Week 44 at the Pole

Four winterovers in red parkas posing on a snow drift in front of the IceCube Lab on bright sunny day.
Connor Duffy, IceCube/NSF

Out with the old, in with the new. It’s that time of year again, when IceCube’s two incoming winterovers arrive at the Pole and overlap for a short period with the outgoing crew. Often they find an opportunity to take a nice “changing of the guard” photo, with all four winterovers together. IceCube’s newly arrived winterovers are Joe Baines-Holmes and Ilya Bodo, who arrived at the Pole after a short layover at McMurdo Station, ready for action. For the next couple of weeks, outgoing winterovers Connor Duffy and Kalvin Moschkau will be showing them the ropes. First up was a tour of the IceCube Lab, the backdrop for their photo above. Last week brought other arrivals and departures—people coming just for the summer but other winterover staff replacements as well. Out on the ice, some station members who haven’t seen each other for months are welcomed with hugs. Inside the station, after new arrivals settled in a bit, a cocktail hour gave everyone a chance to get to know each other and exchange stories.

Group in red parkas walking away from plane toward the camera.
Connor Duffy, IceCube/NSF
Plane parked on ice in background with group of arrivals nearby, two people in red parkas approaching for a hug in the foreground.
Connor Duffy, IceCube/NSF
Group of people mingling over cocktail hour inside galley of South Pole station, ceiling monitors displaying cozy fireplace image.
Connor Duffy, IceCube/NSF