Dog slopes at Adelaide – Alan Wright
Embarrassment
It was during one of my spells as ‘outside man at the Mount Bransfield camp that I was most grateful for the presence of the dogs. It was my turn to feed them and I had to venture out in a very strong blizzard. I should have roped up, but this was my first sledging trip and I suppose I didn’t appreciate the extent of the danger.
Antarctica was about to teach me a lesson I would not forget – after completing my rounds I was blown over and lost all contact with the camp. I suppressed the urge to panic and systematically tracked up wind, down wind and across wind, hoping to find a trace of something I recognised. Nothing. Panic again threatened to engulf me.
Then I remembered the dogs’ habit of singing in unison and with this in mind I again tracked up wind to mimic their howling. As quickly us possible in the prevailing conditions I tracked down wind and listened. After the second attempt I was successful – the dogs answered my calls and told me the direction of camp. My embarrassment at having been so careless as to get lost in the first place meant that I did not tell my colleagues about my little escapade; but from that moment I treated adverse weather conditions with the utmost respect.
Alan Wright – Surveyor – Adelaide 1962 and 1963