Part III: Antarctica and Academe - Scott Polar Research Institute

the Pole if we had wanted and the others urged me to do so. The weather was
perfect and one got a tremendous impression of vast space. Although we were at
8,000 ft the horizon around us once we were out of sight of the sea, was an
unbroken flat snowfield. Below one could see sastrugi (large ripples) on the snow
surface and the surface colouring was very patchy, with tones from white to
mauve, depending on the surface drift pattern. Occasional patches of thin stratus
cloud broke the uniform paleness with their shadows, but in general it was very
clear.
I saw the Theron Mountains at a distance of 80 miles to the south south west
and as we came closer they gradually took shape as a line of nunataks holding up
the flow of the inland ice to form a long dome or ridge to their east. There were
very few crevasses until we came to the Slessor Glacier, which is more sinuous than
depicted on the maps. Long lines of crevasses of different density, looked at a
distance like moraine streaks. The Shackleton Mountains came up dead on course
rising out of the ice sheet as a series of nunataks with quite a lot of bare ground -
the highest is 6,000 ft above sea level, but only 2,000 ft above the general level of the
ice cap. They are characterized by scree slopes, soil polygons, and interesting rock
strata, moraines and flat frozen lakes and obtusely pointed peaks. We turned and
flew due west, still in perfect conditions. In the distance to the south we could see
the Whichaway Nunataks - about 60 miles away. In this weather it all looked so
pleasant and so easy just to go for a walk to the Pole; one had to remind oneself that
on the surface it was very different. We crossed the Shackleton Range observing a
lot of interesting patterned ground. At the western end of the range a turn due
north brought us on a heading to Mount Faraway a shadowy pyramid marking the
western end of the Theron Range. We had been south to nearly 81°S, only 540
miles from the South Pole, but I didn't think there was any good reason for going
there, other than curiosity and to be able to say that one had been there!
We crossed the Slessor Glacier and then flew along the western end of the
Therons. Here it was easy to see how they damned up the ice, which flowed
through the valleys in chaotic icefalls. Some of the physiographic features were
extremely interesting - such as mountain ridges truncated by a glacier that had cut
through them at right angles, leaving steep cliffs. There were also very well marked
sedimentary layers and patterns on mountain walls. After leaving the Therons
behind an uneventful flight across the ice cap on a bearing due north brought us to
the Dawson-Lambton Glacier again. From many miles away we could see the blue
sea, looking like the Mediterranean, and the Brunt Ice Shelf on which Halley Base
stood. The sea was dotted with icebergs, but no pack ice was visible although a line
of clouds to the west probably marked its position.
As we approached the Dawson-Lambton, Dave reduced height until we were
flying at only 50 ft or so above the fantastic shapes of the ice chasms and blocks of
the ‘Hinge Zone’. It was out of this world - an agonized lunar landscape and in the
light of the low sun the pastel shades of the ice masses were extraordinary in their
variety. Horizontal surfaces were pink-mauve, shadows deep purple and the
vertical cliffs facing the sun bright creamy yellow. Flying so low one can appreciate
the vastness of the scale; these are no ordinary glaciers. The Dawson-Lambton
itself is an ice tongue rather than a glacier and rests on a ridge of shallow water,
curving round to the south, which prevents it breaking away to sea. There was a
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