Giant spools sure do serve as a great photo prop. Now empty, these spools had a previous life, brought to the Pole full of cable and ready for action, for use on IceCube and other nearby experiments. But then what to do with them? Sending them all back up north would have used a lot of precious resources. Instead, these massive cast-off spools were fashioned into a monument of sorts, which goes by the name of Spoolhenge, on the outskirts of the station. Originally three or more spools tall in some places, you can see that they’ve been drifted in to only one spool off the surface at some points. You can find many other photos of Spoolhenge online.
The week saw lots of blue skies, and lots of snow to shovel at the ICL. Other activities included tractor training, Superbowl watching, fire system testing, and a trivia night win for IceCube’s winterovers.
