BAS Field Report AD/6-2R-1981/HI – Field Report on Crevasse Accident
On Thursday 30th April Sledge Golf comprising of John Anderson (General Assistant) and Nigel Hadley (Tractor Mechanic) departed Rothera with a proposed destination of the old Adelaide Base. On Friday 1st May Sledge Hotel comprising Stephen Tait (General Assistant) and Robert Atkinson (Cook) departed Rothera with the intention of visiting the northern end of Adelaide Island. The two field trips were for recreational purposes and to have been of approximately ten days duration.
Sledge Golf arrived at the old Adelaide Base the day following their departure from Rothera and remained until Wednesday 6th May.
Sledge Hotel reached a position five miles south of Mount Machatschek on the day of their departure. The following day very little distance was travelled due to approaching inclement weather and they established camp at Mount Machatschek. The party remained there until May 4th as a result of persistent inclement weather. On this day with good conditions Cape Mascart was reached. Here very deep soft snow was encountered making progress difficult. With decreasing daylight and wind speed increasing, camp was established on the site. On 5th. May the party prepared to commence their return towards Rothera when it was discovered that one of the skidoos had a broken track and therefore unusable. They left a depot at the site comprising one skidoo and one sledge. With the essential parts of the unit they proceeded towards Rothera with Atkinson as passenger on the sledge, reaching Mount Velain. At 22.30 GMT on the daily radio schedule I was informed of the situation and also that Atkinson had developed frostnip on his face. I informed the party that I considered travelling with only one skidoo to be unsafe and therefore instructed them to remain where they were. This was also necessary as Dr. Griffiths advised that Atkinson should not be exposed to the cold until the frost nip had receded. On the same radio schedule I instructed Sledge Golf who were still at Adelaide, that if conditions were favorable the next day they were to move to the position of Sledge hotel with the intention of escorting them to Rothera.
Sledge Golf departed Adelaide Base 6th May in excellent weather conditions reaching a position north of Bond Nunatak, having encountered soft snow conditions en route. This still left approximately ten miles between the two parties but they were able to rendezvous the following day.
The day of the 8th May was spent servicing all the skidoo carburettors which had become iced as a result of travelling in soft snow. The following two days the weather was good but progress continued to be slow in the soft surface conditions, with Bond Nunatak being reached on the 10th May. No further progress was possible and the parties remained stationary due to inclement weather which abated on the evening of the 16th.
On the day of Saturday 16th May the parties spent the morning preparing to depart with the intent of reaching Rothera the same day. Weather conditions were not good, visibility and contrast were both poor, but after discussion the parties decided to travel. Contributing to this decision were the facts that food was running low, paraffin stocks were depleted, and Atkinson’s morale was low.
They departed their site at 1615 GMT, navigating on a compass bearing. The travelling order initially was Anderson first, Hadley second, Tait and Atkinson third with the latter as passenger on the skidoo. At no time were the units linked together. After a period of approximately two hours the party halted, the skidoos were refuelled and the travelling order changed to Tait first, Anderson with Atkinson as passenger on the skidoo second, Hadley third. The party estimated they were within three to four miles of McCallum Pass and continued the journey with the visibility and contrast quickly improving. Tait realised the party were too high on their approach to the Pass and turned downhill at which time his skidoo rolled over and he was thrown clear. At the same time Hadley reported that the skidoo second in order carrying Anderson and Atkinson suddenly dipped at it’s rear and disappeared backwards down a crevasse pulling the sledge with it. Tait at this point realised what had occurred and joined Hadley at his position. Tait attached himself to a rope which attached to Hadley’s stationary skidoo, he approached the edge of the crevasse.
His first impression was that both Anderson (“and Atkinson”) were dead and therefore he escorted Hadley to safe ground where the radio could be established. Tait then returned to the edge of the crevasse and realised that Anderson was then conscious. He abseiled into the crevasse reaching Anderson who was trapped between the crevasse wall and the skidoo at a depth of approximately eighty feet. Atkinson was not visible and Tait assumed he had become detached from the skidoo and continued his fall to a secondary bridge at a depth of approximately one hundred feet and presumed he died instantly. Anderson had sustained serious multiple injuries. All the attempts to free him from (“his skidoo”) proved unsuccessful. After spending fifteen minutes with Anderson, Tait had become cold, tired and was suffering from shock, this necessitated his return to the surface. Whilst in the process of ascending the rope, Anderson lapsed into unconsciousness and at this point Tait believes he died. This was one hour after the accident occurred. On gaining the surface he returned to Hadley who informed him that so far he had been unable to establish contact with Rothera. They established a camp and at 2230 GMT informed Rothera of the situation. Both Tait and Hadley were suffering from severe shock. At first light on the morning of the 17th I dispatched a rescue party with full unit to the site of the accident. The rescue party departed at 1330 GMT and arrived on the site at 1700 GMT. Due to their state of shock, deteriorating weather and fading light, I instructed that Tait and Hadley should be extricated immediately bringing with them only their personal bags containing sleeping bags. The rescue party arrived Rothera airstrip at 1945 GMT where Tait and Hadley were transferred to a snocat with Dr. Griffiths present. They were given hot drinks and arrived Rothera Base at 2000 GMT.
Mark P.D. Lewis, B.Sc., M.Sc.
Base Commander, Rothera Winter 1981