy as all the equipment worked fairly well, except for a door that broke off, a failed power transformer for the arrival heights building, and one of the experiments that got blown away in a storm (I found the parts and managed to piece it back together) Oh yes and the phone system broke and I spent lots of time getting it working as the phone tech guys were kind of useless. I don't stay in contact with anyone from my time there any more except the woman that ran the biolab in the winter. I had a good relationship with her and her husband who was working in the BFC. They have split up as he could not stop going to Antartica and she had moved on. Sounds like there was one person between you an I at McMurdo. I don't remember the name of the person I replaced. I think that he has a bit of a reputation and totaled a truck and spent lots of time drunk. I kept a fairly low profile by comparison. Still in spite of the occasional hard times I think of my year there very fondly and would not have missed it.

[@gmc9753]

This would probably be a sovereign citizen's paradise. No driver's license, no tags, no insurance needed!

[@brianisme6498]

You’d still be required to have a drivers license dickhead. You work for company to drive down their. And I don’t think your boss would be happy with you driving license from your home country

[@MarkJoseph81]

You'd be surprised.

[@SicilyJo]

What a gift to be able to watch this! A hearty thank you!

[@Kbear-xt9mh]

You're wearing a tee shirt and jeans in Antarctica...?

[@CocoOPNY]

I was thinking the same thing!!

[@faktumstream1beatz335]

Kbear2097 the weather changes u know....

[@akzebraminer]

Faktum Stream1Beatz Yeah. Only -15 °F

[@donaldclifford5763]

Yes, but it's a dry cold.

[@thestudentofficial5483]

Holy fuvk how

[@Rarestgameplayer]

It looks like a Greenland town.

[@MRosati5000]

The steel beams and the hoist.. I want that garage. Good for PA weather.

[@janetplanet4595]

t-shirt in antarctica...........no one can question that boldness

[@dylanashley799]

Never forget how lucky you are to experience this

[@TimJones-ze7kr]

I was on Deep Freeze back in the late 80s on board the U. S. Polar Star breaking an ice path into McMurdo. Still not tied up at the station, the second day 4 crew members who were selected for a ship's helo flight over due to their work standards were flown over. I was one of the four lucky? ones to be selected. We're were able to tour the base prior to the rest of our crew. The rest of the crew were the lucky ones. Our overnight there was like being in isolation, old western bar town, dirty, and a ratio of 10 males to one female. We were boarded in an abandon barracks, at least there was heat. Best part of the tour was when the ship's helo took us back to the Polar Star. We looked so forward to being back on our newer ship with good living quarters and outstanding chow. A person has to be on drugs to want to winter over at McMurdo. By the way, once we did tie up, the Chief Corpman and walked over to Scott Base within an hour. They had a rode back then, but it didn't seem to go all around the continent as this guy seemed to have done. Scott Base was very organize and clean. It was like going from bad to good as for the bases. Thank the Lord for being able to sail out of there.

[@HRHMANSOUR]

why does the 9 males to 1 female thing have any relevance? Your there to work not to party you fucking idiot.

[@BudLarsenjr]

Reminds me of a racing game with an Antarctica mod. Fun, thanks for sharing Mike!

[@dennis300cr]

Nice video of Antartica landscape and you can see a giant Satellite Dish on top of the mountain top right as you approach McMurdo.

[@uc320w]

great video, brings back too many memories

[@jhonnypresley]

Who's that maniac walking lol

[@loslingos1232]

2:27 Look at all of that snow! Wow. Thats like, my dream come true lol

[@r.blakehole932]

Windmills in Antarctica? Would not the cold make metal and parts wear and breakage not worth the power generated?

[@christopherdunne7848]

Awesome video. I notice the car antenna; do you ever pick up any radio aside from McMurdo? :)

[@MKirchner2525]

Nope, only what is broadcasted locally.

[@dmcnamara9859]

On the right-hand side of the road that the truck is being driven on....is that some sort of elevated: power lines,communication wires, or fuel source?

[@Steve211Ucdhihifvshi]

should get a shortwave radio from ebay and see, without massive electrical interference the reception should be pretty good.

[@suzycreamcheesez4371]

broadcast not broadcasted

[@RR-fg2rl]

Are there radio stations there or just afrn ? Or nothing ?

[@MKirchner2525]

There is one local radio station that somebody in town DJs for. Basically a volunteer gig.

[@RR-fg2rl]

@@MKirchner2525 thanks

[@loslingos1232]

@@MKirchner2525 Wait, town? People live there? Can you explain a bit more about this? I LOVE the snow and cold.

[@MKirchner2525]

@@loslingos1232 there are lots of research stations all over Antarctica that are staffed year-round. McMurdo has about 1,200 people there during the summer and around 120-150 during the winter months.

[@loslingos1232]

@@MKirchner2525 Thanks. And another question, how hard is it to get a job there? Can I just cook or do I HAVE to be a scientist?

[@juhanwill]

Beautiful alien-like territory. A must visit place for sure.

[@dehoedisc7247]

oh sure, millions of rich tourists go there every month, instead of the Yukon, another beautiful alien like territory.

[@steven9370]

How many times I walked this route!

[@tonyringo6309]

Is there a McDonalds nearby?

[@xarzu]

6:22 please someone explain short sleeve shirt in Antarctica ??!!

[@mrpibbtrrnt4766]

5:46 whats that dome on top of that mountain in the rear???

[@mrpibbtrrnt4766]

You can start to see it at 4:00

[@arshadmohammed1072]

5:09 , never would have thought even in Antarctica I would see people waiting to cross the street lol

[@zapfanzapfan]

Soo, you are there to set up atmospheric generators, right? Terra forming the place? Watch out for xenomorphs! :-)

[@peterglynnfilms]

loved it. do the roads survive the antarctic winter?

[@MKirchner2525]

They are maintained year 'round by fleet operations. During the winter they need to 'scuff' them with a grader with a toothed blade so we can get traction on them. Otherwise, the vehicles driving on them pack the snow into ice and it gets slick.

[@nobbinn]

Olá Mike, muito obrigado , adorei o passeio.

[@LeeBurton-u6j]

Not that far apart are they 👍

[@Bloodline616]

Did you guys find The Thing? Looks pretty nice there.

[@largol33t1]

What is the metal structure that was always on your right?

[@MKirchner2525]

I think that is the fuel line that connects McMurdo (US station) to Scott Base (New Zealand station). Wind turbines provide New Zealand with power, but if that isn't enough we supply them fuel.

[@largol33t1]

Thanks for the information! That brings up another question: are all the buildings on isolated power supplies? If there is a blackout, are the junction boxes underground or in a central location? And last, do they have portable diesel generators in case the power isn't back up for a few hours?

[@MKirchner2525]

Thre is a power plant with diesel generators that provide power to the whole station. If the power goes out... it goes out. I don't know of any backup generators, but there may be.

[@richardross1166]

Actually it's the fuel line that runs out to Willies Field Airport. It continues past Scott Base and runs over the ice shelf. Scott Base has it's own fuel storage and is topped up by tanker truck from McMurdo.

[@MKirchner2525]

You know... you're right. I forgot the fuel lines continued down the side of the hill and out past the pressure ridges. They weren't something I really paid much attention to despite the fact I have been on the road out to Pegasus a thousand times.

[@rodneyjones1990]

For some reason I thought you were going to drive from Amundsen Scott to McMurdo

[@stp147]

*Checks length of video* *realizes it's not 40 days*

[@rlt94]

How do they negotiate connecting two bases that drive on different sides of the road with no official lane-change point like that have at some border crossings?

[@MKirchner2525]

That's a good question... never thought of it while I was down there. The Kiwis just drive on the right side of the road like us. We have 10x more people than them at any given point so it makes sense.

[@-SCORIA-]

What part of Nebraska is this?

[@theloosemoose8200]

A lot of building going on down there...?

[@SSK9s]

Thank you,,, really interesting :)

[@tobyw.1688]

I thought there would be much more snow there...

[@MKirchner2525]

It's the driest desert in the world so the snow doesn't pack together like it does everywhere else. It is more like a sand (like you mentioned in the other video), so it's hard to make snowballs. The wind down there blows it all away.

[@tobyw.1688]

👍 How cold is it there in summer?

[@MKirchner2525]

It is on the edge of Antarctica (technically we are on Ross Island, which belongs to New Zealand) so it will warm up to high 30's, maybe low 40's if you are lucky (up to 4c). Winters hover around -20f (-29c) give or take 10-20 degrees depending on the day. Again, with the lack of humidity, it is easy to layer up and keep warm. It isn't like that damp cold that cuts through you.

[@IvanAkinfiev]

Has anyone given birth on the island? Would it make a child born on the US part of the South Pole a US citizen?

[@MKirchner2525]

this might help: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonization_of_Antarctica

[@rainifatmawati7909]

Selatannya lagi apa namanya !?

[@chesdezan]

and how is the wind state on antarctica? is there normal day routine, a part bad weather?

[@kellarellano1637]

How far is it?

[@MKirchner2525]

It's about 1 mile (~1.6km) from Scott Base to McMurdo.

[@majorteodor1777]

What camera did you use, mate?

[@MKirchner2525]

It was a GoPro, but I don't know which one. There is a recreation office you can rent gear from and that is the one I used.

[@majorteodor1777]

THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH MATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

[@jhibbitt1]

do a video inside the research station, I wanna see all the penguins working on the computers and machines

[@Ughmahedhurtz]

I had no idea there was that much stuff down there.

[@NK-gamer88]

Would it be higher speed if you are on a motor-driven skiboard instead of driving?

[@jcolumbiap]

The year I was there the brakes went out on the truck going into Scott base. 1972.

[@WKZworks]

Antarctica looks like my kinda place. I wouldn't mind working a year or two down there.

[@The_Gallowglass]

Gotta love T-shirt and pants weather :D

[@nicklatino7157]

How long was the drive? It couldn't have been only 7 minutes

[@MKirchner2525]

It's about 1 mile. I was actually driving back from Pegasus Air Field, which is about 13 miles out on the ice shelf, but I only filmed this portion. It was to show how close the New Zealand research station (where I started) and the American Research Station (where I ended) are to each other.

[@dylanashley799]

It’s barren but beautiful 😍

[@chesdezan]

excuse me what is the meaning of that such guard rail, with flags, on the right side of the road?

[@MKirchner2525]

It's a fuel line. The flags are there for when it gets buried in snow so equipment operators know where it is at under the snow.l that way they don't damage it when clearing snow.

[@chesdezan]

Thanks for answer. A fuel which do not freeze I presume

[@Rarestgameplayer]

I think the movie was recoreded in Summer because of sun.

[@MKirchner2525]

It was filmed around September, which is spring time.

[@williamtopping]

To be fair, that road was way busier than i could ever have dreamed. I was very surprised actually.

[@rbversus]

I honestly didn't know there were roads down there.

[@hughesevents]

You could have given that poor fella a lift..it will take him hours to walk!

[@rebeccaringler1265]

I have heard this is 995 miles. How long does it take? Where can you stop? And people can walk between bases? Anyway flights to McMurdo and Scott from Christchurch vary by 41 miles. Still too far to walk. Just trying to make sense of it.

[@MKirchner2525]

McMudo and Scott Base are 1 mile apart. You might be thinking McMurdo to South Pole, which is 800-900 miles. And I don't know where you get the 41 mile difference from CHC to McMurdo/Scott Base. There are multiple air fields that a plane can fly into, the furthest was Pegasus and it was 13 or 14 miles away.

[@rebeccaringler1265]

@@MKirchner2525 I am not trying to stir the pot. Was just confused thinking you meant Amundsen Scott and thank you for clarifying.

[@farmbear1231]

Where is this?

[@larryk731]

You didn't offer the person walking a lift? lol

[@ClaytonHartin]

Do you run gas or diesel trucks/SUV

[@MKirchner2525]

Most of the truck fleet is gas.

[@gwugluud]

4:35 I see they're building yet another mall.

[@theshark84724]

Why didn’t he ask those men walking in the cold, uphill, if they needed a ride? Or can this vehicle only take one person? Or does he know something we don’t?

[@1zzKolby]

Idk why all I hear in my head when watching this are rally stage notes

[@brianisme6498]

Well that was surprisingly relaxing

[@faktumstream1beatz335]

Still more trees than Vardø, norway!!

[@troll_savagelegend4669]

looks amazing new sub

[@swimmingwithsharks7331]

I worked next store to you at the plumbing shop

[@mikelh423]

Hi, I work for an education platform and we would like to use your video. Do you have an email we can write you to?

[@brianjohnston9822]

I am surprised you are allowed to be out and about without weather gear on.

[@taujor1910]

Evidentemente ahí no hace 88 grados centígrados bajo cero.

[@alistairmcelwee7467]

They need a monorail between bases!

[@ChemistryAtomistic]

How can I live there? My country have/had a base on Antarctica, but... You know... Brazil is not a great country to explore places, only to be corrupt and dangerous to live in...

[@Maloy7800]

You're not a Brazilian. A Brazilian would NEVER say that about his country. Not to foreigners.

[@ChemistryAtomistic]

Maloy7800 I'm brazilian, deal with it.

[@Maloy7800]

Chemistry Atomistic Nah, I won't have to. You'll be deported for treason. :-))

[@ChemistryAtomistic]

How democratic...! But it's not a bad idea at all. It's a good way to get out of this shit!Maloy7800

[@thellamafoundation6180]

It is illigal to live in Antarctica, the maximum time per stay is 1 year

[@Maloy7800]

You passed two people walking down the road and didn't offer a ride. Why?

[@MKirchner2525]

It's a common walking path between the American research station and the New Zealand research station. There are enough vehicles on both sides that if somebody wants to drive, they can.

[@Maloy7800]

Mike Kirchner Okay, I see. Thanks for the explanation. I grew up in the Far North hence my question. Up there you see someone walking down the road you stop no matter what.

[@largol33t1]

Maloy7800 DO you live in Canada or Alaska?

[@Maloy7800]

largol33t1 LOL, how about Norway? Sweden? Finland? Russia? :-))

[@glebsokolov8016]

Maloy7800 Depends where in Russia. I live in Southern Russia and it is nit as bad here lol

[@konkulization]

very interesting to watch, i had no idea Scott base was that close to mcmurdo. pretty much walking distance. I'm very excited to possibly be working at mcmurdo as a light vehicle mechanic soon, did you pull the truck into the shop?

[@MKirchner2525]

Yup, that was the back of the shop and I was driving one of our service trucks. The VMF (where you will be working) is a great group of guys and they work their ass off. Are you going down for a summer contract?

[@konkulization]

It's cool to see in videos where I'm going to be. I'm ready to work my ass off, that is for sure. That's nice to hear, I'm looking forward to meeting all of them. Well for this summer currently, I havn't heard anything. I applied to pae and got an email saying my resume appears to match the qualifications, that totally blew my mind haha. I replied, and so far 2 months and no response.. I am assuming i won't be hired, working a winter might be a little much, but I would still take the offer. I'm trying to be there for the summer.

[@pebos1234567890]

by scott do you mean amudenson-scott south pole base or another one? the amuudenson one is no where near mcmurdo so what the heck

[@KevinStokes]

No guard rails! Looks really dangerous. Very interesting, thank you for making this video. It is hard to imagine all this stuff being delivered by ship and plane to build an entire town.

[@HRHMANSOUR]

what looks dangerous about it? Look at Russian car crash videos on youtube the roads are way worse than this. And in big cities.

[@spinninbackfistz7997]

Iam down to be the official UBER driver of Antartica

[@alexbrown979]

1:27 there’s just a fucking person walking 🤣

[@IonianGarden]

I thought because you are in NZ claimed region you should be driving on the left.

[@abhinavkulkarni6597]

A couple countries have claims to Antarctica but since no other countries recognize it Antarctica is basically an international zone similar to the ocean or space

[@RichWeigel]

Can you verify if the remains of MacReady and Childs have been found yet?

[@sameersir7460]

Antarctica is just like a other planet

[@loslingos1232]

I wish I could be there!!!!

[@heru-deshet359]

Either it's very toasty in that garage, or he has anti freeze in his veins.

[@johnhull6363]

Where's the aliens and the underground cities? Or are you not allowed to post those?

[@nsytr06]

I approve of the outfit!

[@torenn7252]

The Ray Tracing in this game is cool.

[@neilwilliams929]

Gee I would laugh as your driving in theirs a Big Mac logo there 😜

[@MasterAirsoftGunner]

Initial D in Antarctica please

[@superbrownbrown]

*There was a stop sign.* 😂

[@DoubleGauss]

This needs an Interstate designation. MA(ntarctica)GA.