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Home , Arrival Heights, Black Knob, Cape Evans, Castle Rock (Antarctica), Hut Point Peninsula, McMurdo (crater)

Island Trail System McMurdo Station & ,

Ross Island Trail System Recreational Routes CAL Seasonal Trail Please visit the McMurdo Intranet eFoot Plan site for further route information (route marked with trail signs) markers in mi (km): e.g. 1.22 (1.96) CRL Loop Trail & CRS Castle Rock Summit Trail (9.65 mi / 15.53 km) (0.1 mi / 0.17 km) IR Access Road (shared with vehicles) CRS This trip leads to the prominent landform called Castle Rock, named for its buttress-like shape. The Castle Rock routes are the most ambitious hikes, ski or runs in the McMurdo area. As you traverse across the snow and field, you see the prominent 0.11 (0.17) landform of Castle Rock ahead, spectacular views to the north, and the to the east. The route is also Castle Rock a large loop that extends to Castle Rock and ends at Scott Base. More adventurous hikers may want to attempt the Castle Rock Restricted Road Summit route. This route entails scrambling, exposed rock faces and the use of a fixed line as a handhold and should never be (no recreational travel) attempted without an experienced person in your group. The Castle Rock Summit is only open at certain periods due to safety CASTLE ROCK FALL CRL concerns. January 30, 1995 Check-in/Check-out 1 death (Building 182 Firehouse) HPR Hut Point Ridge Loop Trail 1.33 (2.13) (2.63 mi / 4.24 km) The Hut Point Ridge Loop Trail is one of the newest additions to recreation opportunities in the area. Dedicated in First Aid

December of 2004, it provides new terrain to explore and provides a different perspective of McMurdo Station and expansive 0.42 (0.68) views to the Transantarctic Mountains and across the sea ice to the north. Although many trails have been formed over the A years, you must remain on the marked route throughout the entire trail. Limiting contact to a single trail reduces the visible Emergency Shelter impacts to our sensitive environment. This is especially important when in the vicinity of the ASPA ( Sheppard Specially Protected Area) No. 122. This area is set aside to provide a quiet, undisturbed area for sensitive science experiments L Crater and USAP members are not allowed to enter without permission. Emergency Phone

Half Moon U CAL Cape Armitage Loop Trail Shuttle Stop (5.25 mi / 8.44 km) Crater Emergency Shelter Cape Armitage forms the end of and the southernmost point on Ross Island. The Cape was S discovered by the BrNAE (British National Antarctic Expedition) 1901-04, under Robert F. Scott and named by him for Lt. (later Miles ¼ ½ Captain) Albert B. Armitage, second in command and navigator on the . Solitude, detachment from the hustle and bustle of McMurdo and large vistas of the Transantarctic Mountains, White Island, Black Island, and the backside of Observation Hill await. The route, on the sea ice, is well flagged but use caution to not veer off route because many routes leading to fish Kilometers ½ 1 N huts cross this trail. Winds can be strong on the sea ice and over the pass between McMurdo and Scott Base. Snow conditions for cross-country skiing can vary from hard and firm to soft. I KIWI SKI HILL OHL Ob Hill Loop Trail & OHS Ob Hill Summit Trail (2.84 mi / 4.56 km) (0.39 mi / 0.63 km) N The Ob Hill Loop trail extends to Cape Armitage and around the back side of Observation (Ob) Hill via a land route. Peace and solitude are experienced as you approach Cape Armitage from either direction. Ob Hill is has an elevation of 750 feet, so bring a camera! Expect amazing views of McMurdo Station and the surrounding area. This is a great vantage point to orient McMurdo E Station to many surrounding landmarks including Black Island, White Island, and Mount . The effort required to make it to the summit are well worth the scenic and historical aspects. At the summit, visit the Memorial Cross, erected in 1913 by the remaining members of the BrNAE (British National Antarctic Expedition), in memory of Captain Robert F. Scott's party, who Emergency Shelter perished on the return journey from the in March of 1912. P

HT Hillary Track (0.42 mi / 0.68 km) The Hillary Track, named for Sir , an accomplished mountaineer having been the first to reach the 1.5 (2.41) summit of Mt. Everest and traverse to the South Pole overland by vehicle, provides a short off-road route to Scott Base via a track that branches off the Scott Base Road just before the road starts its descent to Scott Base. Sir Edmund Hillary established the New Zealand Station at Scott Base in 1957 at Pram Point. The track provides a pleasant alternative to walking along the road to POLAR BEAR reach Scott Base from McMurdo Station. POINT CREVASSE FALL November 23, 1986 2 deaths

LDB LDB (Long Duration Balloon) Road (6.93 mi / 11.15 km one way) To “Room The LDB Road begins at the Scott Base transition and ends at the Long Duration Balloon scientific facilities. This road provides T an opportunity to reach the Castle Rock Loop Trail and affords a flat but vista-rich opportunity to walk, ski and run to the end With A View” point at LDB. The Long Duration Balloon facility launches several large balloons each season carrying payloads of various experiments that are conducted as the balloons circle the in the upper atmosphere. The snow road is constructed on the permanent ice shelf that is gradually moving north to the . N

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IR Road (2.04 mi / 3.28 km one way) 1.41 (2.26) The Ice Runway Road is located on annual sea ice covering McMurdo Sound. The road and airfield location are established O annually during WINFLY to provide a landing surface for wheeled aircraft. Preparation includes clearing and flagging the runway for the arrival of the New York (NYANG) LC-130 aircraft from Stratton ANGB, Schenectady, NY, and the Kenn Borek Air, Inc. Twin Otter and Basler DC-3 aircraft from Canada via South America and South Pole. This road is only open during the early part of the summer season and closes once temperatures begin to rise. The road becomes operational in mid-October P and shuttles begin regular service upon the arrival of the first LC-130. Emergency Shelter

CRL

S Arrival Heights

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(ASPA No. 122) H

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1.04 (1.67)

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E

T H

NZ Telecom Radome CRL U First CREVASSE FALL LDB

Crater February 9, 2000 1.13 (

1 injury 1.82)

H

L

A JPSS Radome See inset below for continuation of

V HPR Starr LDB Road I Lake

R 0.25 (0.4) NASA Radome 2.26) R Crater (1.97) 40 ( 1. 23 1. A Hill EXPLOSIVES AREA

(RESTRICTED)

Building 183 LDB

VMF 44) 0.75 (1.22) SCOTT BASE

27 (0. WINTER 0. QUARTERS BAY Building 155 T-SITE PRESSURE 0.24 (0.39) (RESTRICTED) (RESTRICTED) 0.58 (0.93) RIDGES Derelict HUT POINT (ASPA No. 158) Junction 0 Building 142 Medical .

2

1 (RESTRICTED)

) 0.42 (0.68) ( 2 0 0.37 (0.59) .2 5) . .4 3 0 0 ( ( Building 182 Firehouse 4 .14 8 ) .2 0.24 0 0 (0.39) T h HT NSF BFC e Chalet G Scott Base (N.Z.) a 0 p .1 HELO PAD 8 Road to (RESTRICTED) (0 0.35 (0.56) .2 9) 0.29 (0.47) 0.34 (0.55)

0.04 ) (0.06) 9 Building 84 COSRAY PRAM POINT .3 4 (0 0.2 OHS CRL Road to Long Duration

0 .2 Balloon (LDB) Facility 1 Memorial Cross 1.1 OHL 3 (1 (0 .82 .3 ) 4) FIELD SAFETY TRAINING Observation Hill 2.26) LDB 40 ( 1.

0.68 ( 1.09) OHL Emergency Shelter

1.16 (1.

87)

1.84 ( 1.53 (2.47) 2.97) LONG DURATION BALLOON (LDB) FACILITY CAL To Pegasus ½ mile

inset not to same scale as map

IR CAPE ARMITAGE 3.17) Ross Island Trail System Map 97 ( 1. 1.16 ( Road to Sea Authorship: 1.87) Ice Runway Brad Herried, Polar Geospatial Center (PGC) Joe Heil, Antarctic Support Contract (ASC) CAL November 2012 version 1.0 - updated November 15, 2012 3.17) IR 1.97 ( Data Sources: 2.0 meter resolution WorldView-2 satellite imagery background ©DigitalGlobe, Inc. Imagery terrain-corrected but not ground-truthed

Imagery date September 26, 2012 0.88 (

Trails, roads, photos and point-of-interest locations from USAP, PGC 1.42)

Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) boundaries from Environmental Research & Assessment, 2012

Placenames derived from SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica

Map Information: WGS84 Antarctic Polar Stereographic Projection Central Meridian at 166°45'

PGC Ross Island Map Series 0.88 (1.42) SEA ICE RUNWAY (2012-13) PGC Reference ID: ANT REF-MS2011-003 Digital copy available on McMurdo Station Intranet See inset at right ½ mile Map for reference use only and not for resale or any commercial purpose for continuation of inset not to same scale as main map Digital use (blogs, public viewing) allowed with explicit permission of the authors (email: [email protected]) Ice Runway Road