Part I: Seals teeth and whales ears - Scott Polar Research Institute ...

On another fine day at the end of August Derek and I took the theodolite up to
the top of Mount Stygian again. We skied by the usual route to Robin Col, where we
left the skis, and on to the summit, which we reached in under an hour from base.
Derek set up the tripod and achieved a round of angles while I took photos with the
Trinol lens. The views were superb. Some very large icebergs were visible between
Coronation Island and Inaccessible Islands, which looked like one continuous line of
ice cliffs more than ten miles long. Some leads had opened off Cape Vik, otherwise
none could be seen as far as the horizon. Down then, stopping for a cup of coffee
where we had left the skis, and off again down the slope. I whizzed past Derek at
speed and had an exhilarating run to the bottom in thin snow - complicated by the
swaying of my burden of theodolite, tripod and rucksack. I looked back for Derek
and saw him lying down near the top. I wasn't sure whether he was all right, so
shouted; there was no reply or movement so I turned and began to go back up again
when he got up and came down slowly to join me. He had banged his head when he
fell, but no harm done.
In these ways we were gradually accumulating experience of getting around
safely (?) in our new environment.
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