Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
105
ASCeNT OF MOuNT MARKHAM
In Antarctica, first ascents generally fall into two categories: the easy way, set out
on the summit by a helicopter, and the old-fashioned way, one step after another
till you reach the top. I've done plenty of both. It comes with the territory.
However, my most gratifying first ascent, that of Mount Markham, falls
somewhere in between. During the 1985-1986 season, I was working out of a
large, helicopter-supported field camp at the head of Lennox-King Glacier. Mount
Markham is a huge buttress with intricate ridge systems rising up its north, east,
and west sides (Fig. S.7). To reach the summit from any of these ridges remains
a challenge for extreme mountaineers. The south approach, on the other hand,
looked easy to me, at least by comparison. The summit morphology of the Mount
Markham massif is that of a three-sided escarpment or buttress surrounding a
flat area about a half-mile wide. The flat, which sits at about twelve thousand
feet, descends gently to the south over a distance of thirteen miles to a saddle at
about nine thousand feet, one thousand feet lower than the normal, allowable
ceiling for flying helicopters in the field.
The others in the party were Russell Korsch, a geologist from Australia, and
David edgerton, my graduate student. Our plan was to be put in by helicopter in
the saddle along with our snowmobile and sled, and then to drive to the top. The
day of the put-in was still and clear. Once the helicopter had departed, we quickly
packed the sled and started up the long ramp. Russell and David rode on the
loaded Nansen sled, and I drove. With the combination of the weight, the incline,
and fairly soft snow (in which we left a two-inch deep track), the snowmobile
crept for most of the distance at full throttle.
Figure S.7. Aerial view of
Mount Markham from the
east. The path followed by
the snowmobile is shown
in pink. The summit of
Mount Markham is the
dark, pyramidal peak to
the right of the end of the
snowmobile path.
