LOO-JW - Alone in Antarctica: The First Woman to Ski Solo Across the Southern Ice - page 52

The change was as abrupt and dramatic as stepping out
from the shadows into the full glare of a tropical sun. I
knew instantly that this wasn't just a local breeze. This
supercooled air belonged to the very centre of Antarctica
where temperatures are at their most extreme. Driven by
gravity, these southern winds roll downwards from the top
of the continent's domed interior towards the coast, tearing
over mile after mile of scored and scarred polar wasteland,
gathering momentum. Before they can reach the flat expanse of
the ice shelf, the winds hit the Transantarctic Mountains which
form an almighty barricade between the plateau and the lower
altitudes of the coast. The winds hurl themselves at the rock,
sweeping along the corrugated escarpments searching for any
route through. The invisible surges, frustrated in their quest for
the sea, build up behind the blockade of mountains forming
tumultuous weather systems (one of which had delayed my
start) but eventually they find the chinks between the peaks,
like the restricted corridor of the Leverett I now skied towards.
The great volume of air that has travelled so far squeezes
itself through these tiny channels with fearsome force. These
fulminating winds, governed by gravity rather than by weather
systems, are called katabatic. Some of the strongest winds ever
recorded on the planet have been katabatic winds in Antarctica.
They can persist with immense force for days at a time but are
usually very localised, which means that if you don't want to
wait out a katabatic storm you should, in theory, be able to
travel right through it.
Ahead of me I could see snow rising like clouds of steam
from outcrops of rock on either side of the narrow channel
I was to pass through, whipped into puffs by unseen winds
strong enough to create mini-tornadoes. I stopped to readjust