December 2, 1996

Moving Laboratory Hut at Big Razorback

With a few days open before the Cape Bird flight on Thursday, I decided to try to traveling out to the sea ice edge to record. I also wanted to work at Big Razorback with Weddell seals for a day and to visit Sir Ernest Shackleton's hut at Cape Royds--where the British Antarctic Expedition of 1907-1909 established their base of operations. The order of all this would be determined by weather and the availability of Buck Tilley. As the weather had been closing in over the last few days and Buck Tilley, the sea-ice safety instructor, was teaching David Ainley's group. As often happens with weather and scheduling, Monday was looking rather tentative for anything.

I walked over to the NSF Chalet and got the keys to Shackleton's hut a well as Robert Scott's hut at Cape Evans--with the thought that I could visit one, or both, during the next couple of days. At 9:00am all flights had been grounded and the situation would be reviewed again at noon. Visibility and horizon definition was worsening; a light snow began to swirl around McMurdo Station. The sea ice edge was out of the question as was Cape Royds, it seemed; maybe Cape Evans would work out. I checked in with the Sealheads: Tom Gelatt, Rob Jensen, Dan Monson and Mike Cameron. They were scheduled to fly out to Dunlop Island to take stock of the Weddell seal population across McMurdo Sound. By noon, the weather had deteriorated and it looked like nobody would be flying at all. I mentioned that I had secured permission and the keys to the huts and they invited me to spend the night at their camp at Big Razorback; we would try to go to Cape Royds together either later in the day or the following afternoon. With flying time cancelled, they were planning to head back to their camp and pack up the laboratory hut, as the phased dismantling of the camp was to begin on Tuesday.

I hastily packed up my gear and we set off for the Dellbridge Islands on snowmobile in near white-out conditions with a strong wind coming off Mt. Erebus. The route was flagged and we could still make out several green flags at a time. I rode out on the back of Dan's snowmobile and buried my face in his back, against a biting wind; it was cold.

While conditions improved on the way out, it looked like Cape Royds was indeed out of the question for the day and I spent the afternoon recording Weddell seal mother and pups in the lee of the island--with mixed success. As the wind picked up, they curled up against the snow and slept. We packed up the laboratory hut, which would be hauled out in the morning, and prepared a barbecued feast of steaks and lobster tails; Rob was leaving in a few days. I have enjoyed my time with this research group at Big Razorback--good comradery amongst the group, combined with a welcoming spirit and commitment to their scientific research have made this field experience one of the highlights of my trip. They also know how to ease back after a long day; we nursed a bottle of Chivas Regal which I had brought as a gift, well into the night...