Saturday 1^st December

After a final difficult day striking camp and manhauling everything out to the new depot and skiway on Friday, we were airlifted out and moved to Fossil Bluff, where there is a small hut and a fuel depot. We joined Andy and Rob, who are responsible for maintaining the hut (Bluebell Cottage) and skiway and for refuelling the planes that pass through to field parties all over the pace. Although Bluebell Cottage is very basic, it is luxury compared with the last month. It is warm and there are beds, and it is good to have a table and chairs again! Continue reading →

Wednesday 28^th November

Today we took all but essential living kit (leaving behind the pyramid tent, P-bags, tent box, pots box, medical box and 1 manfood box) out to the depot. I had two sledges with my orange BAS kitbag, rucksack, 1 rock box, and the red geology trunk. So a reasonable load, perhaps slightly less than on my our input (either that, or I am fitter!). Ian had a massive sledge as usual. Mike had his kit bag, rucksack and the Irridium phone pelicase. Continue reading →

Friday 23^rd November

It has been an exciting few days as we near the end of our third week. Yesterday we had a good, fruitful day in Unnamed Valley and today we walked right to the head of Ablation Valley. We climbed to the top of The Mound, a large bedrock hump in the middle of the valley, where we found some massive boulders on the ice surface. They probably originated from a rock fall onto the glacier surface, at some unknown time ago. We also mapped and sampled some cosmo samples from the high glacier lateral moraines. At this elevation, we appear to be above the drift bearing Palmer Land granite erratics. Continue reading →

Thursday 15^th November

Ablation Point in the fog

Today, like yesterday, was relatively warm, wet, windy, overcast and foggy. Pretty miserable weather with a cold wet wind and snow. I prefer it when it is colder but dry – this temperature (-03°C, wet, humid), is most unpleasant. Like an English winter! Continue reading →

Friday 9^th November

Ian Hey amonst the snow snakes – blowing snow, snaking over the land

And so fieldwork begins. Today we have had exceptionally good weather. -08°C, clear, sunny, no wind. Yesterday was rather windier with many snow snakes that I spent ages (rather unsuccessfully) trying to photograph. Continue reading →

Monday 5^th November

We were dropped into Ablation Valley in the afternoon following a morning of waiting for a weather window. We finally departed around 4 pm following the arrival of the Dash-7 at 3:01 pm local time.

Continue reading →