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Belemnite Point
At the 8:00 AM weather briefing on December 31st, 2008, we received the go-ahead to make the move to our field area at Burn’s Bluff. The flight apron was abuzz with activity, as the two Twin Otter aircraft were loaded up with all of the equipment necessary to keep Sledge Golf sheltered, safe, and successful during a two week stint in the field. Dave and Dan (one of the excellent BAS mountaineers assigned to our project) were on the first flight to ferry our kit (equipment) out to the field site, and a second Twin Otter soon followed them down the runway, disappearing to the south above an ice-berg dotted Marguerite Bay.
The first Twin Otter leaving Rothera to lift Sledge Golf into the Field with Dave and Dan aboard.
Ferg and I waited eagerly to hear whether the other half of our Sledge party would be able to land in Burns Bluff. After mid-morning Smoko, we were told that contrast was too poor to land at the Bluff, and that we would instead set up our first camp at Belemnite Point, a bit further south and some 30km or so across George VI Sound on Alexander Island.
By the time 1 o’clock rolled around, the Twin Otters had returned from the 2 hour ferrying of half of our gear southward and were back at Rothera to retrieve the rest of the gear and the rest of Sledge Golf.
By the time 1 o’clock rolled around, the Twin Otters had returned from the 2 hour ferrying of half of our gear southward and were back at Rothera to retrieve the rest of the gear and the rest of Sledge Golf.
The Twin Otter and Doug, our pilot for our lift into Belemnite Point.
Loading up the "kit."
Ferg (BAS Mountaineer Extraordinaire) waiting to fly to BP.
BAS Twin Otter.
I stood outside of the tiny, pretty, red, twin propellered plane and was almost shaking with excitement. Hoisting myself into the back of the Twin Otter, I walked past our equipment to a tiny bench seat behind the cockpit and sat down next to an oval window. As we lifted off the runway, I could feel my heart beating loudly in my ears over the sound of the propellers. We circled around Rothera once and then headed south as we broke through the clouds.
Rothera Research Station from above.
I soon spotted the high eastern peaks of Alexander Island off to the west. How funny it was to greet those mountains. It was like greeting an old friend. I felt like I knew those mountains because I had studied their history. It was at that moment that I realized then that I knew more about the geography of the Antarctic Peninsula than I did of the state of South Carolina! We continued on above the clouds, passing along the center of George VI Sound between Alexander Island to the west and the Antarctic Peninsula to the east. Ferg, who was riding “shotgun” steered the plane while our pilot read a book. I stared out the window in awe, taking in all of the white and blue.
I soon spotted the high eastern peaks of Alexander Island off to the west. How funny it was to greet those mountains. It was like greeting an old friend. I felt like I knew those mountains because I had studied their history. It was at that moment that I realized then that I knew more about the geography of the Antarctic Peninsula than I did of the state of South Carolina! We continued on above the clouds, passing along the center of George VI Sound between Alexander Island to the west and the Antarctic Peninsula to the east. Ferg, who was riding “shotgun” steered the plane while our pilot read a book. I stared out the window in awe, taking in all of the white and blue.
Descending...
The descent into Belemnite Point was incredible. The Sound remained mysterious and shrouded until we broke through the clouds, as towering, stratified mountains revealed their skree-cut and glacier draped flanks. You know that a place is beautiful when even the folks who make their living there stop and stare and have their breath taken away. As we lost altitude, tiny dots turned into black flags waving to us in welcome along the sides of a snowy runway. Soon the tents and Dave and Dan came into view. Touch down… home sweet home in Ablation Valley.
The Twin Otters at our Belemnite Point camp.
Tracks in the snow. This is one of my favorite photos.
Professional Antarctic Explorers. Dan and Ferg, Sledge Golf's BAS Mountaineers.
The planes getting ready to leave us.
After unloading the rest of the equipment, we watched the Twin Otters race away in the snow and disappear into the sky in the distance, leaving no sign that they were ever there except 4 people, 3 tents, 2 skidoos, boxes of food and equipment, and the traces of skis in the snow.
The last "Twotter" and one of our tents.
Nestled into Ablation Valley along the northern flanks of the fluvio-deltaic sandstones and shales of Belemnite Point, our camp was guarded by a hanging glacier on the peaks to our west. From the doors of our north-facing pyramid tents, we could look north to the flanks of other nunataks, and east across the ice-choked George VI Sound to the mountainous and snowy spine of the Antarctic Peninsula. (A gigapan of our field camp: http://www.gigapan.org/gigapans/14977/ )
Sledge Golf's camp at Belemnite Point.
My front doorstep for a few days. Looking across George VI Sound to the craggy, snowcapped spine of the Antarctic Peninsula.
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Looking ~20-30km across George VI Sound to the Antarctic Peninsula. Burns Bluff, one of our other field sites, can be seen in the left third of the photograph.
For a bit of a New Years Eve adventure, we split into two groups to scout out the field area. Dave and Ferg linked up and drove the skidoos around the Point in search of sampling locales and uncrevassed travel space. Dan and I hiked around Belemnite Point taking a series of gigapans of the Ablation Point and Himalia formations. Dan and I returned to camp before Dave and Ferg, so he brewed some tea in our tent and made some extremely delicious pesto and sundried tomato in olive oil tri-color pasta (thanks, Dan!). When Dan and Ferg returned to camp, we all toasted to the New Year over sips of very warming whiskey.
The next morning we doubled up on the skidoos and went to take our first sample of Antarctic rocks. In the cold, dry air on New Years day, I busted off a chunk of Antarctica with my rock hammer and placed it in a bag labeled “BP1” for Belemnite Point, Sample 1.
Collecting sample BP1.
Collecting sample BP2 on New Years Day.
After a lunch on the rocks of tuna, corn, cheese, and biscuits brown, we split up to do some sampling. Dave and Dan fought their way up the skree for several hours to collect some higher elevation samples, and Ferg and I traveled east to collect some coarse sandstones lower in the section. After a long day of sampling, Dan made chili con carne for supper, which we had with mango chutney and aubergine (egg plant) pickle. Done with our sampling in the area, we spent the evening relaxing in Ferg and Dave’s tent, and Ferg acquired the nick-name “Fergilicious” and Dan became “Honky Cat” (if you see me sometime, I’d be happy to tell the stories behind those nick-names).
January 2nd, 2009, the weather was poor, so the earlier portions of the day were spent contemplating the geology of the area. When things cleared up a bit, Dave and I ventured out to take gigapans of some of the spectacularly folded strata at Belemnite Point (see one of our gigapans at http://www.gigapan.org/gigapans/15006/).
January 2nd, 2009, the weather was poor, so the earlier portions of the day were spent contemplating the geology of the area. When things cleared up a bit, Dave and I ventured out to take gigapans of some of the spectacularly folded strata at Belemnite Point (see one of our gigapans at http://www.gigapan.org/gigapans/15006/).
Dave advertising for Mac, warm and comfy during the early-day lie-up on the 2nd.
When we woke up on the morning of January 4th, the weather had improved enough that we were given the go-ahead to relocate to Burns Bluff. The plan was for Ferg and Dave to go into the LeMay Range for an “Away Day” of sampling and for Dan and I to fly into Burns Bluff if the contrast had improved enough.
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