Header Photo: Base Y in Winter (Photo: Robin Perry)
October – Journey Diary – Horseshoe to Detaille Island – Robin Perry
Saturday 10 October – Overcast with nagging NE wind and very light snow as we departed at 10.30: Gordon, then Keith then me. Surface excellent, like a main road, and the wind soon dropped. Very good progress to Ridge Island where we had a pause. Some trouble getting Ruth to proceed, and Alpha got off after sustaining a going-over by his mates. Beyond Ridge Island the surface became more uneven with patches of bare ice showing; low drift was occasionally raised by gusts from valleys to the SE. As we progressed, higher drift became evident blowing out from the entrance to the Jones Ice Shelf, and later down the face of Blaiklock Island, so we pulled up on to Gnome Island as the first gusts arrived at 16.45. The tent was erected in a gale-force wind coming straight down the mountain face to the NNW, and soon the drift was compounded by moderate snowfall. The teams were picketed in hard névé. We had travelled 21 miles (35km).
Sunday 11 October – Continuous moderate snow with drift, later the NNW wind died down, but the snow was relentless. Babe was found by Gordon to have pupped. The 119 radio refused to function, so we decided to dump it here.
(Photo: Robin Perry)
Monday 12 October – The sledges were buried under a Christmas card snow scene. The sun was shining, though clouds were moving fast from the WSW. After the shovelling session we got away at 11.30, the going was rather heavy at first, but improved around the east cape of Blaiklock Island. The surface became excellent once on the ice-shelf where we had a lunch stop at 13.15. Still sunny, but thickening upper cloud. No cracks were seen until we turned right up the Heim Glacier. At about 200 ft (71m), Gordon stopped at a series of crevasses, so we picketed, intending to reconnoitre, but the NNW wind increased, raised drift and brought continuous wet snow. Therefore after circumspection camp was made at 15.00. Only seven miles (11km).
Tuesday 13 October – Lie-up. Northerly gale, snow and drift with a temperature of 0°C. Improvement in afternoon; dug out sledge at 20.00 but the wind came on again half an hour later. Out of boredom Epsilon set to chewing the main trace.
Wednesday 14 October – Another day‘s lie-up. Severe gale during the night, gradually abating. The sledges were excavated at 17.00. A large drift formed upwind from our camp seemed to offer a useful route across crevasses just ahead. But at 19.00 the storm resumed with more snow and drift.
Thursday 15 October – Lie-up again. The wind blew without any intermission during the day. Keith nobly went to dig out and feed the dogs.
Friday 16 October – It had turned colder, but the wind remained strong and more gusty.
Gordon ventured out at noon, and I exited later to feed and water the dogs and thought I saw a hint of blue sky. Encouraged by less wind I began some digging again.
Saturday 17 October – The sun was breaking through! It was almost calm and the temperature was –10°C. Digging everything out—sledges, traces and tent—and breaking camp took all morning, and we did not make a start until 14.00. Gordon attached his team and sledge to the back of mine, and, roped to my main trace, went ahead to probe for crevasses. But soon we got out of the area we suspected as being dangerous and travelled independently again. There was drifting on all the surrounding mountains, and crossing the long undulating summit zone where the Heim gives way to the Antevs Glacier, visibility was reduced by ice needles in suspension. Descending towards Lallemand Fjord the drift increased somewhat, and as we had kept too far to the right (east) we came upon a wide crevasse that entailed a long detour. We camped at 19.15, not liking the look of the drift ahead. Temperature –15°C, and ten miles (16km) covered.
Sunday 18 October – Breakfast at 07.30. A veil of cirrus overhead and temperature –18°C. Away at 10.45, keeping to the left (west) side of a depression. It started to snow and the visibility deteriorated. We struck ENE but came to an area of undulations and occasional crevasses, so turned WNW but camped at 15.10 as the snow became heavier. Temperature –13°C.
Cedric was set upon by the rest of the team and sustained fatal injuries. Sad, but his loss was not serious.
Monday 19 October – When I looked out at 07.00 it was snowing, so I leisurely prepared breakfast. But signs of an improvement made us pack up. There was a northerly breeze and the temperature had risen to 0°C with occasional drift snow, not the most comfortable conditions. We left at noon and could see Humphries Ice Rise, so kept to the right of it and crossed on to the sea ice of Lallemand Fjord at 14.30. The surface immediately became bad. We made for Hooke Point that forms the eastern limit of the ice shelf in the hope of finding seals for dog food; there were none so we continued north, but camped at 16.15 near a small iceberg some two miles (3km) NNW of Hooke Point. We could hardly see the coast.
Tuesday 20 October – A lie-up day. We had decided that unless conditions were very good we would give ourselves and the teams a rest day to dry out. But as the wind was blowing from the north with the temperature above freezing and occasional drizzle, we remained humid in spite of the odd bright period. We were hopeful that the surfaces might get better.
Wednesday 21 October – The only difference was that light snow had replaced the drizzle. We got under way at 11.00 on a moist but compact surface that permitted good speed. We saw a flock of about 30 Antarctic petrels. In fact we soon decided at 12.30 to bypass Ermine Point and make directly for Andresen Island. Then from about twelve miles (19km) distance we could see Detaille Island, so changed direction towards it. There was the same (or another) flock of Antarctic petrels as we closed in on Base W, but no seals. Just as we reached the base the wind sprang up to gale force with a blizzard. The customary greeting. Entry had to be forced as the outer door of the porch had come open allowing snow to enter and later freeze. The beading was prized off and the door opened—outwards. Drifting around the hut was not excessive, the west side was virtually open, and on the east side the drift extended to between the kitchen and living-room windows. No snow had entered apart from the porch. The general snow cover seemed to have reached the level of the floor even at the north end, and in time ice problems will inevitably result. Both diesel engines were eventually started, but No. 2 generator gave only a vestigial voltage. All equipment appeared to work well from No. 1 generator. In the dental valise all but one of the ampoules of Xylotox had burst or blown. Spans were all buried or removed except one. The anemometer was continuing to register speed on the dial in the kitchen only. Water had seeped through the floor in the vicinity of the back door and loo, then frozen, and on remelting spread into the passage and ex-met. office.
Thursday 22 October – Weather blowing from N with much snow, particularly after noon. Keith spent the morning digging out the porch and then going through geological records. Gordon was working on the diesels, and I was cooking and clearing snow from the emergency hut—and doing met. observations. By evening we successfully put Base W on the air again. Station 88956 ephemerally reappeared on the FICOL.
Friday 23 October – Cloudy. Gordon and I spent the morning excavating and chopping up seals on the North Islet. Keith was occupied by cooking and his geological records. After lunch the first solitary Adélie penguin arrived at the island from the west. Several seals and possibly some pups could be seen to the W, but as we have enough they remained unmolested.
Thursday 29 October –The first Skuas had been seen on 28 October; there were many Dominican Gulls and the odd Giant Petrel. At 07.00 it was snowing, but at 09.00 the sun was just visible, so wheels were set in motion for our departure. The diesel was dismantled and sledges loaded, but at 10.00 moderate to heavy snow started and I didn’t expect we would leave today. However, after lunch the snow eased off and the wind, which had been light to moderate southerly, dropped and it felt extraordinarily warm, although the thermometer read –1°C. After blocking up the windows our departure was effected at 16.00, Gordon in the lead with 750-800lb (350kg), then me with 1100lb (500kg) and Keith bringing up the rear with a similar load. To start with there was a breakable crust but we made 1.7 miles (3km) in the first 55 minutes, then the crust became firm and we sailed along—Gordon literally, with a home-made contraption—pushed along by a fifteen-knot wind down the fjord, and camped at 20.45 as a snowstorm started. We had travelled 14 miles (23km).
Friday 30 October – Lie-up. During the night the wind had changed to southerly and increased with snow and drift. The temperature fluctuated between –1° and –5°C. The wind died out at 17.00 but snow continued.
Saturday 31 October – Snowing and blowing from N until 09.55 when it suddenly became calm and the sun came out. Temperature –1°C but it felt very warm. We dug out sledges and traces, I returned into the tent to brew a cup of tea ‘for the road’, but a NW breeze started and by 11.30 it was snowing once more, with drift.
Sunday 1 November – When Keith looked out at 07.15 it was snowing lightly, but had ceased, with the cloud breaking somewhat, by the time we had finished breakfast. After the familiar exercise of digging out, we were away at 11.35, but my sledge over-turned on the camp drifts and there was a twenty-minute delay. My dogs found it hard going, so Gordon took a couple of dog-food boxes from me, but soon he had difficulty in his turn, so at 16.00 Keith took one box and I the other, but it was still no good. During the day the cloud had broken and it was blazing hot, so we camped at 17.00 with the intention of making a very early start. We had covered only five miles (8km). Several Adélies were around, generally moving southward like us.
Monday 2 November – I set the alarm for 04.00, but we were not away until 08.00 under an overcast threatening sky. The surface was still too soft, though the sledges ran better. Mine bogged down frequently and Keith took the survey box from me. Snow started at 09.15 and we camped at 09.50 having laboriously covered two miles (3km). We intend to relay tomorrow unless something miraculous happens to the surface.
Tuesday 3 November – Set alarm for 06.00 and found it was calm and clear outside, though the surface was no better. We left with the first relay at 09.40 and by noon had covered 4.6 miles (7.4km), having gained the ice-shelf about a mile back. For the return to the depôt I took the lead. This was easy with the tracks to follow. Picking up the dumped load, we were back at the advanced depôt on the ice-shelf at 17.00 and camped. During the afternoon it had clouded over from the NW, but the visibility remained good. Two Adélie penguins were going south across the ice-shelf towards Antevs Glacier.
Wednesday 4 November – Set the alarm for 06.00 and away at 09.45. Weather again threatening with drift in most directions, and the faint roar of wind could be heard. We soon came into it, a strong blow from the SE, laid the depôt after one mile and went back for the remainder of the load. Our tracks were not easy to see. We camped with the full load at 12.20 as the drift showed no sign of abating, and indeed it soon started to snow.
Thursday 5 November – Alarm at 06.00 and away at 09.50. We had decided to try to cut out the relay, though Keith had difficulty and gave me back the survey box. We made reasonable progress in spite of coming into an area of strong gusty SE winds which raised drift and made life most unpleasant for the dogs. Then I found that the map roll had fallen off the sledge, so the party had to wait in little comfort while I skied back about a mile until I found it. A delay of about 50 minutes. But then the ‘Folies’ went on strike, so I led on skis while Keith contrived to handle the ‘Admirals’ with his sledge, attached to which were the ‘Spartans’ with mine. Luckily it was not long before conditions improved—the drift stopped and the surface became firmer—and we made good progress to the foot of the Antevs Glacier where we camped at 16.15. One penguin had met his end among the Admirals at our lunch stop, and another was mauled after we camped. We had gained six miles net (10km); the temperature fell from –5° to –8°C.
Friday 6 November – Cold night with light southerly breeze; the temperature was –19°C before the sun reached camp. Departure with relay loads at 09.40, Gordon, though trail-breaking, got to the top of the rise half an hour ahead of Keith and I who made very heavy work of it, moreover patches of fog rolling in from the fjord also hampered us. Another penguin was killed by the Admirals before we returned for the remainder of our loads. The fog was then beginning to disperse.
We were back at our deposited goods at 15.00, relashed the full loads on our sledges, had a rest and a drink, and set off again. Almost immediately Gordon came to a crevasse blocking our intended route, so had to deviate westwards losing a little altitude in the process. After rather hard going for an hour, we camped at 17.00 at the summit shared by the Antevs and Heim Glaciers. Monty grabbed a penguin and the Admirals shared a quarter of a pound of best New Zealand Anchor butter. It was overcast with a NW’ly wind and temperature –7°C.
I had added the following note: For future crossings of the Antevs/ Heim Glaciers from north to south with loads likely to require relays, there appears to be a troublefree line of ascent near the eastern wall, where the steepest part of the slope is short, probably less than a mile, whereas our route was something over two miles with an additional ridge to cross.
Saturday 7 November – Wind and weather seemed rather threatening in the morning, and it was only after lunch that we decided to strike camp. The wind was from the WNW, but with some gusts from the NE; temperature –6°C. Got away at 15.45 and made good progress across the level summit heading for the twin peaked mountain to the east of the Heim Glacier. We saw no crevasses until the ground started to drop away, and these we kept on our right. Another penguin was killed.
We saw no crevasses until the ground started to drop away, and these we kept on our right. Another penguin was killed. Heading down in the direction of the ‘Midland Valley’ on Blaiklock Island, we were not aware of crossing any bridged crevasses at all, though they were evident on both sides.
We were a little to the west of our route of ascent, and there was no sign of the flags we had left. A strong cold breeze from the SE met us on the Jones ice-shelf, and the surface became very good, so we continued to Gnome Island which we reached at 20.05 and picked up the 119 radio set. There was a strong easterly wind with drift, but the surface was so good and Mount Searle on Horseshoe Island looked so tempting that we pressed on down Bourgeois Fjord, reaching base at 02.25.
Robin Perry – Detaille Met. 1958, Horseshoe Met/BC, 1959