Claire of the Antarctic

With the weather on our side we began our ascent of The Myth. Linked rope travel in crevasse terrain requires quite a quantity of kit and so prior to our departure we donned crampons and climbing harnesses laden with metalwork safely tied round our waists, all rather a challenge with bulky gloves on! The initial ascent was quite steep, although as we would later discover during the climb this was quite gentle to what would challenge us subsequently.

The visibility was perfect and we could see across the remainder of Adelaide Island, and looking South beyond the sea and icebergs the peaks of Alexander Island were visible, over 100 kilometres away!

Sledge India was proving to be lucky with the weather as we awoke to clear skies and calm outside our tent, perfect for a climb up The Myth. Sledge Kilo, Bruce & JJ, and India joined forces for the day and we headed out in linked travel to the start of the hike.

We were fortunate with the conditions and so we crossed through the pass, to then head further South towards The Myth, a favourite Winter trip destination.

The skidoo travel occupied the majority of the day, with occasional pauses for refreshment (thawing) of hot tea and frozen sandwiches! I was quite glad for my ipod to occupy my mind as we racked up the miles, tracks from friends are now associated with different points of the journey further South.

Upon arriving at our destination the first priority was to establish camp. Bruce & JJ had also travelled to The Myth, so we raced to erect our tents. BAS is a fan of the pyramid tent, a rather old design but perfect for Antarctic camping and reputed to withstand 100 knot winds, for which we would subsequently be quite grateful!

Tent up, next job was for some interior design; setting out our P-bags, the sleeping system consisting of karrimat, thermarest, sheepskin rug, upon which lies your down expedition sleeping bag inside a flame retardant outer, and inside which are the fleece & cotton liners… and down booties!

Tent arrangements made, our minds swiftly turned to warmth, so the Tilley lamp was lit and hoisted up inside the tent, and then the primus stove lit and snow melting began, with tea not far behind! Earl Grey on the ice shelf, perfect, with a meal of manfood (dehydrated ration packs) enjoyed subsequently… thus far Winter skills training was going well, and with the HF radio set up we could reassure base at our radio Sched that all was safe and well with Sledge India!

Rather funny being Sledge India, considering two years previously I had been reading Terri Nielsen’s ‘Icebound’ whilst camping in India on expedition with Raleigh; at that time Antarctica was but a dream, and now I was here!

The GAs had prepared the nansen sledges up at Vals during the week prior to our trip, however a hefty snowfall had rather hidden them from view. So prior to departure some energetic digging was required to unearth (unsnow) them.

Once the sledges were free from snow we then set up the linked travel system: Ben in the lead, followed by the half unit, then me on my skiddoo towing the main unit behind me. And then we were off, heading towards McCallumm’s Pass, a renowned crevasse zone that we could only cross should the weather permit.

Going away camping generally involves vast amounts of paraphenalia, even more so when camping in the snow. My clothing alone would have filled several trunks! Fortunately it was chilly enough to warrant wearing most of it!

With the bags packed, our skiddoos filled we were then ready to depart from base and head out, our hoped destination to be on the Western side of Adelaide Island.

The doctor and diving officer always venture away on trips simulaneously to minimise the impact on diving days, so JJ and I were heading out together, with Bruce and Ben as our Field General Assistants (mountaineers) to supervise us!