Part III: Antarctica and Academe - Scott Polar Research Institute

there in l973-74. Steve had organized a good clean up and John Galsworthy built a
number of storage platforms to keep the outside stores from drifting up. The main
changes were in the living huts: the former library and lounge had been converted
into one large room, with a bar at one end - which had to accommodate 48 people
when the house was full. The former bar room was now a library and quiet room.
By cutting down on storage space, two extra bunk rooms have been added, making
an extra eight beds. Even so the base became extremely crowded when all the men
arrived in from the field. There was a new 2-seater loo as well, built by Bert Conchie
(Pilot) last season - with a splendid view out to sea! The vehicle garage lean-to had
been extended to provide more storage space. But the major new addition was the
new travelling store and workshop, cladded with the green plasticized metal, which
BAS now used on all new buildings. 'Dog' Holden, with two other GAs had got it
fitted out and it was very well organized and quite spacious. The only trouble was
that - lacking insulation - it got very cold in winter. But they had fitted Webasto
paraffin heaters that would make it more comfortable and also enable tents and other
gear to be properly dried-out before being stored for the winter.
By the time we'd seen around the base it was 1 o’clock and time for lunch. In the
course of the inspection we had opportunity for discussing various problems. The
most important ones concerned the jetty - which was now seriously undercut, so that
in a swell the gunwales of boats or scows could catch under and be capsized. The
crane for the jetty wasn't working, because the wrong capacity pump had been
supplied for the hydraulics. The ramp to the airstrip was in an atrocious state,
ablating rapidly - some 4 ft lost in the last month. This meant that access to the ramp
was now very narrow, with a ridge of rock cutting across it. After lunch we went up
to the airstrip on a skidoo to inspect the skiway with Steve. There were extensive
cracks besetting it and no possibility of changing its position, so its life was restricted.
Then we climbed aboard VPFAQ to be flown by George Harvey north to Rothera,
only about 12 mins away where I was building a new base to supersede Adelaide
and Stonington as the main field operations centre. It was dull but the weather
wasn't too bad - although at times it was even raining.
After take-off it was very bumpy along the edge of the glacier. I noted many
shoals in the sea offshore all the way to Rothera Point. The approach to the Rothera
airstrip was across a col in the ridge, which brought us out over the snowfield to the
north, which was vast. A drum-line marked the runway, necessary in ‘white-out’
conditions. We were met by one of the Rothera Fids and drove down in a skidoo –
journey-time about 10 mins. Dubious features to take into account included a
traverse across a sloping hillside for about half a mile and the ramp itself has a 17°
slope. At the base end of the route, before descending the ramp there were various
crevasses parallel to the route; and the ramp was very broad and about 300 yards
long. We left the skidoo at the foot and examined the area, then largely snow-free,
though with drifts in places. Fairly recently the low-lying isthmus had had a
permanent snow cover, as judged by the lichen 'tide mark'. Cargo had been
discharged in the South Bay, using a small pontoon. We had a look at the
prospective base area itself - a reasonably level raised shelf. The men had made great
progress on the construction; all the foundations were now laid (and we learnt that
evening that the floor of the hut had been laid just after we left). A dumper truck
was being used to move cargo - but very slowly. The party was still living in tents
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