Sitrep Thursday 9.11.6, 2223hrs AEDT

Greetings Sitrep Subscribers,

It was all hands on deck today as the team (including Yours Truly) hit the huts this afternoon with the intention of removing as much snow and ice as possible. 

Extricating one heritage hut from a century of hardened glacial snow and ice.

It was still very windy and that meant we couldn’t get the power tools out, so it was the good ol’ shovel and spades. Ain’t nuthin’ like putting a few vertebrae out while trying to stand upright in 60kmph winds and minus 13C (minus 25C with the wind chill today too).

So, the team is slowly but surely making some progress and we’re anticipating even lighter winds tomorrow afternoon and Saturday, which will make life marginally easier.

It’s good to get outdoors, to be honest: these four small walls can become claustrophic and some fresh air – some VERY F-R-E-S-H air, no matter how cold or blowy – is actually quite invigorating, if indeed it does leave one’s face very weather-beaten.  It’s a sod to photograph in, however, even with a tripod.

Anyway, the southern plane of the roof of Mawson’s main hut is becoming more exposed and with a bit more ice removal, the heritage carpenters Ted and Marty, suitably aided by trades assistant Psycho Chris and our team leader and conservation expert Ian can then begin to overclad the most important part of the roof, something which everyone is keen to see ASAP, being the most fragile part of the roof.

Primary works program issues aside, life in the Sorensen has settled into a steady routine.  Our waking day is generally a few hours behind what we’re normally used to back home (i.e. up late, breakfast around noon or 1pm; lunch as late as 4.30pm and then evening meal around 9.30 or 10pm), partly because the wind is almost always worse first thing in the morning and then eases off. So, no point in putting in a show much before 11am if it can be helped.  Besides,  our double-barrelled sleeping bags are about the only warm place first thing in the morning and even indoors the room temp is well and truly sub-zero.  The lowest temp inside has been about minus 20C (good job there’s no wind chill indoors) and all I can say is we’re all very happy having the small portable gas heaters to hand.

Anyway, over to you!  What’s your news?  You can email us at mawsonshut@uuplus.com with your goss and fan mail (but please, no attachments or swear words as the automatic computer email administrator either strips such content out or bounces your email back undelivered.  B*$@^#*)

Till tomorrow, friends and worldwidewebwatchers.

Simon

Sitrep 8.11.06, 2203hrs AEDT

Greetings Sitrep Subscribers,

Dear readers, I could be struggling for material here today. For a second straight day, we’ve been virtually hut-bound because of 100kmph roaring winds.

There's only one thing to do when confined indoors in a blizzard - step outside into the blizz for a few seconds for comedy value.

Honestly, it’s relentless, except for when we get the brief lulls.  Just like turning on a tap or flicking off a light switch, a 100kmph wind has the ability to stop dead.  Funnily, you’d think you’d always be aware of the howling gale, but it’s when it stops suddenly and completely that makes you stop dead in your tracks.  It’s very eerie.  Literally, like the calm before the storm.

So another day of mild frustration and semi-boredom stuck in the Sorensen Hut trying to occupy oneself without getting in each others’ way or losing the plot altogether.

Mrs Mop here spent most of the morning cleaning, baking bread and making pizzas but Marty and Chris also indulged in a little matronly activity, namely sewing (sewing sponsor labels on our jackets, though I stopped short of asking if they’d darn some of my socks, partly because that would just be cruel given current hygiene practices – and besides, I’m wearing three pairs so a small hole in toe doesn’t matter much – and partly because they’d probably take me outside and beat me up, regardless of the sub-zero temps.  Remember?  Psycho?  Deliverance?  Chainsaws?  Remoteness?  Oh, c’mon keep up!)

Darkness descends on the Sorensen Hut seconds before the latest blizzard.

To wit, today’s achievements amounted to aforementioned household chores, though for a short 48-minute hour late this afternoon, the wind did it’s eerie-stop-in-an-instant thing and in doing so, lulled us into a false sense of belief that it had ACTUALLY STOPPED.

So the team buzzed over to Doug’s on the quads, with the exception of Ian who walked across via where Magnetograph House and Absolute Magnetic Hut are located (somewhere beneath one’s feet buried in 12 trillion cubic metres of ice and snow).  The lads got as far as unpacking their tools and gear before the wind came a-roarin’ down off the plateau.  That was the end of that idea.  So back they came, trudging home to the Sorensen.  The same weather is forecast to continue until tomorrow (Thursday) evening, but we’ve also been advised that a rather big area of low pressure is due for a visit, so quite how long it is until we can get back to Mawson’s Hut to do some decent work is anyone’s guess.

The weather is here – wish you were beautiful.

Kool and the Gang

(all words and pix Copyright 2011)

Sitrep Tuesday, 7.11.06, 2053hrs AEDT

Greetings Sitrep Subscribers,

Uh-oh, spoke too soon.  The almighty wind came powering off the plateau overnight and was so loud and strong that I, for one, was woken up at 6.30am after just five hours sleep.

Psycho struggles to stay upright as a blizzard hits Cape Denison.

It sounded pretty serious outside so I thought I’d get up to check the food bins outside in case they needed better securing. Which they did. At least one appeared to have lost a lid and the food (the important stuff like lollies, biscuits, chocolate muffins mix, dried fruit and nuts, Tim Tams and other goodies) were threatening to RTA (Return To Australia) of their own accord.  This had to be stopped.

Further checks out the window also revealed that one of the quad bikes (you can imagine how heavy and cumbersome they are) had also been blown from where it WAS parked and into the trench in front of the Sorensen, to be saved only by our rope handrail. Another few metres more and we could well have been extricating Marty or Chris from their squashed tents. Chris’ medical briefings would have come in handy then, eh?

So, action stations. Problem was, when Ian and I tried to get out to save the lollies, etc, we couldn’t open the door: it was frozen shut.  Oh, the irony of being incarcerated inside an industrial-sized walk-in fridge freezer with an equally industrial-sized fridge freezer door that had been iced shut – in the planet’s biggest icebox!

Anyways, we’re a resourceful lot (you have to be in a place like this): one kettle full of hot water and a lemon squeezy bottle later and we eventually managed to yank the door open and save the goods.  HURRAH! (Better eat them now before any other catastrophe befalls us).

To business sports fans, and for those of you not caught up in the fever that is Melbourne Cup day (as well as those work-shy bludgers who get the day off work simply because they live in Victoria), while it was a mild minus 7C outside at 11am today, the variable winds accompanied by some bursts of thick, wind-borne snow meant the team was unable to get over to Mawson’s Hut to continue yesterday’s fantastic work.

Our colleagues and countrymen over at Casey station sent us a four-day weather forecast indicating only a low chance of being hit by a full-on blizzard but with the winds gusting as fast and as powerful as forecast, that could limit our ability to work on the roof planes and might also restrict snow/ice excavation.

In an environment like this, it’s safety first of course.  None of us are about to develop a new hobby as DIY kites, though for sheer comedy value I might stick on my freezer suit again tomorrow and stand out in the middle of the slope outside and see how far I am propelled.  The penguins seem to have got it down to a fine art, anyway.

And finally, ‘Bakers Delight’* opened for business today in Cape Denison. Yup, Yours Truly whipped up his first loaf of bread, which means bacon butties for breakfast tomorrow (followed by a fistful of lollies -  YEEHAWWW!)

Later,

Simon

* The Australian franchise Bakers Delight did not sanction this message and the above info is not necessarily representative of company policy of Bakers Delight Pty Ltd. Come to think of it, they probably don’t even know they’ve expanded here.  However, business is not likely to last too long; one local disgruntled customer was overheard to grumble “what’s the point, they don’t even do coffee scrolls here” (ungrateful git)

Sitrep Monday 6.11.06, 1235hrs AEDT

Greetings Sitrep Subscribers,

And first, an apology for a lack of a sitrep on Sunday. Yours Truly developed a mild case of sitrepitis after a heavy day’s slog in the field documenting an equally heavy day’s slog by the team as they excavated a stack of snow and ice from the Main Hut.

Anyways, Psycho Chris produced some heavy duty drugs today as part of his daily medical briefing and the very sight was enough to cure aforementioned ailment.

Well, another day, another bleedin’ marvellous dose of decent weather.  As I write, Ted, Marty and Chris are already over at the hut continuing the good work of clearing the snow.  Currently, it’s a sunny -5C, -12C with wind chill, the home of the blizzard is failing to deliver with wind speeds of just 7 knots from the south-east and relative humidity (measuring just how dry ’tis round these parts) is at 70%.

So what mischief from yesterday?  Well, a balmy day allowed all planned activities to be achieved. The millpond calm conditions allowed a significant dent to be made in the amount of snow covering the Main Hut. All snow was removed from the northern roof plane and from the upper reaches of the western and eastern roof planes.  The lads pulled out all stops to shift approximately 15 cubic metres of snow from the ridges and southern roof plane and Psycho (a.k.a. Chris) chainsawed out igloo-sized bricks of ice, which had the dual goal of further digging a trench to access the roof and also build a protective igloo-like wall in the hope of minimising the filling of excavated holes and trenches with further drift snow.

Psycho chainsaws igloo bricks from the ice (note how I'm maintaining my distance)

And here, I must digress.  Here we are stuck in the middle of nowhere (albeit a picturesque nowhere), a million miles from the nearest cop shop with a guy nicknamed Psycho whose weapon of choice is a chainsaw.  Not only that, he plays banjo (no kidding).  Should I be worried?  Bloody oath, I should.  Do the words Deliverance, Texas, Chainsaw, or Massacre mean anything to you?  They mean a great deal to me.  Think I’ll be sleeping WITH a satphone and the cops on speed dial tonight, for all the good it’ll do.

Anyways, moving on (quickly), today’s main Plan ‘A’ is the organisation of work equipment, tools and infrastructure at the Main Hut with a view to commencing over-cladding of the exposed northern roof plane of the Main Hut (weather dependent) and the continuation of snow removal from the southern roof plane (the extent of this work will be dependent on roof-overcladding activities).

And finally, our colleagues and countrymen over at Casey, the next nearest Australian base (approx. 1,5000kms to our west) have agreed to provide us with regular weather forecasts for the duration of our stay.  That’ll significantly enhance our operational planning, allowing contingencies to be made in the event of predicted unfavourable weather conditions.

So, there you have it for today.  Now, what’s that freecall CrimeStoppers telephone number again. . .

Simon

(All text and images Copyright Simon Mossman 2011)

Sitrep Saturday, November 4, 2006, 1449hrs AEDT

Greetings Sitrep Subscribers,

Well, if it’s Saturday then it must be bath day! Ha ha, I’ll spare you the grimier details, but suffice to say we’re all now into various routines, personal and professional, and our little house on the prairie (friends, www-watchers, I’ll take a pic and send it over later) is in great shape.

The weather today has also been astonishingly kind, compared to the mid-week blizz and white-out. At midday, the wind was blowing at a breezy 20 knots; it was just minus 7C; minus 17C with wind chill; 55% relative humidity, and the sun was fighting through an overcast sky with patches of blue, a battle it was gradually winning!

It has also afforded us the opportunity to get outside and get stuff done. Once we’d all materialised for breakfast, Psycho (aka Chris) ran us through the second of now-regular medical and safety briefings, specifically the basic DR. ABC (Danger, Response, Airways, Breathing, Circulation) should we run into grief anywhere.

Outdoors, the lads have moved a cage pallet and large generator from the Sorensen to Mawson’s Hut and unloaded other cage pallets at Mawson’s Hut; we’ve moved tools and other equipment from the Granholm to Mawson’s and also begun ‘tooling up’ for the commencement of work at the hut; Chris, Ted and Marty have been trying to sort out one of the quad bikes which is playing up, while Chris ran Ian and Simon through a lesson on operating the quads and riding them safely over the rough sastrugi (the rough, uneven potholed snow surface that’s been sculpted by the wind); and work has also been carried out on the blizz boxes so the power generators can be safely stowed to minimise the ‘in-creep’ of fine drift snow.

Little house on the prairie - our digs for the duration.

Ted also advises that if the good weather continues tomorrow then work can begin on excavating the huge build-up of ice on and around the roof of Doug’s Shack.  We can only hope and pray that the sun continues to shine from here on in.

Watch this space.

Simon

Sitrep Friday 3.11.06, 1940hrs AEDT

Greetings Sitrep Subscribers,

After yesterday’s 24-hour whiteout blizzard which kept us indoors all day, except when minor necessities demanded (refuelling the power generators; foraging for nuts and berries in the outside nally bins; urgent calls of nature; etc), today was more about ‘de-blizzing’ almost everything.

In short, de-blizzing entails cleaning out snow which has managed to blow into any and every conceivable nook and cranny, indoors and out.

To give you an idea, the Sorensen Hut (our home for the duration) is pretty well-sealed and the front door (the only entrance-exit) is basically an industrial-sized, walk-in fridge-freezer door.  However, that didn’t stop the fine snow getting in.  At its worst yesterday, we had 10cms of drift INSIDE the vestibule.  Clearing it out was like fighting a losing battle, but one we had to fight if we were to keep the snow from totally taking over.  Today, we’ve been coming across the white stuff in the most unlikeliest of places indoors; with the heaters on, the floor has also become a constant puddle, which if it freezes over can become something akin to an ice rink.

So, today was spent cleaning out and mopping up, sorting out and re-organising the Sorensen to make better use of limited space. Today’s weather conditions also allowed us to de-blizz the dunny and the tents, as well as re-guying the tent ropes which slackened off somewhat in yesterday’s howling winds.

Elsewhere, the lads also had a very productive day:

- Re-wiring the Sorensen so the power cable is not running in under the front door seal, and also installing a light in the kitchen;

- Laying boards on the southern part of the deck to create more storage space outside for items like gas bottles and petrol cannisters;

- One cage pallet has been prepared for RTA (Return To Australia);

- Chris the team medic ran us through a medical equipment check and procedure, which was very helpful. Break a leg out here and no one’s going to hear you scream;

- The power generator is now snugly fitted into a blizz-box, so hopefully it will be less likely to succumb to the fine drift snow (however, we’ll continue to watch for flying pigs);

- And, Ian and I once again trekked over to Dougie’s Shack to check on the extent to which yesterday’s blizzard had affected the roof (Rob, David J - see comparison pix in separate email). Thankfully, there was no additional build-up of drift snow, which bodes well for getting in there once the weather begins to improve.

 Weather obs at midday: overcast skies, with relatively small amounts of wind driven snow, minus 8 degrees C with a wind chill average of minus 19, wind gusts of 37 knots, with an average of 26.

And finally, the inaugural souvenir edition of The Illustrated Daily Gale newspaper has rocketed off the presses. Latest audits show it’s already flying off the shelves.  Long may that continue.

 That’s tonight’s bulletin – and now you’re up-to-date.

 Till tomorrow,

 Simon

Mawson’s Huts Expedition Team

Daily Gale

Sitrep 02.11.06, 1415hrs AEDT

Greetings Sitrep Subscribers,

 Ok. So, we’re blizzed in good and proper today: it’s a virtual whiteout outside the window, and while it’s only blowing about 40 knots (70kmph), the Sorensen Hut is shaking like it’s a minor earthquake outside.  Currently, it’s about minus 15C outside (and a comfortable, nay balmy, +12 degrees C inside our home with these fantastic new heaters).

 So far, cabin fever has not yet set in and since we can’t do any serious work outside at the hut, we’re going to spend the afternoon attending to some indoor housekeeping issues, namely drawing up rosters for:

Erm, 'A' Factor, anyone!

 - dishwashing;

- sharing cooking duties;

- other general household maintenance

 More importantly, we are also looking at the risk assessment for removing the build-up of ice from around the outside of Dougie’s Shack. We’re also awaiting guidance and input from (the Australian Antarctic)  Division on how best to proceed with that element of the works program too.  But for the time being, unless we get a freakish good weather window that will allow us to get outside to the Main Hut, then we can do little else but keep the conversation flowing. And if it all turns to custard, then there’s always the entire DVD series of Blackadder the Second, or 24 (Season Three), to fill in a bit of time.

 I think I hear the kettle whistling while it works.

 Laters,

 Simon, Ian, Ted, Marty and Chris

Sitrep 1.11.06, 22.27 hours AEDT

Greetings Sitrep Subscribers, 

And Then There Were Four. (Just kidding, we’re all here and all ok!  Would’ve given our expedition planners a heart palpitation or three, though!! snigger).

Actually, we’ve been good lads – we had quite an industrious day today, mostly continuing to establish camp and improve our living and working environment.  The weather was also very favourable for most of the late morning-into afternoon. At 2pm, it was a balmy minus 10 celsius with lulls of just 4-8 knots of wind.

Chris (Gallagher, team medic) blizzed good 'n proper.

 Tasks completed today include:

 - Chainsawing a hole in the ice bank outside the hut to deep-freeze our fresh meat supplies (Ted);

- Getting the quad bikes up to full operation (Chris and Marty);

- De-blizzing one of the petrol generators which had iced up overnight (Chris and Marty);

- Retrieved food boxes, ice axes, parts for the quads and other equipment from the cage pallets, which were dumped around at Dougie’s Shack by the choppers (everyone)

 Slowly but surely, Camp Sorensen is being tidied up and Chris and Marty have taken out options on two of the three tents (the Cape Denison property market is enjoying a boom time), though both lads did report a noisy night as the tents flapped violently in the hellish night-time blizzard. 

Ian and myself are planning on taking it in turns to sleep in the third tent, so one of us can sleep in the Sorensen Hut in case anyone tries to call us on the satellite phones overnight or at some equally inconvenient time.

 This afternoon, Ian and I took advantage of a lull in the weather to walk around to Mawson’s main hut to photograph the building. Basically, it is virtually buried (see pix in sep. email), bar the top part of the roof, but the hope is to get in and start work on the roof within the next couple of days, weather-depending.  Rob, Ian is planning to phone you tomorrow (Thurs 2nd) to discuss matters, but in the mean time, could you possibly ask around the Division as to the best advice on how to stop the work space from being blizzed up again once the initial drift snow is excavated.

 Also, could you contact Casey and have them email us a daily weather forecast so we can better plan our schedule from here?

 Cheers and good night.

 Simon

OPERATION ANGUS – Sitrep 31.10.06, 1627hrs AEDT – an addendum

Greetings Sitrep Subscribers, So soon! 

Further to sitrep 31.10.06, 1627hrs AEDT, I’d just like to add our best wishes to Angus (’twas remiss of me to forget) . . .

Angus mate: it was bloody great having you around these past few weeks. DVD nights and future repeat screenings of Team America: World Police will not be the same without you.

Godspeed, bon voyage and safe travel back home; give our very best regards to Meg, your kids and anyone else who knows us or who is following our progress online. Tell the world who we are, where we are and what the bloody hell we’re doing here – you’re the messenger now.

We are all looking forward to a reunion dinner with you back in terra australis early in the new year (and on a personal note, gizza call when you’re next in Melbourne – after I’ve returned, of course).

Safe travels, our good and dear friend.

 Ian, Ted, Marty, Chris and Simon

Angus with L'Astrolabe in the background before we sailed south.

OPERATION ANGUS – Sitrep 31.10.06, 1627hrs AEDT

Greetings Sitrep Subscribers,

And Then There Were Five.

Operation Angus was launched in earnest this afternoon and the world’s greatest realist oil painter is now on his way back to the real world aboard the good ship L’Astrolabe.  His departure will be greatly felt by those he’s left behind at Cape Denison.

In the end, it was a great rush to get Angus over to the main hut so he could get his impressions and photographic reference material, as well as a few key sponsorship photos and video for him to take back to Australia.  We were busy doing very little in the Sorensen (mostly because of the awkward weather, you understand) when Chris, who was working outside, radioed in to say Angus had to get his stuff ready ASAP as one of the choppers was flying in the last of our cargo from the ship and he had to be ready for pick up within 50 minutes.

Battling through the blizzard (it's seriously not funny)

Trouble was, the weather had to date stopped him from doing any of his work but he had to get to see Mawson’s main living hut before being evacuated. However, all came good in the end. We hurriedly helped him pack and then he, Ian and myself trekked the 800 metres around to the hut (you wouldn’t believe how long that took and how hard it was walking in the high winds!) and assisted him with the sponsorship photos and video for Kordia, one of the sponsors, before he was whisked off.

As mentioned, the last cargo was finally flown in this afternoon in marginal weather conditions. The 60-knot (110kmph) wind and dense blizzard drift snow this morning prevented any such activity, but this arvo the weather improved enough for heli-drops in periodic lulls in the katabatic.

Right now, the boys are working on throwing up the tents so we can start organising our working environment a bit better. The Sorensen is still a picture of chaos with bags, backpacks, survival kits and nally bins full of food lying around everywhere. Workcover snouts would have a field day with this one.

On a lighter note, a handful of penguins in fancy dress came around trick-or-treating earlier but we told them to beat it. Next you know, they’ll be back here carol-singing!

(Actually, with the luxury of hindsight and time, this was oddly prophetic given we ended up spending Christmas here UNPLANNED!  But more on that as we work our way through the next two months’ worth of sitreps).

Never a dull moment.

Simon and the Team

Mawson’s Huts Expedition Team

C/o Sorensen Hut, 67 degrees south

Cape Denison