A Weekend Away

Scree has its own smell. I haven’t smelt it since the beginning of the winter when the snow covered the stuff. It is the smell of adventure and a little bit of fear but it is a good smell.

After another long week of tinkering with Prion’s engines Erny and I brought her up to nearly full power and speed. She smokes like the devil at low revs but at high revs it clears and all in all Erny and I are very pleased with her. Just when I thought I could relax I discovered that one of Pipit’s banks of batteries is dead. Luckily I don’t think that will be a big job so I finished the week pretty relaxed.

Hazel and I looked at the weather and decided that we would try and get over to Harpon on the weekend. We did an early scrubout on Friday and headed off. The weather was perfect, sunny and not too much wind. We made good time over Echo Pass and while we got a little disorientated getting down to the hut (neither of us had been to Harpon over Echo Pass before), we got there in very good time. We wandered to Lyell Glacier which is covered in moraine, so much so that it doesn’t really look like a glacier until you get to the face. We then wandered up in the other direction and looked at the Ellies (Elephant seals). We have discovered that the Ellies over in Harpon are much tetchier than the ones round us; this is not surprising, since they never see people but it was a little surprising the first time we got chased by a female. Both Hazel and I at different times went to the beach to go to the loo and were chased into the tussock by a big bull Elly who most decidedly did not want us on his patch of beach. 

Coming down scree

Trail-breaker making steps

From Echo Pass

Lyell Glacier

 Having come over ‘fast and light’ we had rat packs for dinner but we seem to mind these far less than anyone else on base. I think this comes from both of us having eaten them at varying times on expeditions. We even have favourites. We don’t have my favourite on base unfortunately but we do havae the next best thing: chilli con carne, it rehydrates very well (very important, you do not want powder at the bottom of your rat pack). With a mug of wine and then a hip flask of whiskey we sat outside the hut admiring the stars and the half moon reflecting on the water. I even saw two shooting stars streak across the velvet sky.

Saturday dawned a little misty but that soon burnt off and we headed up the valley next to the Lyell Glacier on the hunt for Lyell Lake. After wandering along the moraine field for an hour or so we decided we wouldn’t be able to continue the way we were going so we climbed up into the high tops and decided to try for Glacier Col.

Morning mist

 We had lunch tucked behind a rock because the wind was picking up but with an amazing view of this incredible giants playground that we are just allowed to wander round in. It was at this point that the contours of the map changed from surveyed contours to estimated contours so we made sure that we were slightly more conservative in our navigation. We didn’t make it to Glacier Col but we did summit on a peak that looked down on base as a speck in the distance and Lyell Lake (our primary objective) at its foot. It was incredibly windy, with the mountain trying to blow us off,  but the views were worth the tightening I get in my tummy every time I get near a summit on ridges (with or without wind trying to knock me off).  We got back down and went a different route back to the hut but still didn’t quite make it there before the shower of rain hit us. It was only a spattering though and we were soon snug in the hut.

On the peak             (photo: H. Woodland)

  We had thought (from looking at the hut indent) that there was a sufficient supply of loo roll in the hut but we arrived to find this was not quite the case. Now this would have been fine except that Hazel had a streaming cold and required a fair bit of loo roll for nose blowing purposes. On the hunt for more loo roll we discovered both soups and puddings as well as extra ration packs (no extra loo roll unfortunately but I do want to reassure everyone that we did not run out, we just got a little close). Since it was Saturday night we decided we would have a three course dinner of thick pea soup followed by beef stroganoff,  finishing off with a ‘cheesecake’ created by Hazel from ration pack biscuits, rat pack chocolate chip pudding and a tin of peaches we had left there when doing hut checks. It was incredibly rich but surprisingly delicious. What with the other half bottle of wine and some more whiskey from my hip flask, it was a lovely evening.

During dinner we had noticed that the wind was picking up. I went outside to brush my teeth to find my legs stopping one of the (metal and not exactly light) snowshoes that had been wedged near the door from flying away. Unluckily we were too late for me to rescue one of my gaiters that had been hanging up to dry - we think it now might be on the Busen Peninsula. This wind increased until the entire hut shook with the force of an express train. Both Hazel and I were convinced that either we and the hut were going to be taken away to the land of Oz, or that the roof and/or a wall was going to be blown away. It was so strong that I made sure my bag was to hand and Hazel considered getting her bivvy bag and putting it in her sleeping bag so that at least she could be warm and dry if the roof did come off. What with that and poor old Hazel’s cough neither of us got a very good night’s sleep.

We awoke (or came out of a doze) on Sunday morning to find the wind had not yet abated and when we looked out of the window we could see winds of up to about 50kts  screaming across the water. We were very worried at first in case any pups had been washed away but we were pretty sure that none were, which made us very relieved. As we were eating breakfast we watched two males have a fight so intense that when they went into the water the sea suddenly became red with blood. It is incredible to see these fights and the huge amount of blood produced and then to see these monsters lying on the beach with bleeding cuts and know that really they are OK and keen to continue with fighting and mating.

Luckily the wind died enough for us to consider leaving the hut. We then did our morning sched; everyone off base has to do a sched (scheduled communication) in the evening to give plans for the next day but the Doc and the Base Commander have to sched in at 0900 as well to make sure that everything on the base is OK. After cleaning the hut we set off along the beach. We had decided to go along our side of the peninsula and then cross back to the base side via Boulder Pass. We wandered up the beach saying a friendly hello to any and all seals we passed, not always getting as friendly a hello back. We decided we definitely wanted to be on the tussock side of seals in case they did charge - I do not want to find myself running into the sea with a heavy pack being chased by a big male seal!

Coming down Boulder Pass (photo: H. Woodland)

Peek-a-boo!


At about midday we came upon the ridge just above Papua beach. We sat down in blustery conditions prepared to be drizzled upon during lunch but just as we started putting marmite on our oatcakes the clouds cleared and the sun started to blaze. We spent the next two hours alternately dozing and enjoying the view. As long as we were lying down the wind didn’t touch us and it was lovely. It is only on South Georgia that one sunbathes in sallopetes and primaloft jacket with just one’s nose peeking out, but it definitely works. After our much needed nap we slowly headed up Boulder Pass. The top of the pass was as lovely as ever with frozen lakes covered in snow and a wonderful view into Bore Valley. Once we came down the pass into the valley we met Micky, one of the builders, and wended our weary way home.

All in all it was a lovely weekend and all the better for the wonderful weather and it being the end (hopefully) of my troubles in the engine bay. Now we just have to think up another excuse to go away for the weekend.

Nest building