It is an impressive thing when a National Guard Helicopter from an ice
breaker gives you a ride. A Guard Helo was kind enough to fly me over to
Cape Royds for the day, to visit Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1907-1909 Nimrod
expedition hut and a penguin colony. I watched the helo depart the tiny
Royds' campsite.
My ride out departs (video clip)
*Note: You will need a media player (e.g. RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, etc.) installed on your computer in order to listen/see these clips.
Over the hill from the tents is Shackleton's hut. I have a magical pass that
let's me enter this historical site.
The Key to the Hut
This is yet another special and stunning place to visit.
Cape Royd's View of Mountains
The Hut's Lovely Setting
Measuring 25 X 20 feet, this hut was prefabricated in England. It was pretty
well insulated with cork and felt. In 1908, the first ascent of Mt. Erebus
began from the the hut. The base of the volcano is about a mile and a half
away, while the summit is nearly sixteen miles distant. Cape Royds is the
westernmost portion of Ross Island. Shackleton and his men were forced by
heavy sea ice and other factors to make this hut their headquarters and
winter-over housing. This seems like a welcoming and pleasant hut. Even now,
heated by the sun the hut is pretty warm inside, without the ancient stove
being lit.
In the Hut
I quickly shed my red parka and spent many minutes looking at all the foods,
provisions and artifacts that fill the comfortable hut and seem to be darn
well preserved.
Provisions for the Winter
The Stove
Tasty Meat on the Wall
Shackleton's Bunk?
Actually not Shackleton's bunk. As the hut was reconfigured for another
expedition a few years later on..... it proved invaluable for Shackleton's
marooned Ross Sea Party of 1915-1917.
Have a biscuit?
Bottles
The hut has a peculiar, but nice smell inside. Smoke, seal blubber, 100 year
old human sweat? Who knows what the fragrant components are? I spent a
couple of hours alone in the hut playing guitar and thinking about the
experiences of the men who over wintered there in 1908. This was a deeply
evocative place to discover and create music. I set my video camera up on a
little tripod and recorded the clip below for you.
A little later, Josh, one of the 2 penguin biologists staying back at the
camp, dropped by the hut to see how I was doing and revealed to me that it
was possible to open the shutters on the windows. He shot this panning
video while I played some more guitar in a much more illuminated hut.
Stepping outside again, I was struck speechless by the dramatic beauty of
the setting. Looking up to Mount Erebus, I could see the tiny dark tooth on
the left of the cone, just above the close foreground rocks in the image
below. I remembered camping there (see Journal Eight) a few weeks ago and
realized that the tiny dark tooth was a huge, massive ridge. Every week I
get some new message from the volcano about how massive and beyond human
scale it is.
Erebus Yet Again
Shackelton's Nimrod Hut
Near the Hut
A few steps away was a colony of penguins, usually thousands strong and full
of chicks at this time. However this year the larger than usual extent of
the sea ice and the effects of the massive iceberg B-15 have made food
foraging difficult for the birds and there are very few chicks. The powerful
storm that we experienced a few weeks ago resulted in 150 mph winds here at
Cape Royds and many penguins were blown away or buried in the snow and ice.
Penguins
Penguin Skeleton 1
Penguin Skeleton 2
Adele Penguin
An angry skua bird attacked me to defend its egg, which you see below it in
the next image.
Angry Skua Guarding Egg
This is a glorious place to visit. I will dearly miss it when I leave. My
trip here is now half over. I can feel the departure date approaching. I am
one very lucky person to have all these amazing experiences on this grant.
THANK YOU NSF! And many thanks to all the friends and folks who helped me
through the application and planning stages of this adventure.
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