Summer season at the Pole starts out slowly, with the first small plane to arrive bearing fruit but not many people, but then gains momentum with the arrival of the first LC-130, a larger aircraft able to transport more passengers and cargo. Last week at the Pole, the first LC-130 of the season showed up, bringing the station’s population above 100, including some IceCube Upgrade people. All four of IceCube’s winterovers (two incoming, two outgoing) remain at the Pole, continuing the annual training and handoff of responsibilities. The extra pairs of hands came in handy for the IceTop measurements done last week, allowing them to wrap up the whole task in a single day. Summer is the time of lots of snow moving, easy enough when the weather is clear, but as the bottom image of the barely visible IceCube Lab attests, that’s not always the case.
