We are parked offshore of Ross Island and today we got to go see Ernest Shackleton’s hut from the Nimrod expedition. We were briefed that the landing was going to be rough, that the ice was going to be really slick, and it was going to be a 3/4 mile walk up to the hut. The winds were at 25 knots and 28 degrees when we began and we had to go in small groups. We took zodiacs from the ship to the ice edge where the swell was shielded by the ship.
Once on the ice sheet, we had to walk very slowly because it was so slick and very uneven terrain. Some of our group turned back because conditions were so intense.
We walked about a half mile on the ice and the ice sheet butted up against black volcanic rock, we were joking that it was just like the black sand beaches of Hawaii…just no palm trees or sun…. It was a short uphill climb to crest the hill where the hut was below.
The hut was built at the turn of the century around 1909 for the race to the South Pole. Shackleton famously turned around 97 miles short of the pole in a moment that defined his leadership and earned him a knighthood. His decision to save his men came above his pride of reaching the pole.
Eight people including our guide were allowed in the hut at a time. The majority of the items are original to when Shackleton and his men lived there over the winter. There were 15 men living in those quarters for 18 months.
We left the hut to begin our walk back. Once we got back down the hill and onto the ice, a blizzard had whipped in. Visibility was almost none and there were times when we couldn’t see between safety cones, never mind see the ship. Winds were over 50mph and it was quite the adventure to get back to the ice edge. Our zodiac tried more than 4 times to reach the ship because giant sheets of ice kept flowing in. Our zodiac driver tried to push the sheets aside to get in and then when there was a break in the flow, he punched it to get us to the ship.
We were all ice and snow covered but just so ecstatic that we got to experience such conditions. Lunch was extended to ensure that all the groups coming in were able to eat and we all traded stories of time.
I went back to the cabin to rest and our afternoon landing got canceled because of the conditions. We stayed parked in the bay with the hope that the morning would clear up enough to go see Scott’s hut. We shall see how conditions are tomorrow!
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