Winter Over Blog #10 2016

Time to reflect on the past 8 months down on a wee patch of Ross Island in Antarctica.

I came down here in February during 24hr sun, watched as the sea ice broke out in front of Scott Base. Witnessed the penguins, skuas and a variety marine mammals head north or hunker down and become less visible as the days drew shorter, then someone flicked the light switch to off. Through full circle to the return of sea ice and its daily rapid growth till we were able to drive over it in the Hagglunds.

Saw the transition from Antarctic summer to winter with a russet of sunsets, moving through to star gazing and the kaleidoscope of Auroras and back again, to eagerly sighting the first glimpses of sunrise, interspersed with beautiful nacreous clouds and the return to 24hr daylight.

The igloo that we built in February remains a little worse for wear but still standing in October. A testimony largely I think to the construction skills of the Apprent-ICE Ryan - though not sure how helpful “builds good igloos” would be in his CV?

Early Feb igloo                                                                   -----and early Oct

Rangi [Navigator of the Heavens] has been a stalwart throughout this time and has stayed pretty staunch regardless of the weather thrown in his direction.

The TAE letterbox has seen another winter and has, as yet, not begun to receive those unwanted circulars and flyers as reminders of how many days it is till Christmas or which perpetual sale in once again entering its final days of special offers.

The Weddell seals are returning to bask on the balmy Scott Base resort sea frontage and it looks like they have been packing on the blubber since last we met. There are definitely some similarities in terms of girth expansion esp. amongst a sizable cohort of the McMurdo base, and a few of the Scott Base compatriots may find that some of their former wardrobe has inexplicably shrunk.

Some things change and some things stay the same.

I recall the boomerang flight down here, getting to ½ way and having the flight turn around then waiting another couple of days before a successful flight and landing.

A déjà vu moment as it is now D day plus one here on the ice as the weather has once again intervened to delay the scheduled flight.

The base has gone from the hordes of people buzzing around and packing to leave in Feb, to the dwindling down to the 11 over winter staff and has now bounced back with the influx of this year summer crew.

The excitement, I felt in first being down here, I now see, with amusement, reflected in the eyes of especially the first timers. The shoe is on the other foot now and it is my turn to hand over to the incoming summer domestics /medic. I hope that there is not too much to find fault with and that I have left the place in good condition ready for the new guys to take over.

Deep cleaning the lounge                      and those hard to reach places!

Dining and kitchen strip , wax and polish—and 5 coats later

Had a quiet word with ‘Bernard’ the floor buffer to behave himself during the summer ahead as he can be a bit single minded at times in the direction he wishes to travel, until you get the hang of him.

A weird feeling to hear the vacuum cleaner going and you are not operating it or stepping into a clean shower that you haven’t cleaned.

 I look at the others from the over winter team as they work through their respective handovers and get a few tired and knowing smiles as one by one each of us relinquish the reins to the incoming team and mentally prepare for what awaits us back in the melee of life beyond Scott Base.

Becky

Ursula

Keith

Jase                                                                       Robbo

Grubb

J5 and Grubb                                                     Antz

Antz                                                                       Scooter

Andy

For some it will be a new beginnings , for others a return to resume their life before their experience down here, for the Antarctica ‘Lifers’ is it their travel and holiday time in the sun, warmth, vegetation and supermarkets full of freshies  before they come down again for yet another season.

Personally I will be going back with mixed emotions, part of me is ready to leave and find some place in sunshine, and catch up with friends. I look forward to getting up and walking around barefoot, donning shorts and Tee shirt for most outdoor wear. Hearing birds singing, rustle of leaves, feel the grass and smell the soil.

The other part will be to have to come to grips with the reality that my partner will not be at the airport to collect me, that we will no longer be heading upward towards some peak that “needs” to be summited, or a rock face to climb that Russ will (once again forget) is at least 4 climbing grades beyond my capabilities. I will be heading out on a bike ride ( to get my own back!) and won’t be wincing every time I see Russ weaving a zigzag up a hill or grabbing the bungy (he thoughtfully attached to my seat stem) for a tow up the “steep’ bits. Russ was instrumental with his encouragement of my applying to come down to Antarctica. Russ’s love of outdoors and especially mountains was truly infectious. A patient guide and a loving friend. He would have loved to have seen Antarctica.

'One of NZ's best' killed in avalanche on Mont Blanc du Tacul’

20^th June 2016

A Kiwi killed in an avalanche on the French Alps is being remembered as one of the country's most experienced and well regarded mountaineers.Tributes are being paid to 60-year-old Russell Braddock who died while skiing on Mont Blanc.

Guy Cotter from Adventure Consultants New Zealand says he'll be sorely missed."Russell was a very respected member of the New Zealand Mountain Guides Association. He's been working in the industry for many, many years, and he'll be greatly missed by his comrades" Mr Cotter says."It wasn't an incident that Russell had got himself in the wrong place by making a mistake, it was just sheer misfortune that the avalanche was initiated by other people, and then took Russell out."

Specialist mountain rescue military police were training in the area and may have sparked the avalanche on the mountain range in southeast France.Local gendarmes told media the man was understood to be ascending the mountain, but was swept away in a 600 metre-long avalanche on Monday morning.

Mr Braddock was due back in New Zealand in August.

NZ Alpine Club

Russell Braddock 1956–2016

Russell climbing the North Buttress of Mt Tutoko

It is with sadness that the New Zealand Alpine Club acknowledges the passing of Russell Braddock following a tragic accident on the slopes of Mont Blanc du Tacul, in the French Alps.

Russell started climbing in 1975, at the age of 19. He was an important member of the New Zealand climbing community through the 1970s and 1980s. During his career, Russell climbed extensively throughout New Zealand’s Southern Alps, pioneering many new routes. Some of Russell’s notable first ascents were routes on: the west face of Mt Taranaki (1976), the south face of Mt Hicks (1983), the south face of Nazomi (1984), and the north-east face of Mt Aspiring (2003), as well as the Burton Spur on Mt Elie de Beaumont (1984).

Russell began mountain guiding in 1984. He qualified as a full mountain and ski guide in 1987. Guiding led Russell to work and climb in South America, North America, Nepal and the European Alps. Two of Russell’s most memorable and challenging climbs include an ascent of Cerro Torre and an ascent of Fitz Roy in Patagonia, Argentina.

Russell’s love of the mountains not only extended to climbing and guiding. Russell worked extensively in New Zealand as a ski patroller, and trained ski patrollers for the Mountain Education Centre (MEC) of New Zealand from 2000 to 2009. His work at MEC also involved avalanche safety management, explosives use for avalanche control, mountain meteorology, hazard management and mountain rescue skills. In imparting his skills, experience and knowledge to a new generation of ski patrol, Russell contributed to an increased level of safety within the New Zealand alpine environment.