Since we’ve got a little spare time in McMurdo while we wait for the Long Duration Balloon (LDB) site where we’ll be working to be ready, so the team signed up for a tour of the pressure ridges. These ridges are crazy ice structures formed at the intersection of the permanent ice McMurdo ice shelf, and the seasonal sea ice on the Ross Sea which surrounds McMurdo station. Our guide led us on a walk up to the ridges where we walked through crazy beautiful blue ice formations and melted ice pools. The area is a hangout for groups of Weddell seals which just plop in the sun on the ice. We had to turn around before completing our full walk since there were several seals lounging across our path. Just means we’ll have to go back later in the season!
The tour starts after a short drive to Scott Base 
Looking over the pressure ridges from Scott Base 
Walking out towards the ridges single file 
Looking back at Scott Base from the ice 
Insane ice formations as the sheets slowly ram into each other 
Nathan P. Lourie 