It is mandatory that all winter expeditioners undertake 3 days of survival field training to give us the skills needed to operate away from station and during extreme weather. Our field training started off with a registration process to detail what our plans were.
Our planned route from Davis Station on the far left to Brookes Hut top right. Each grid = 1km
Followed by collecting our field packs which contain a sleeping bag, bivy bag, ice axe, maps, compass, boot chains. In addition we add a few spare layers of clothing and survival food. We then visited the doctor who showed us through a medical kit before collecting our own for the trip. Then it was off to comms to collect a handheld GPS device, personal locator beacon and radio. After all this it was time to set off!
We left around midday for the 3-5 hour hike to Brookes Hut, approximately 11 kms. With the temperature hovering around -5.6dec cel we started walking along the rocky dingle road dodging slightly frozen puddles of water, we made our way to the turn off point to follow the lakes.
The rocky but scenic Vestfold Hills.
From here we were walking over large rocks resembling the landscape of Mars. We then came across Lake Dingle and then Lake Stinear, approximately 3 kms long. Walking right along the waters edge below rock and ice cliffs. By this time we'd been walking for about 4 hours and still had a fair way to go until our destination. Using the compass and maps to guide the way, and the GPS as a confirmation that we'd figured it out right.
We reached the end of Lake Stinear and felt like such an achievement to get to that point.
Me at Lake Stinear.
Stunning reflections in the water of Lake Stinear.
The length of Lake Stinear is 3kms!
Across another hill and we were greeted with the magnificent Deep Lake. It is located at 51m BELOW sea level, the lowest accessible point in Antarctica! The salinity is 10 times saltier than
the sea. Not the nicest water to taste!
Deep Lake, the lowest point in Antarctica 51m below sea level!
My penguin chilling alongside Deep Lake. This lake will never freeze even when the temperature gets to -40 deg cel or colder!
After a short stop we continued on our way using our maps and compass, over a massive hill of rocks and onto a steep sheet of ice. Having to get out the boot chains we navigated our way up and over with only 1.3km's to go the end was in sight.
Just before we put the boot chains on.....
Eventually after one more hill we could see Brookes Hut overlooking the slightly frozen sea of Shirokaya Bay.
Finally we see Brookes Hut!
After 6 1/2 hours walking it was such a relief and a sense of achievement to have reached our destination. Brookes Hut was originally constructed in 1972 and since then has been a refuge for expeditions on long traverses around the area providing 4 beds and a basic kitchen.
So happy!
Part of the survival training we had our dinner which consisted of a de-hydrated meal. I had chosen beef teriyaki which sounded great, looked like crap but did actually taste very nice.
Dinner before.......
Just add boiling water and wait 15 minutes. Not that we waited that long as we'd worked up a huge appetite.
Now dinner is ready!
Shortly after we got ready to sleep outside in our bivy bags. It was cold at first, but once you were in your sleeping bag it was really cosy. As soon as we had got into our bivy bags we heard a noise, halfway between a huge bang like someone had shot a gun and a cracking noise. It was the sound of the frozen sea ice moving with the tide being under so much pressure with the difference of tides. Was a beautiful sound and sight to see. It took me about an hour to get to sleep. I probably shouldn't have set up next to two large rocks, one was enough.
Getting ready to sleep.
My view over Shirokaya Bay.
Sometime in the early morning I woke up to sheets of ice falling from the inside of the bivy bag right onto my face. This normally happens with the difference in temperature and from what I am lead to believe I should have left my bivy bag open more to breath with the wind.
Jen in the orange bivy and Marty in the read bivy.
After packing up we radioed into station and they told us the temperature overnight had fallen to -9.7deg cel. The lowest temperature for February that we've had.
We waited for the Helicopter to pick us up to take us to Woop Whoop. Yes that is a name of a place where our runway is on the plateau.
Just chillin at Brookes Hut...
Flat Stanley's first appearance at Brookes Hut.
Me standing next to the frozen sea at Brookes Hut.
The black dolerite intrusions throughout the Vestfold hills.
As we left Brookes Hut the pilot gave us a nice view of the area that we had walked though. Amazing and so different from the sky.
Can you spot Brookes Hut?
Arriving at Woop Whoop we boarded a Hugglund to do our training. At first following way-points on the GPS while looking out the window, then once we were confident with the windows blacked out, only using the GPS to guide us.
Navigating with the GPS and looking out the windows.
We got trained on the blue hugglund which is behind the snow groomer.
Very weird driving basically blindfolded but very realistic that we could be in white-out conditions. White-out conditions are where you are unable to determine the horizon and there is no surface definition.
Chillin in the back of the Hugglund.... very bumpy at times!
Returning from Woop Whoop that night to a magnificent meal prepared by the chefs. Food had never tasted so good before! ha ha....
Helicopter departing Woop Whoop.
Helicopter selfie!
The next day our quad bike training was postponed due to high winds of around 30kts gusting to around 40kts. (55kms/hr gusting to 74kms/hr).
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~ Aaron.