Frequently, the weather would get bad on the ice plain in between the time we put the GPS equipment out, and when we could return to pick it up. Fog often crept over the ice shelf for several days, and when we would return we found our equipment covered in "frost feathers".
Some of the ice plain sites were very near the Transantarctic Mountains (in the distance). The surface at these sites was very rough, most likely from high winds coming down off of the East Antarctic plateau. The ice plain survey required several hundred take-offs and landings, and rough sites like this one eventually took their toll on the aircraft.
After taking off from one of these sites, we noticed something odd in the airplanes shadow on the ground. The bungee holding the nose ski up had broken off or come undone. We eventually flew back to Siple Dome, and after several fly bys, the otter crew in the plane and on the ground decided there was nothing to be done about it but to try and land very softly.
Luckily, the ski was broken in the right direction and the landing was a safe one. On the ground, everyone had a good laugh about the busted ski.