tiabunna's photos

Apart from weather, we had a relatively smooth run back to Mawson. Here the caravans and sledges are being ferried to Mawson - and, since our departure, the sea ice had disappeared.

When the blizzard was over, it was necessary to clear the snow from the tractors and sledges. Fortunately, on our way south, we had left our third tractor at a depot not far away, so it was possible to go there with a Snowtrac and retrieve it - checking a safe route and returning very carefully. The first tractor was relatively easy to extract, the "sideways" one proved a problem. First (as above) we tried lifting it sideways with two tractors, using steel cables and bridging timbers: all we achieved was to shake the tractor further down the slot while breaking cables and chains.

Having both our tractors stuck in the crevasse late at night, we expected to start releasing them the following day. It was not to be, as we had another blizzard, lasting four days and leaving the tractors half buried in snow drifts. More dangerously, the crevasse also had been covered with soft snow, so we had to use safety ropes and ice picks to determine its location.

Heading back to Mawson station, late at night on the 100th day of our trip and trying to make up lost time, when suddenly we stopped. Our tractor had hit a crevasse, generally referred to as a 'slot'. Many trips had been through this particular area and never before had one been encountered here.

From an old slide. About as white as Christmas can get - while we had our celebrations, another blizzard developed and was filling the air outside with whirling snow. Our chef, back in Mawson, had prepared the cake for us prior to departure.

From an old slide. Blizzards, usually lasting several days, left huge amounts of drift piled against, over and around our tractors and caravan trains. Clearing it typically took at least a day, sometimes two. Here, late in a long day's digging, much of the sledges and linking cables have been cleared of snow.

From an old slide. A few days of blizzards left huge amounts of drift piled against, through and around the tractors and caravan trains. Here is the start of the process of digging out the tractors from the huge amounts of snow that accumulated every time we had a blizzard - typically twice weekly on our return trip.

From an old slide. Totally "drifted in". A few days of blizzards left huge amounts of drift piled through and around the tractors and caravan trains. Not only is this SnowTrac filled with snow, but it is perched on a sledge that has been totally buried, as have the cables linking it to the next sledge, itself equally buried...

From an old slide. Totally "drifted in". A few days of blizzards left huge amounts of drift piled through and around the tractors and caravan trains. Clearing it typically took at least a day, sometimes two. On our return trip, blizzards were frequent and often we had only one day's travelling before being pinned down for several days, then repeating the process.