It's a Harsh Continent

Robert Scott said "...God this is an awful place."
Here's a selection of photos showing some of the harsher side of life on the Ice.

Frozen dunny at the "A-Frame" building out on the Ross Ice Shelf, where people like to get away for the weekend.
cold frozen Antarctica Anthony Powell Antz McMurdo Station Scott Base South Pole winter harsh continent toilet ice dunny lavatory bathroom
Inscription on the wall "Losses to date" from 1916 under one of the bunks at the Cape Evans historic hut. These were Shackelton's "Forgotten Men" who were waiting for him to cross Antarctica, not knowing his ship had been crushed in the ice on the other side of the continent, hence the last name being an abbreviated Shackelton with a question mark after it.
cold dead frozen Antarctica Anthony Powell Antz McMurdo Station Scott Base South Pole winter harsh continent Robert Falcon Cape Evans Shackelton
The old Scott Base road sign in stormy weather.
cold frozen Antarctica Anthony Powell Antz McMurdo Station Scott Base South Pole winter harsh continent road sign
Dead Weddel Seal. The seal has wandered inland and died. The cold has freeze-dried it, and the winds have stripped away some of the flesh exposing the skull.
Weddel Seal cold dead frozen Antarctica Anthony Powell Antz McMurdo Station Scott Base South Pole winter harsh continent
Digging out one of the trucks after a storm, and that's not soft snow, it is solid enough to walk on and barely leave a footprint.
Anthony Powell Antz Antarctica McMurdo Station truck snow storm shovel buried
Iced up after a brief walk on a fine winter afternoon
Anthony Powell Antz Antarctica cold ice clothing ECW weather
Cleaning out the office after a storm blew the window frame completely out.
Anthony Powell Antz Antarctica McMurdo Station Storm damage office snow
Storm damage to one of the dormitory buildings at McMurdo Station.
Antarctica Antarctic Anthony Powell McMurdo Station Antz storm damage dorm
Self-laying track vehicle. 6 hours drive away from McMurdo, 40 below, a storm headed our way in a few hours, and one of the tracks on the vehicle breaks. Events like this are why we always have lots of back-up options available when we travel deep field.
Antarctica antarctic anthony powell antz vehicle break down cold
Skua eating a dead penguin.
Anthony Powell Antz Antarctica skua adelie penguin dead cold ice scavenger predator cape bird scott base mcmurdo station
Penguin Sewer.
This is basically all the stinky run-off from the penguin nesting area. It smells pretty bad.
Adelie Penguin sewer Antarctica Anthony Powell Antz Cape Bird Scott Base McMurdo Station South Pole
Penguin Sewer Stream. One of the streams of penguin effluent running away from the nesting area. The ground in this area is basically years and years of compressed penguin poo. The width of the stream is the distance a penguin can jump, as they progressively pack it in over the years jumping the width of the stream as they wander back and forth.
Penguin Adeleie Anthony Powell Antz Cape bird Scott base McMurdo Station Antarctica South Pole sewer effluent smelly
Snow leak. All this snow came in through the the tiny gaps of the rubber seal around the door. The snow is incredibly fine, and the strong winds will force it in anywhere air can pass.
snow leak
The inside of the bunk house at Black Island after a storm. All this snow has worked its way into the building through the tiny gaps in the window seals and frame work.
There are a couple of armchairs and a diesel pre-way heater in the corner on the right of the picture under all the snow.
night train black island snow storm antarctica anthony powell south pole cold
Camera mounted to a post set in the ice for part of 5 month long time-lapse project. Recording changes in the sea ice pressure ridges in front of Scott Base in temperatures down to about -60C ambient. Despite the wrappings, snow was still driven inside the camera and packed solid in the compact flash and battery compartments.
camera hat insulation antarctica Anthony Powell timelapse cold ice Scott Base
Skuas fighting over the remains of a penguin chick in mid-air
Skua Mid Air Meal
Skua having just successfully stolen a penguin chick from a nest. Only about 20% of chicks survive the first year. A skua will devour a chick this size in just a few minutes, leaving a picked-over skeleton behind.
Skua Penguin Chick Steal
Skuas feeding their chick pieces of penguin at Cape Bird
Skuas Feeding Chick penguin antarctica cape bird nest
Stormy weather, whiteout conditions. In more extreme conditions you cannot even see your hand at the end of your arm.
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One of the trucks at McMurdo Station after a storm has blown through.
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Because of environmental protocols, we take extreme measures to avoid contaminating the pristine landscape, this includes peeing in bottles to be disposed of later if we are away from the base.
Bottle Snow
Ice crystals building up on the lens of a camera.
Lens Crystals
A mummified seal that has died after wandering inland approx 30km from the ocean to Black Island.
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Adelie penguin chick that was killed by a skua, then left to snack on later.
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Adelie penguin that has survived what was probably a leopard seal attack. I observed this penguin for 3 days, and it seemed to be healing well after initially looking pretty hopeless.
Bloody Penguin
Remains of one of the huskies at Scott's historic hut at Cape Evans.
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It's a Harsh Continent