Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
108
of the snowmobile, and figured that when the slope went flat, we would be on
top. To make matters worse the wind speed steadily increased as we continued
to climb. Then a blessing, the snow surface began to break up into patches of
blue ice, and I again had a surface that I could see, albeit for only about thirty feet
ahead.
When the surface finally flattened, the patches were less snow than blue ice,
and the wind was an unwavering stream at probably thirty to forty knots. I chose
a patch of snow to plant the tent. Russell and David were stiff from the cold; I
was sweating from gripping the handlebars of the snowmobile behind its wind-
screen. The next ten minutes were a frantic blur, setting up the Scott tent “by the
book” in a strong wind. With shelter secure, we dove into the tent, started the
stove, and melted some snow for a brew. Dinner followed. Although the wind
was still howling as we crawled into our sleeping bags, the only real concern as
we fell asleep was, when would it end?
The answer came as we awoke to a brilliant sun and not a breath of wind.
Our marching orders being “Geology First,” we carefully worked down the
ridgeline that drops from the northwest corner of the buttress and spent the
day mapping on the exposed cliffs. After coming back to the base camp, we
drove over to the summit rise, parked the snowmobile, and climbed a couple of
hundred feet up a slope of snow and sandstone ledges. The summit of Mount
Markham is a broad, flat slab of sandstone maybe one hundred feet across. With
only the slightest bit of breeze, we walked to the northern edge of the slab and
gazed out at the most spectacular panorama I have ever beheld (Figs. S.8, S.9).
A grand and graceful system of ridgelines rose twenty-five miles out and steadily
climbed through highs and lows, converging on our lofty spot. Nimrod Glacier cut
the scene in half, with mountains on the other side extending back another fifty
miles or more. Both the Ross Ice Shelf and the Polar Plateau were in view.
Can it ever be any better than this?
By then completely drained, three men and ten dogs started back on New Year's Day,
1903. On January 3, two dogs dropped in their harnesses, on the 4th another. By Janu-
ary 7 the remaining dogs were beyond pulling at all, so they were cut free to follow along
behind. Storms with melting snow pelted the party, but the men dared not stop short of
Depot B. A sail rigged to the sledge aided the march when southerly breezes were blow-
ing. During one blizzard the men sailed so fast that they could barely control the sled.
As they neared the area of Depot B on January 12, another blizzard came down, totally
obscuring the landmarks by which they could reckon their way. They marched blind for
a distance and then camped. The next day brought the same gray weather and another
blind march, but after three hours they camped again, afraid that they would pass the
depot. In the afternoon during a brief clearing, Scott spotted the flags of the depot about
two miles away, and they reached it two hours later.
