The Home of the Blizzard / Being the Story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914

y crevassed downfalls near the coast. Traversing this from north to south was a narrow belt, reasonably free from pitfalls, running as a spur down to the sea. T

ocks and islets, would not come into view until within two miles, as above that point the icy slopes filled the foreground up to the distant berg-studded horizon. D

vious. Already we had a flagstaff two miles to the south. It was now

into the hinterland, to see its possibilities, and with a view to an extended sledging campaign to commence as soon as poss

This appeared to be the settled state of the weather. We d

we made a start. We intended to get the packed sledge up the first steep slope, there to leave it until the morrow. The drift was slight and low, flowing along like a stream below our knees. Bickert

en our companions of the day before, who had again assisted us, turned back. At five and a half miles the brow of the main r

each about twenty-five miles away, and between them lay an expanse of sea dotted with many bergs. The nearer portion

e-mile flag, however, the ice was gashed at frequent intervals, producing irregular crevasses, usually a few yards in length and, for the most part, choked with snow. At

lled out to inquire if there was anything wrong, and received a reply that he was looking for the primus-pricker. Then he slipped back into his sleeping-bag, and all became quiet, except for the snow beating against the tent. So I presumed that he had found it. Revolving the incident in my mind,

the crevassed zone; and that could only be done on a clear day. I decided, accordingly, that if the weather did not improve by noo

(containing a thermograph) into the ice, I made lunch and prepared for our d

r having steadily improved as we descended. On comparing notes with those at home it appeared that w

House. The framework, which had already been erected once, to be demolished by th

by much drift; for some hours it continued at eighty miles per hour, the

ch as the Hut. In such a position they were soon completely buried and oblivious to the outside elements. Thus one would sometimes tread on a dog, hidden beneath the snow; and the dog often showed less surprise than the offending man. What the dogs detested most of all during the blizzard-spells was the drift-snow filling their eyes until they were forced to stop and brush it away frantically with

except one; the offspring of Gadget. This puppy was called "Blizzard." It was housed for a while in the veran

th. The cause was never satisfactorily explained, though a piece of strong string embedded in the wound evidently made the incision. Caruso was brought inside, and, whilst Whetter adminis

r those who worked on the interior linings. When completed, the walls and roof consisted

f drift-snow whirling past. In those days we were not educated in methods of progression against heavy winds; so, in order to get Hurley

almost to the roof on every side. The unprotected roof was lagged with sacks and sheep-skins and, after this had been effected, the hut became practically windtight. The external covering controlled the influx of cold from the penetrating winds, and, o

und that one had been carried away in the hurricane. The other was brought in very much battered. That night it was decided at the first opportunity to haul up the boat and house it for the winter. Alas! the wind came down again too quickly, increasing in force, with dense drift. It was still

ble features of Adelie Land. By itself such wind would have been bad enough, but, accompani

hink. The cases outside were a partial protection, but the cracks were innumerable, and in the course of twenty-four hours the sn

past the canvas doorway. The only way to get over this trouble was to shovel out the accumulations every morning. On one occasion, when Close was nightwatchman, the drift poured through in such volume that each time he wished to go outside i

he standard barometer, which was suspended near the centre of the room, was taken as the "hut temperature". Near the floor and walls it was lower, and higher, of course, near the stove. On one occasion, in the early days, I remember the "hut temperature" being 19° F., notwithstanding the heat from the large range. Under these conditions th

aratus. To raise the temperature quickly, blocks of seal blubber, of which there was always a supply at hand, were used. The coal consumption averaged one hundred pounds a day, approximately, this being reduced at a l

ice, and the Hut would rapidly fill with smoke until some one, hurriedly donning burberrys, rushed out with an ice-axe to chip an outlet for the

been other exhibitions obscured by the drift. As the days went by and the equinox drew near, auroral phenomena we

it was "typical Antarctic weather," thinking of those halcyon days which belong to the climate of the southern shores

of the equinox there would be a marked change for the better. Not a moment was lost: some were employed in ma

of the air-tractor's case. To stiffen the whole structure, a small amount of framework, in the form of heavy uprights, was set in the ground. The dimensions inside were thirty-four feet by eleven feet; the height, eleven feet at the northern and six feet at the souther

one that came ashore was shot for food. Unfortunately, the amount of meat necessary for t

ts, and the birds were often in a wretched plight owing to the wind and drift-snow. Many were added to the bleaching carcases which fill the crevices or lie in heaps on ancient rookeries am

no bounds. Occasional days, during which cameras that had been maltreated by the wind were patched up, were now looked upon as inevitable. One day, when Webb and Hurley were both holding on to th

r, giving us an opportunity of continuing the buildings outside. It was only by making the most of every odd hour when the weather was tolerable th

lakelets. Snow fills all the crevices and tails away in sloping ramps on the lee side of every obstacle. In midsummer a good deal thaws, and, re-freezing, is converted into ice. The highest point of the rock is one hundred and forty feet. The seaward margin is deeply indented, and the islets off shore tell of a continuation of the rugged, rocky surface below the s

sal moraine, which means that the lowest stratum, about forty feet in thickness, is charged with stones and earthy matter. Above this

Quarters, acting as an obstacle, reduces the motion of the ice to an annual rate measured in inches only. Perhaps the conditions now prevailing are those of a comparative "drought," for there is clear evidence that

d in the presence of a continuous, terminal moraine, at or just in advance of the present ice-front. This moraine, an accumulation of stones of all kinds brought to their present resting-pl

ILLUST

the Continental Ice Sheet inland

st. His plane-table survey and rock collections are practical evidence

the samples brought by the ice and so conveniently dumped. Let us swiftl

ished and furrowed, for ever moving onwards. Finally, the rock-powder or "rock-flour," as it is termed, and the boulders, thenceforth known as "erratics," arrive at the terminal ice-face. Here, the melting due to the sun's heat keeps pace with the "on-thrust" and some of the erratics may remain stationary, or else, floating in the sea, a berg lad

eous rocks, and, on a more limited scale, sedimentary types. Am

e dark bands of schist which tracked about in an irregular manner. Sporadic quartz veins here and there showed a light tint. They were specially interesting, for they carried some less common minerals such as beryl, tourmaline, gar