POLAR EXPLORERS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1706, 25 March 1913, Page 5

POLAR EXPLORERS.

THRILLING STORY. AVALANCHE & BLIZZARD. ' SLEDGING TRIALS. MAGNETIC POLE PARTY'S NARROW ESCAPE. Mr. C. Kite], secretary to' tlio Mawson Expedition, writes: — It was only when the Aurora readied Port Esperance that those on board heard details of'the disaster'that had occurred to the Scott Expedition. The story created prof oiuid sorrow on the ship, and oil landing Captain Davis cabled to Commander Evans, and also to Mr. J. J. Kinsey, of Christchurch, New Zealand, tlio representative of the Scott Expedition in Australia, expressing on beliall' of all oil 'cue Aurora deep sympathy. I'ew.peoplo are ablo to realise the exit nt of tho sledging accomplished by the Mawson Expedition, the members of which, being- Australians,, were all novices, except Dr. Mawson and Lieutenant Wild. Wireless news from Adelio informs ,11s that Man-son's party covered a total of G0!l miles, thus bringing tho figures out as follow;—

Milts. Main tee, distance sledged 2810 Wild's base, sledged 1615 Total 4425 This, of coarse, includes journeys'which overlapped, ,but it does not- cover- tho relay' sledging, which would represent an additional 500 miles, bringing the grandtotal to approximately 51)00 miles. Main Base Parties, The southern, or Magnetic Pole, party, consisting of It. Bage (Victoria), 'Webb (.New Zealand),, and llurley (jNew South Wules), had tlio greatest privations, if 'we omit Jiawson's party, of which'the leader himself will give account '-when he returns. This , part}- reached iat. 70deg. 37imii. south, long. 4Sdeg. lliniiii. east, being within 45miles-of the south magnetic Pole. Tlie outward'riur was one of, hard conditions, iuj practically all the way heavy head gales witli snowdrift ■wen encountered, h ! or days together they were snowed'-'jup in their tent,\wlnlo at other times only two or three miles a day could be covered. In order'to-save the l tent snow 'blocks''were'cut,' and a breakwiud thrown up, in the leo of 1 which the'tent was-erected. The outw.iird" journey was . continued/till food rations''ran short, and until it was calculated that-, to reach home'in time, 10 miles, per, day would have to be covered-on the: return, irrespective'of weather conditions. 'They realised that a blizzard hold-up would mean starvation. The jilateau ; Was'covered with hard, polished,'sastrugi ridges, •varying i'roni a foot to .immense fields, 12ft. in height. Occasionalextensive areas-of piecrust snow were encountered, through which the party were-'compelled to haul thoir sledges knee-deep. . One sudi area, was 40 miles ' across. Turn Back Camp was reached Sil, 19X2, being 305 miles 'from - home. The altitude abovb eea level was 50U01't., and '-although it was ! December, temperatures as -low as 57deg. below' freezing point were recorded.

Inferno -Of Drift 'and Snow. Tho return was-, assisted; by favourable winds, sail • being hoisted Oil' the sledge. A hurried retreat was mado to Lucky Depot, 105 milts distant. ;The depot'was reached without incident, on'December'-27, but as food Was'still scant,-forced marches were made to Southern' Cross Depot, '130 utiles nearer ' home. On January -4 they came to a place which they knew, was within a'niile of the depot, but.they could not see iti and they could not locate it definitely, as solar observation ivas 'impossible. Not® glimpso of sun was'visiible for a whole week ; Tho plateau , was a seething inferno* of drift and snow. Nothing was'visible three; yards away. One might as well have been blind as try to locate tho'depot under these conditions. For three and a hall' days they staggered around searching for the depot, hoping every minute'to find it and satisfy ' their. hunger.pangs. But succors was -denied them. Had'-tlley persisted'longer in their search they must certainly have perished .x>f'starvation. At this;'point • Hurley>per-, stiaded his two. companions'to give up tho arid make a dash for-home.. They had 70 miles ,to go. Hastily- they tallied their provisions, and' found that they possessed iless than ono day's-provisions'. All the scientific instruments and'every'scrap of superfluous , gear' Was abandoned, and . off they sat. Tho trio werc.wcak after the fast of the preceding threo -and 'a'half days, yet 1 they dragged the sledge over the soft snow for a'stretch of 13 hours, scarcely pausing for a spell.- Then the tent was erectcd,-and the largest'ration affordable was served out.. -It consisted of . a cup of hoosh, which looked like dirty water, and a quantity of-alcohol but of the-primus stove mixed with melted snow. Next day it was blowing a. fierce'blizzard, but .they' plugged forward, knowing that dear-life depended on their keeping moving. Lato that evening .they struggled into the ice case at the five mile depot. There ■ they found plenty of provisions, and could even catch a glimpse of Commonwealth Bay. .Next day they rested,-and refreshed they went down the hill to'tlie-mainbase. As tho leader said, it-was a caa) of "Just in time." Their condition told tho talo of their privations as vividly'as their lips.

Avalanches of Ice. One of' tho most thrilling' incidents of the second base occurred- during the tiino they wero'laying the depot for the'eastern summer journey, about 87 : miles from home. It-was on September 1 that a party of six men, under Mr. Wild, arrived at aii exposed rock standing a-sheer COO feet high, and crowned by an ice-cap -200 feet-'thick,' making a precipice 800' feet 'in'height. 'Under this they "had camped in -what they considered was ,i sheltered hollow. .Tho" following is the - story in Mr. Wild's own words: "Wo had got one, tent up, and were;getting' tho other one'spread, when a sudden squall flattened out both tents. After tho evening meal we'were preparing our-beds, when suddenly wo wero alarmed by/ a terrible crashing-and thundering sound. :Wo realised at-once-the■ meaning. It-was a tremendous avalanche which had como down;just abreast of us. Tho noiso was awful,:and'seemed so close, we'with ono mind turned towards the,door of tho tent, with ■ the idea of -getting into the • open, but-the string of the door jammed. The men of-the other tent'were already'outside, "and-calling, 'Come.Out, como out." Then a second crash came. No morn time was spent with the door. With ono n n eord we dragged at the 'bottom of tho tent arid divod forth. The Cliff face. was hidden in tho thick shroud'of snow, representing' the 'dust of a white avalanche. We stood .ready to run. Fortunately nono of the.mighty ice missoles—some of which were 20 to 30 tons—cante witliili 100 yar<ie. We debated; moving camp, but it was now blowing hard, so wo'had no option 'but to stay "Where wo "were. During tho night we heard other avalanches speeding downwards, and after a time we got quite used to the sounds. Early next" morning a-neavy squall.struck the front of our tent and split it from top toy bottom. Tho wind became so strong tit at we found it impossible to Wand up. The inmates of tho other tent had their work cut out to prevent it collapsing, and were finally obliged'to pull the poles away ami allow the tent to fall over'them. In looking for a safe place in which to pitch tho tent, we-wero frequently blown o(T our feet ami carried along the smooth surface for 70 or SO yards. Even with ice-axes wa could .not always hold our own against wind. We therefore decided to dig a'holo and cover it with the undamaged tint. It took three hours to dig a'hole 3ft. deep, 12ft. long, and 6ft. wide, tho snow being so hard. -We were fi'cr|uentlv-knock-ed down bv tho wind during the operation, and many gusts must have been over 101) miles an hour. Once Harrison was blown clear over my -head, being lifted quite 20ft We wer-e forced to 'remain live (lavs in tho hole. Nearly every hnlfhour we heard avalanches-roaring down the cliffs close by. 'A visit to this place in the summer showed lhat: after our departure avalanche- swept over the sito of our camp, carrying ice-boulders a distance (lf :iOO vards beyond. This journey occupied 21 days 111' which we spent 11J diivs lipid up in ciimii by (lie weather." Tliia is a i>luiu talc, told by a mau who

has served on two previous Antarctic expeditions, and who, therefore, regards such happenings as merelyannoying circumstances. How a journalist would revel in describing tho occurrences!

A Depot Blown Clean Away. Preparations having been mad© .at Wild's base tor long journeys, East, Wild, AVatson, and Kennedy set lorth eastward on October 80, Harrison, with three dogs, accompanying them os a supporting part}-. It was : arranged that Harrison should return home ironi the depot. Wild's eastern party started with 7351b. on tlio three-man sledgo and 40011). oil the do 3 sledge. Jn . tho first lour days they -accomplished G2 miles over good surface, but were then detained two days by a blizzard, 'l'liey camped at the JNunatak Uepot late on : .November U> and received tho Shock of finding that the entire mound and sledge had blowli away. They searched all the crevasses and hunted carefullyover u' a.stance 'of three miles to leeward, but could seo lip sign of tho sledge. As they had nearly 12001b. -of food and equipment to cairj, tin; loss of tho depoted sledgo was a .s'erious one. A sccond sledge was absolutely necessary. So Wild was forced 'to takl) Harrison and sledge on with him. Ho was very loth to adopt this "course, as he knew ful.l well that MOyes, remaining alone at the base, must come to tho conclusion that Harrison. , had perished. With the addition of Harrison's outfit and the dogs' food, their load, was over 13001b., but they found that they could maiiago fairly well- on a good surfacc. A heavy gale kept tlieni ill camp from November 7to 12. Tho next 15 miles, was over rough, broken ice, and they 'were sure the l-idgo where the 'sledge-runners suffered' considerably was at a distance of 90 to 100 miles east of the base. Here there were numerous rock outcrops, from which wero several Moranic lines, showing clearly tho direction of tho glacial flow. Another blizzard held them up on tho 13th and part of the 11th. "• Tho next three days they had' very- trying work amongst tho crevasses ; and pressure formations, obliging them to do a lot of relay work. One place was so bad that they could >tako only small, loads over, and so had to cross'it seven times. Kennedy remarked, "I feel'like a fly-walking' on "wire-netting." Every member of tlui party had falls-into bottomless 'caverns, but tile harness was good. Oil November 18 their road eastward was blocked by a comparatively quickly-moving glacier coming down from the ice-cap and tearing ■ through tho continental ice-shelf on which they were'travelling. It came down in immense falls from a height of 2500 ft., and when they came up to it there was'a) kind ■of Bergschrund 1000 ft. wide and 3001't. deep, with masses of ice forced up to a height'of 200 ft. along its edge.

Suicide io Move. , plimljiiitf to Iho top of all,island 000 ft. high, M ild saw" that 10 miles to the northTOi'd it might ljo possible to'get through. Lho 19th to the 23rd was spent in-camp, with combined ''hurricane and blizzard /'"iging. and they feared for the Icnts. Un tlio 24th they made northward, cross-ing-many crevasses,' but keeping west of tho main disturbance. On tlie 24th tho pressure to the east appeared more open, and they turned into'it. Tho'conditions grew worse, and soon they were turning and twisting in every 'direction, - pulling up and lowering down the sledges with alpine ropes, while ice.'waves and mountain runs and statueswere scattered all round from a few feet to over 1100 feet in height; In many,places tho roads had to •l>3 cut with ice axes,-and two open leads of water-were crossed. 'impossible to see more than'a few hundred yards.'lt was necessary to first "reconnoitro for u road'and then relay, tho sledges," thus covering' the groniid fiv& times. On the 27th; they• were • stopped 'altogether. Oil every side'were hu»o waves split up ill all "directions'by crevassfcs up to 200 feet in'width, -many, of I'liem, with no visible bottom.. The only ppssilMu 'road was tho ens ;by which they .had'.' come... . From some of the highest 'points they had a fairly-extensive view, and could, see at least 10 miles of previously similar.'eountry The following -five days were spent 'in camp, Owing to the bad light olnd falling tnow it v would' have been suicitle to move. On the'23rd they' mado two miles on the back trail, and the snow' having bbliteratod;their tracks'thoy liald to sluipu 'holr course anew. Many nverls the' falls into' crevasses through- Snow lids. Onco Watson- was 'hanging' 20 feet bblow'tlic surface for 20 minutes, the rcipe 'having cut through the snow bridge (in such a v-ajri that they-could not pulli him lout until lliey had got another ono' fastened tfcius to haul him from under the liu, and the crevasse was 25 feet "wide,"with, no visible bottom. Twiwj bridges 10ft. ■n'ide fell ill just as the heavier sledgo got |over/ lho sledgo T.»aing badly damaged, "flic same kind of'travelling went on till 'December 8, when they 6nce more 'cleared ; the 'Worst, of the pressure 'formation and camped that night under a rocky headland on on island seven' miles north of thel mainland, Hundreds of snow petrels wcro' nesting in the rocks, 'and they secured sfevon dozeneggs and five dozen birds, tlie latter as food for tho dogs. They had already been compelled to.kill one dog as food-for the others. 'This supply of bints enabled them to. save the other two ;*logs_,.- They were now heading north, "aii'd intended to ascend the ice cap, and the head of the, glacier. 'Much of their travelling at this timo was done at night, as iho mid-day sun softened tho surface and | made haulage very heavy.. ,

Making Four' Miles Per Day. On -December It 'tliey leit n depot on Nunatak, oil the lower slopes of tho mainland, and commenced tlie ascent of the ice nap. The surface' on tlio'loiver slopes wift hard, and, therefore, <<nsy thauling; but as they ascended it becanic softer, and at an elevation- of iJJOOOft." they were sinking a foot at oach .step, and the sledges' were very heavy 'to pull. Another snow fall increase.! this , difficulty. On December 19 they wero'-'l7 miles-inland, and had reached an elevation of '3280 ft. above the seajevel, and w«Y'e close to a mountain peak over 4000 ft. "high. Tlio following day they climbed'tliia mountain, and saw the ice cap still, gradually rising to the southward. They realised that tliey would have to go at least 20 miles further before turning cast. ..As four miles constituted -a good day's march on-this soft surface, and as they had only a week's food -remaining, 'Wild decided to return. Wild's-party returned to the base on January 0, receiving considerable' assistanco from their sail,' at times ; pulling both sledges without help from them. They found Moyes no woi'so for his ten weeks' loneliness. He was very pleased to see them, andactually t stoo'd on Vs head for spleasuro at fho sight of' Hamsou, whom 'ho had long since given u» for (lead. This journey had occupied' TO days, on 28' of which the weather prevented them travelling. Tlio'total, distance covered by this .party (including relay work) was'J-19 miles. In tlio western depot journey-to Wild'= base was experienced ,a record 'blizzard. The parly' consisted of Dr. Jones, of Sydney (leader).'Harrison (Tasmania). 'Mo'yoe (Queensland), Hoadley (Victoria), /and Dovers (Sydney). They started from 1 the. 'base oil September 20, and 'returned exactly a'month'later. The outward .-journey was under such ;bad conditions-that wlien ; they finally established, "tile ■ depot they were able to get home in ono day. The leader reports:—"We spent-10 dovs in camp, a blizzard commencing on the nitrbt of October 9, and continuing almosf without remission until October 20, the only variations being between furious gales and tremendous snowstorms."