Bull Pass Huts & Communication Station at Bull Pass Dry Valley, Southern Victoria Land at 77°26’4Ø”South, 161°51’Ø6″East, are a couple of research and refuge structures located in the Dry Valleys, near McMurdo Station in Antarctica.
Bull Pass, a low-elevation mountain pass in Victoria Land, provides a crucial link between two arid valleys, known to be among the most snow and ice-free areas on the continent. Located between McKelvey Valley and Wright Valley within the Olympus Range, it is famous for being named in honor of Dr. Colin Bull, a prominent polar explorer and geologist who worked extensively in Antarctica. Dr. Colin Bull has been the leader of the 1958-59 New Zealand UWAE expedition.
Bull Pass Huts & Communication Station are still used by scientific expeditions for study, especially in geology and biology, with older US structures remaining but designated as a decommissioned site within an Antarctic Specially Managed Area, this site offers a glimpse into the fragile, ancient ecosystems studied there.
Historically and currently the Bull Pass Huts hosts scientific facilities, including a past “Seismic Hut” are used as field camps and refuges for scientific research, particularly in the unique, ice-free areas. While older US structures remain, the site is considered decommissioned, though facilities and maintenance continue for research activities.
In essence, Bull Pass Huts are though scientific outposts known more for its unique ice-free landscape and its extreme environment, with temporary field shelters used by researchers rather than permanent historical dwellings. The Dry Valleys are famous for being ice-free, making them crucial for scientific study.
Antarctica New Zealand, records a “Seismic Hut at Bull Pass” used by researchers in the 1990s, indicating temporary scientific shelters.
(Pictures courtesy of New Zealand Antarctic Web Site)
.
.
Dr. Colin Bruce Bradley Bull
Born (June 13, 1928) in Birmingham, England, Dr. Bull first ventured into the Arctic as part of a 1951 university expedition to the island of Spitsbergen. After taking a university job in New Zealand, Dr. Bull launched one of the first expeditions to the dry valleys of Antarctica, eerie ice-free basins where temperatures in the spring and summer, range between subzero and shirt sleeves.
Colin Bull, whose career as a scientist included many adventures in the Arctic and Antarctic, died Sept. 7th 2010 at the age of 82 while on an Alaskan cruise.
Read more at: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/scientist-colin-bull-latter-day-polar-adventurer-dies/
Bull Pass Huts & Communication Station is listed on WAP-WADA Directory as USA-NEW.
Around mid January, Andrew KL5SE will operate from there as KC4/KL5SE. By now, the provisional reference given to Bull Pass Huts & Communication Station is WAP USA-54 As soon as he will show upon the air, the reference will be confirmed.
.
WAP congratulates Andrew KL5SE on his tireless work and thanks him for his activity from “four brand new remote locations in Antarctica” during his 2025-2026 Antarctic campaign.