Part III: Antarctica and Academe - Scott Polar Research Institute

The light was good and it was calm. I took photos of the ice, some crabeaters and
penguins. The colours and the clarity of the air were beautiful. We pottered around
this natural sculpture gallery and didn't get back until 11.30 pm, when a breeze was
rising and as I had no gloves my hands got cold. Pulling the boats up on shore we
went along to the bar for a drink and got to bed about midnight.
On 5 January I was woken at 7.30 am for a flight to the south. Soon after
breakfast we went up to the skiway by snowcat, refuelled and loaded the Twin-otter
FAZ and then, with Garry as pilot, flew to sledge Tango at Procyon Nunataks: Bernie
Piercy (geologist) and Alistair Cain (GA). The weather improved as we went south
and we landed in bright sunshine on a snow plain surrounded by mountains. There
was talk about the work and the season's travelling and then we moved on to sledge
‘Sierra’: Steve Harrison (geologist) and Mike Sharp (GA). They were also in good
form - and had picked a lovely location to camp. We had coffee, hard biscuits and
dried fruit, standing around the sledge in the snow in the middle of all that superb
scenery. Then we took off again, having delivered their supplies and taken on board
their cargo for base - including 17 boxes of rocks. We got back to Rothera about 3
o’clock, refueled FAZ, had a sandwich lunch, loaded a depot for sledge ‘Echo’ and
took off again. ‘Echo’, Tim Tranter (geologist) and Rupert Summerson (GA), was in
the Lully Foothills in the middle of Alexander Island. We flew down the Sound then
west across the mountains and south again to ‘Echo’. They were in an even more
beautiful spot than ‘Sierra’. We delivered the supplies and then flew on with Rupert
to establish a depot a bit further south, leaving Charles and Eric with Tim. We
established the depot in yet another lovely spot, picked up the others and flew home
to base. The weather had been kind all day. We touched down at about 8.30 pm,
having had a marvelous time. Late dinner was fish and chips. Then we talked and I
wrote up my diary and got to bed at 11.45 pm.
Next day was also bright and sunny. I walked around the North Point and down
the outer coast in a brisk breeze. Four Weddell seals were hauled out and a number
of Adelies, but the high spot was a floe, just offshore, surrounded by brash and bergy
bits, which held 26 seals of which 3 were Weddells, the rest crabeaters, which I stood
and watched. After lunch we went up to the strip for a flight to Fossil Bluff (a fuel
run), Ablation Valley and photography of the rock exposures in the vicinity. The
weather was good, improving to very good. The fast ice in southern Marguerite Bay
was rapidly breaking back - it must have been 4-6 years old by then. I noticed the
very high phytoplankton levels, indicated by the bright emerald-green over the
iceberg 'rams' (underwater ledges). As we neared Fossil Bluff, Ed Murton in (FBB or
FBC?) flew close before turning off and we got some good photos. Charles took
photos of the rock exposures for Mike Thomson. We had a quick turn-round at
Fossil Bluff, unloading five fuel drums. Then we did some more photography before
landing on Ablation Lake; it was a good flat surface. The three parties came out to
meet us: sledge ‘Uniform’ Peter Butterworth (Palaeontologist), and Philip McCara
(‘Bish’); ‘Victor’ Philip Howlett (sedimentologist) and Steve Long; ‘Whisky’ Peter
Hookham (Aberdeen Geomorphologist) and Brian Newham. We walked to the
shore of the lake, between two of the beautiful frozen blue shore pools and over the
bare scree slopes to their camp of three tents. One of their skidoos was modified to
steer by a wheel at the front - for use on the bare ground.
The camp was in an attractive site with a view out over the Sound. ‘Bish’
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