Iced Goffy: Glacier travel, crevasses etc. Part two.

Right then, so where was I?

Ah yes, the aurora. Well at some stage I drifted off to sleep again and woke at around 6.15. I soon realised that J.B. was already packing up his bivvy so took that as a sign that I should be doing the same. After a quick breakfast we all piled out onto the ice to do a bit of navigation around the locality of the hut, using both GPS and compass. These are essential skills to learn and maintain if you wish to continue field travel in Antarctica. Many times visibility has been lost due to an unexpected blizzard creating a whiteout, and when this happens you need to be able to navigate your way to safety. Once this was taken care of we quickly tidied up the hut, loaded up the quads and headed on out across the glacier.

Left side foreground you'll notice a big boulder. This side of it is where I made my bed for the night, sheltered from the prevailing wind, not that there was any.

Our next waypoint was Fang Hut. This is about an hours ride across the ice, and again we encountered some fairly deep drift. This time though we managed to navigate through after three or four attempts, as it was on a slight slope so we were able to reverse out for another attempt. Fang Hut is situated in a sloping valley between two peaks (Fang and Elliot), and looks out down the valley, through a shute and onwards across the glacier to the South Masson Range. It is yet another spectacular view, and with some consideration probably the most beautiful view I've ever seen. The hut itself is small and cosy, with a window that overlooks the valley. It's the kind of place I'd like to spend a quiet weekend chilling with a good book and taking in the view. In the mountains around the hut there are some good walks, all of which have different viewpoints. We walked straight up from the hut and ended up at a fair elevation. From here we did some more navigation and plotted our position on the map using a compass, triangulating by taking bearings on three known landmarks. All good skills to have when you are lost in a blizzard. Where our climb ended was basically at a bluff that looked directly across at Mt Parsons, with not a lot in between. Two more steps and we'd have been plummeting to our death. It was a fairly intimidating sight, but breath taking all the same, and a great opportunity for more photography.

The view from Fang Hut. South Massons in the background climbing up out of what looks like cloud, but is actually glacier.

Fang Hut, below Fang Peak.

By the time we had descended to the hut and had lunch the day was getting on, and we still had a good two hour ride back to Mawson, so it was with a little disappointment we made the call to postpone a side trip to Henderson Hut (Hendo). On the way back we detoured to the SLA (ski landing area) where we will collect our incoming summer crew in November.

Next stop along the way was F10. Our travel on the glacier is guided by GPS. We have several waypoints, such as Rumdoodle, Fang, Hendo etc, and along the way are canes that have been placed in the ice to act as route markers, which we must follow carefully as this is the proven safe route. Every so often one of these canes has its coordinates logged on the GPS. F10 is greatly significant. It is right next to a crevasse field. We parked up the steeds, dismounted and walked toward certain death. We first encountered a continuous depressed line in the ice that contained snow. J.B. pushed his ice axe handle into the snow and it just disappeared. It took me quite by surprise. The next couple encountered were of similar width, then we came across a depression about six hundred millimetres wide. Step on to this and you'll fall a long way to your death. We cleared away the snow and peered downward unable to see the bottom. It just disappears into a blue that reminded me of water we encounter when game fishing back home. So, that was scary enough, but we carefully stepped over it and soon encountered a crevasse big enough to swallow a vehicle. We didn't need to see any more, and left this one undisturbed. Apparently the bigger crevasses can be undermined and therefore are very risky to step too close to. Finally we returned and mounted our machines and blasted toward Mawson Station, a hot shower and a good nights sleep.

Deep blue endless terror. I do not want to become a victim of one of these.

This is the widest crevasse we saw. It extended off down the plateau as far as we could see.

Field travel has added yet another dimension to my experience here at Mawson. When I arrived here five weeks ago I was overwhelmed by the surrounding beauty, and I still am most days. The outgoing plumbers who we took over from had both commented to me "just wait until you get up on to the plateau". Now I understand. It is such a unique experience it's hard to describe accurately, but I had a moment where it occurred to me while standing admiring the view at Fang that I am in the fractions of a percentage of humans ever to have seen this beautiful vista "in the flesh". I think that is a part of what made it so beautiful. It was another very special experience that I will probably never forget, and one that I will hopefully be able to see again before I sadly leave this incredible continent for Hobart some time in February or March next year.

For now, ka mutu, te korero,
Haere ra.