Because it seemed like a good idea at the time....: Jack and Jill Went Up a Hill

Upon hearing about the death of the Antarctic explorer Robert Scott, in 1912, the carpenters aboard his ship took pieces of the ship and made a giant wooden cross. On it they carved the names of the party members lost to the extreme conditions of the Antarctic continent along with a line from the poem "Ulysses" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: "To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield". The cross was carried to the top of Observation Hill, which overlooks Hut Point and all of McMurdo Station. 100 years later, it still stands as a permanent memorial to Scott and his men.

Today you can climb to the top of Observation Hill on a short but steep trail. It is sort of McMurdo's version of the "M-Trail" (hey Missoula!) only with NO switchbacks. At the top you have a great view overlooking the station, the Ross Sea with the Transantarctic Mountains behind, Mt Erebus and Mt Terror and also a view of the nearby Kiwi base, Scott Base.

It's a great little climb and we took to it a few times. One time we went up with the intention of witnessing the launch of one of the Long Duration Balloons that are used for scientific studies. Unfortunately, they launched the balloon early and so we didn't get to see the actual launch however we saw the balloon floating its way up toward the stratosphere.

There is also a trail that circles Observation Hill around it's base. It is roughly 2 miles around and provides great views of the sea. When the sea ice begins to break up it will be a great place to go to watch the orca and minke whales.