Three N.Z. Parties Visit Scott Hut At Cape Evans

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28264, 30 April 1957, Page 19

Three N.Z. Parties Visit Scott Hut At Cape Evans

[From J. HOLMES MILLER, Deputy Leader of the New Zealand Antarctic Expedition]

JY,EI£INGTC>N, April 29. T SCOTT ba SE, April 28. * he <- la fJ 10 days - vi sits to captain Scotts winter quarters at Cape Evans have been made bv three separate parties, totalling a ™ el P b ers, of the New Zealand Antarctic expedition. Cape Evans is about 15’ miles due north of Scott Base, on Pram Point. On this rocky, snow-free promontory, named after the sec-ond-m-command of his expedition, now Lord Mountevans, Captain Scott, in January, 1911, after attempting to land at Cape Crozier and being unable to proceed further south into McMurdo Sound towards Hut Point, decided to erect the hut which Was to serve as the winter quarters of his Terra Nova expedition for the next two years. From these quarters, Scott and „l s JT ty set out in November of that same year on his journey to the South Pole. The exodus from Scott Base last week began with the departure of Peter Mulgrew and Murray Ellis, who had elected to haul a light sledge over the route. Normally at this time of the year it would be possible to make the journey to Cape Evans over new sea ice, but this autumn there remains a large area of open water between Hut Point and Glacier Tongue. Consequently any movement northward from ~a rP . Point must be begun bv climbing over and along the low range of volcanic cones which runs south-westward from Mount Erebus to Cape Armitage, and bv dropping on to old bay ice lust south of Glacier Tongue crisS mg the tongue and continuing to Cape Evans on both old and new

Fast Travelling Ellis and Mulgrew left Scott Base on April 19, and two days later cammed on Glacier Tongue having pulled the 19 miles to Cape Evans and a further six back to Glacier Tongue. By anv standard, this was extremely fast travelling for man-hauling. There they camped for four days awaiting drifting snow. Next to leave base were John Claydon and Bill Cranfleld, the two expedition pilots, who as a test of the emergency survival gear carried in the aircraft, wished to simulate the conditions of a march from a forced-down aircraft by man-hauling to Cape Evans and back to base, equipped only with the clothing, camping materials and rations they would have m an enforced walk-out These two left base on Mondaymorning last, and were unfortunate in striking two days of very poor visibility in low cloud and drifting snow. Nevertheless, three days later they were camped at Cape Evans, and by midday on Friday were back at base. Main Party Leaves On Tuesday morning the main party set out. Four dog teams were driven by George Marsh, Harry Ayres, Roy Carlyon, and

myself, with Ed Hillary, Guy warren, Murray Douglas, and Bernie Gunn as fellow travellers. For them also their first two days were an experience of gropmg m blinding drift and battling against strong winds. After two days they were camped on the northern side of Glacier Tongue, where, on Thursday, with the weather clearing, it was expected that parties might rendezvous, although two days later than planned.

, Th e dog men met the airmen, men on their return journey, but; Mulgrew and Ellis had already departed homeward, and reached! base that night. On Friday the dog teams went I to Cape Evans and back to the southern side of the glacier, and at midday on Saturday all were safely back at base, after pulling up the 1000 ft climb to the north. of Castle Rock and coming -home across the edge of the Ross barrier in fine style. During most of the time the parties were out temperatures were much-higher than those generally recorded over the last month—for the first time in six weeks the thermometer read above zero. However, the common experience of all parties was that as time went on their clothing, sleeping bags, hnd tents became more and more damp, and ice crept further and further up the Lent walls. It was impossible to get or keep equipment or clothing • ry v This is ne ver a problem m the long summer day. At present about five hours’ twilight between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. is all the light enjoyed in McMurdo Sound.

Heavy Drag All parties also experienced the heavy drag on the new sea ice, apparently because, -of the heavy salt content of the thin layer of snow. This was a distinct impediment to the man-haulers, who describe it as worse than dragging a sledge through gritty sand. As for man-hauling generally, the view of the two airmen is that when forced down they will stick by the aircraft as long as possible, and let a more logical form of transport do the hauling. They were most concerned to observe that their Air Force coldweather clothing was insufficient protection for survival in these latitudes, unless supplemented by the down clothing which is a normal expedition scale issue. The single envelope sleeping bags which they carried were not sufficiently warm for camping on snow, and there was found another us'e for the down clothing. Naturally Scott’s old headquarters at Cape Evans were the focus of the trips, and fortunately all who went were prepared by accounts of recent visits for any disappointment they might have felt as they approached such hallowed ground. There were no ghosts of Scott or Wilson, no discarded plates of a Ponting, nor even a track of Day’s tractors, but there were many bales of hay such as were fed to Oates’s ponies, and a span which might have held the dogs of Meares and -Dimitri. Hut in Disorder

For the rest, there was a large wooden hut, reasonably well preserved on the outside, but completely filled with snow and ice except for the room which served as kitchen and presumably messroom at the western end. This could be entered by dropping from a window opening on to the roof of the porch on the northern side. The interior of this room was in indescribable disorder. Food boxes containing many perfectlypreserved lines such as jam, rice, and tapioca lined one wall, but many of these had been spilt on to the floor, and a central table was a litter of junk beyond description. Of greatest interest outside was an experimental sledge which resembled an Irrawaddy paddle steamer on skis. This is thought to have been tried by the Mackintosh Joyce party, which in 191617 used the Cape Evans hut as their winter quarters while laying depots for Shackleton’s projected journey across the continent.