Cape Evans and the Pressure Ridges

What a packed weekend. Where to begin.... As I was mopping the floors at VMF on Saturday afternoon I got invited to Cape Evans. It turned out that the Heavy Shop crew had decided to go that evening and they were leaving at 6 which meant if I wanted to go I would have a half an hour after work to eat dinner and find/put on all my ECW gear and get back up the hill to the shop...which wasn't exactly enough time. But I really wanted to go because it was my last chance. All the delta trips that rec had organized recently had gotten stuck in the snow because of the changing conditions of the sea ice and all the December trips had been cancelled. So a bit before the end of the day I went to my boss and said "The VMF wants me to go to Cape Evans with them but they are leaving pretty soon and...", I didn't even need to finish, she said to get a move on so I didn't miss the opportunity. They were planning on a short trip, and hour out, and hour at Scott's hut and an hour back, so that we would get home around 9...well it didn't exactly work out that way but I will get to that. As opposed to the rec organized trips where they travel in a delta we were travelling in a caravan that consisted of 3 piston bullies, 2 tuckers, and a challenger named Elephant Man (if you want to see all the vehicles check out my flickr page), so we weren't as much at risk for getting stuck in the snow. We set off across the sea ice in our cool little train of vehicles but the trip out that was supposed to take us an hour ended up taking us three. We stopped because a piston bully had some weirdness with it's fuel gauge, we stopped because on of the tuckers (the one I was riding in the back of) was moving slowly and couldn't pick up speed, we stopped for seals, we stopped for the challenger to catch up, we stopped for more seals...and so on and so forth until it was apperant this was no three hour trip. So between the unexpected duration of the trip and the uncomfotable ride in the back of a tucker, I was getting bit cranky. By the time we made it to Scott's hut round 9 I was more than a bit cranky, but having reached our target destination helped with that. If you want to know about the history of the hut you should check it out and the Terra Nova Expedition, which it was built for. One of the best parts about Antarctica is it's amazing history of exploration and to be here and see the places that Scott left behind, to be able to walk through his huts that have basically gone untouched and have been preserevd by the cold for the last hundred years is an incredible opportunity, one few people will ever get to see. It's a reminder that though people love to toss around the phrase "It's a harsh continent", it could be much harsher. We could be travelling by dogsled and ponies, living in what is basically a one room hut with up to 25 other people, sleeping in tiny bunks lined with fur. Although, I have to say that Scott had a pretty nice place for his time. Anyway, we spent some time in the hut (with a trained hut guide and only 12 are allowed in at a time) and walked around the grounds where the century old crates of supplies are strewn about and checked out the lake behind the hut where the skuas hang out and act a little less scary than they do in town. And though I was happy to have seen it all I was in a hurry to get home, after a while bunny boots can feel like they weigh 20 pounds each and everyone was getting pretty tired. We finally took off back towards Mactown around 10:30 and this time there was no way I was riding in the back of a tucker. My friend Jason was driving one of the piston bullies so I opted to ride shotgun and had a much happier ride. The way back was my favorite part of the trip! The front of a piston bully has a floor to ceiling window so it was a great view and it only took us an hour or so to get back, it was great! So overall it was not the most ideal trip but at least I got to see Cape Evans and I couldn't think of a better group to go with; by the end of the night I was glad I went. The next day I was pretty worn out from being out so late (I go to bed pretty early here) and woke up sore from the bumpy ride. My shoulder, which is doing a lot better (almost normal!) was pretty achey as well but it was a great lazy Sunday morning so it didn't really matter. I went out to the pressure ridge tour; there had been a raffle for 10 groups of 10 people to go out to the pressure ridges off of Scott Base which were formerly off limits to us Americans and I happend to be one of the winners. A pressure ridge is a ridge that forms from the pressure of the sea ice constantly cracking and moving and it is absolutely beautiful. It is one of those things that just does not look nearly as cool on film as it actually is...but I took a million pictures anyway. I can't even begin to describe it so you should just check out my pictures, though as I mentioned before, they do it little justice. It was such a relief to get away from McMurdo so much in one weekend, I really needed it. Despite the delays in getting out to Cape Evans or how tired I ended up on Sunday night from all of my outdoor adventures, I had a weekend that reminds me of where I am and why I am here and how amazing this place can be. After looking at the blindingly white sea ice for hours coming home to Mactown's brown dirt and colored buildings seemed a lot less mundane then when I left it.