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

It was a misty day when I looked out of the tent next morning; even though the
temperature was -27.5°C it felt decidedly damp. After breakfast we loaded the
sledges, which took some time because we hadn't yet developed a smooth routine.
We packed up the tent, which went on top of the sledge-load and then lashed it all
down. We were now under the mountains of Coronation Island and the sea ice was
badly broken up and hummocked. This meant that we didn't have a straight pull but
had to pursue a winding course to avoid the floes and ice hummocks. We pulled the
heavier sledge first making our way for 2 hours through high bergs with fantastic
shapes and beautiful colouring. A glance at the watch showed that it was time we set
up camp to allow for bringing up the second sledge. We had covered very little
distance but camped near a very large berg, which resembled an old Spanish galleon
with a high poop deck. There was an area of rather rotten-looking ice around this
berg where it had been moving under the influence of the tide so I chose a camp site
some distance away - though the berg was so large that it appeared to loom directly
over us.
We had lunch in the tent and skied back for the other sledge, passing several
penguin tracks and two seal blowholes, surprised that it seemed so far. On the way
back to camp we passed a Weddell seal which had just hauled out by its blowhole; it
was a male and bleeding from many wounds so we assumed that it had been in a
fight with another male - rather early in the season. We were all feeling tired. As the
water is so very much warmer than the air (it never gets much below –1.8°C), we
think that the air temperature must have risen somewhat, but when we get back to
the tent the thermometer reads -29°C.. These temperatures would be fairly high for
winter temperatures in North America or Siberia, but it felt much colder camping on
the sea ice. It was dark by the time we got in to camp, just south of the bluff on the
eastern side of Avalanche Corrie (now called Rime Crests). The temperature that
night was -29.5°C and we were glad to get into the tent with the primus roaring
away. Our pemmican hoosh seemed not quite so filling though.
Next morning it was colder, -35°C, and all inside the tent was heavily rimed from
our frozen breath; it was rather trying lighting the primus. It was colder than we had
ever recorded at base, probably because we were in a cold pocket near the coastal
glaciers. Next morning we had to dry out the clothes so it took longer before starting
off. It had been a fine, clear night and the morning was bright and sunny with just a
trace of cirrus in the sky. Unfortunately we were in the shadow of the Coronation
Island mountains, and so the low sun didn't reach us; we would be in their shadow
until we reached the Divide. Again we made only a short distance. We camped at the
foot of a conspicuous wall of rock, which was the end of a spur separating two of the
corries on Coronation; we called it Pyramid Point from its shape. It was about two
miles west of Saunders Point which was to have been our day's target, but it was
bitterly cold that morning and the surface was very bad for pulling. We returned for
the second sledge and got back to camp at 7.15 pm as dusk was closing down. The
temperature read -15°C as we turned in, but we were warm enough inside.
The usual camping routine was as follows. The days were so short that we
pitched camp before 4.30 pm. It took us about 5 min to erect the tent and throw snow
on the valance at the bottom of the tent; passing the sleeping bags and other kit
inside to the cook took another 5 min. Then, while the others tidied up outside, the
cook got started on the cooking of the evening meal. We used a primus stove and
213