3 - 9th July
This is a bit late, but better late than never I guess.
I managed to get down to Browning for 3 days. As we rode out on the quads on Saturday the wind was blowing, it was snowing, the sky was sleet gray and the ground was pure white. With no shadows at all definition was zero and visibility wasn’t too much better. It wasn’t too bad a ride down to Motherway Island. We stopped and had a look at climbing the face, then looked over to the South and saw a huge storm front moving in and the wind picked up. Cold and tired we decided to head to the hut and get it warmed up.
With temperatures at -25 outside the inside of the hut felt like -35 and it took several hours to warm up to zero degrees.
A few bottles of red and some Anti Pasto fixed the cold on the inside of us however and we woke the next day to an absolute cracker!
The skies were blue and pink, the moon was up and full and the light was fabulous for taking photos. Off we headed bright and early to get in as much adventure and exploring as we could. Well, that was the plan anyway. Not one of the quads would start, all batteries were dead. At -30+ overnight it was just too cold for tired old batteries to hold a charge. Over and hour of hard work pull starting, towing, more pull starting we finally had all four quads running. This is why I ALWAYS go out bush with a dieso. Good old Shane came to the rescue, legend that he is! Most of our gear is old and requires nursing along. It is well maintained but the cold down here is harsh on all equipment.
Once off on our way, we headed to Motherway Island and started to climb. The side we had chosen was just too steep, the ice and snow too slippery. So off we set once more to find the other side of the Island, and while still hard yakka, we made it up no worries. The view was amazing.
After this we toodled over to Peterson Island and put the declaration back with he American flag that lies there form times gone by. Times when the Yanks believed they had a claim to land that was already claimed by us. It never ratified in their senate, so to this day the claim isn’t worth the paper it is written on. But it was all tattered and torn, so has now been replaced with a laminated copy. By this time light was fading fast so we headed back to the hut once more and settled in for the night. Bare in mind that at 4Pm it is pitch black down here and the moon stays high in the sky ALL day long. There is more moonlight than sunlight down here. The days are slowly getting longer but it will be quite a while before we see any real significant difference.
The next day we woke to more crap weather and headed off as early as we could. On the way back we stopped and drilled the ice for depth, just to make sure it was actually safe to be there. The ice has been there at least 6 weeks so we knew it was fine, but it is nice to confirm the fact. I actually get a little uneasy riding the Quads on ice. The thought of a crack opening up and all that ocean underneath me is quite unnerving.
As we neare3d Robbo’s Ice shelf we came upon two Weddell Seals just lazing on the sea ice. We stopped the quads a long way away and walked up to them. They are such beautiful creatures and it is always so special when you can get so close to them. So a hundred happy snaps later we took off again. Soon the wind came up and conditions worsened. It was pretty well a hell trip home. All I can say is – Thank God I have heaps of experience on dirt bikes. Riding quads in zero visibility, with blowing snow, fierce winds and zero ground definition is hard hard work. We were all shattered by the time we got home and very glad to see station limits once more.
But it was so worth the effort. Plus, what fun would it be here if every adventure was a walk in the park. I would feel ripped off indeed. Casey has the coldest and harshest weather of all 3 Australian stations and it is one fo the things I love the most about it. I enjoy the extremes of this station and it’s harsh, unforgiving terrain. It is one of the things that make this experience so special for me. If it was all easy, it wouldn’t be very satisfying at all. Though riding back in such hideous conditions as I had on Monday I did wonder what the hell I was doing all this for. I know only one other woman who would be this silly I have to say and hopefully my mate Lisa will be here on V1 to summer with me once more. But then, I never was the normal run of the mill chick anyway.
Till next week, have a good one.
Trace
I managed to get down to Browning for 3 days. As we rode out on the quads on Saturday the wind was blowing, it was snowing, the sky was sleet gray and the ground was pure white. With no shadows at all definition was zero and visibility wasn’t too much better. It wasn’t too bad a ride down to Motherway Island. We stopped and had a look at climbing the face, then looked over to the South and saw a huge storm front moving in and the wind picked up. Cold and tired we decided to head to the hut and get it warmed up.
With temperatures at -25 outside the inside of the hut felt like -35 and it took several hours to warm up to zero degrees.
A few bottles of red and some Anti Pasto fixed the cold on the inside of us however and we woke the next day to an absolute cracker!
The skies were blue and pink, the moon was up and full and the light was fabulous for taking photos. Off we headed bright and early to get in as much adventure and exploring as we could. Well, that was the plan anyway. Not one of the quads would start, all batteries were dead. At -30+ overnight it was just too cold for tired old batteries to hold a charge. Over and hour of hard work pull starting, towing, more pull starting we finally had all four quads running. This is why I ALWAYS go out bush with a dieso. Good old Shane came to the rescue, legend that he is! Most of our gear is old and requires nursing along. It is well maintained but the cold down here is harsh on all equipment.
Once off on our way, we headed to Motherway Island and started to climb. The side we had chosen was just too steep, the ice and snow too slippery. So off we set once more to find the other side of the Island, and while still hard yakka, we made it up no worries. The view was amazing.
After this we toodled over to Peterson Island and put the declaration back with he American flag that lies there form times gone by. Times when the Yanks believed they had a claim to land that was already claimed by us. It never ratified in their senate, so to this day the claim isn’t worth the paper it is written on. But it was all tattered and torn, so has now been replaced with a laminated copy. By this time light was fading fast so we headed back to the hut once more and settled in for the night. Bare in mind that at 4Pm it is pitch black down here and the moon stays high in the sky ALL day long. There is more moonlight than sunlight down here. The days are slowly getting longer but it will be quite a while before we see any real significant difference.
The next day we woke to more crap weather and headed off as early as we could. On the way back we stopped and drilled the ice for depth, just to make sure it was actually safe to be there. The ice has been there at least 6 weeks so we knew it was fine, but it is nice to confirm the fact. I actually get a little uneasy riding the Quads on ice. The thought of a crack opening up and all that ocean underneath me is quite unnerving.
As we neare3d Robbo’s Ice shelf we came upon two Weddell Seals just lazing on the sea ice. We stopped the quads a long way away and walked up to them. They are such beautiful creatures and it is always so special when you can get so close to them. So a hundred happy snaps later we took off again. Soon the wind came up and conditions worsened. It was pretty well a hell trip home. All I can say is – Thank God I have heaps of experience on dirt bikes. Riding quads in zero visibility, with blowing snow, fierce winds and zero ground definition is hard hard work. We were all shattered by the time we got home and very glad to see station limits once more.
But it was so worth the effort. Plus, what fun would it be here if every adventure was a walk in the park. I would feel ripped off indeed. Casey has the coldest and harshest weather of all 3 Australian stations and it is one fo the things I love the most about it. I enjoy the extremes of this station and it’s harsh, unforgiving terrain. It is one of the things that make this experience so special for me. If it was all easy, it wouldn’t be very satisfying at all. Though riding back in such hideous conditions as I had on Monday I did wonder what the hell I was doing all this for. I know only one other woman who would be this silly I have to say and hopefully my mate Lisa will be here on V1 to summer with me once more. But then, I never was the normal run of the mill chick anyway.
Till next week, have a good one.
Trace
posted by Tracey in Casey - Antarctica at 7:22 pm
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