Whiteouts, wind, and one perfect afternoon
At Casey, a weekend away is never just a drive down the road.
When Paul, Penny and I set off in the Hägglunds for Browning Hut, the first leg was 4.5 hours of whiteout driving. It was bumpy and it was long. Looking out the windscreen was no help because every time I tried, I drifted off course. In the end, I kept my eyes on the arrow on the GPS screen and trusted it the whole way.
The hut greeted us in usual Browning style, which included having to dig snow away from our 'bathroom' facilities. It was cold, about -20C and the wind was up, so we settled in with fingers crossed that tomorrow's weather would be perfect for hiking.
The next morning greeted us with -10°C inside the hut. In Antarctica even small jobs take planning. To get breakfast going, you put on your layers and gloves before you pick up the kettle, because the metal gets so cold it feels hot. But porriage is always a good idea before heading out.
The day wasn't perfect hiking weather, with temperatures around -20C and winds blowing at 35 knots. A drive to look at the views was all we could do, watching in awe as the snow streamed across the sea ice and the islands faded in and out of the drift. We were well rugged up, with five layers on top, three on the bottom and two pairs of gloves. We came back to the hut for lunch and then tried again to find somewhere to hike. This time it worked. The eastern side of Browning was still. So we ventured out onto the sea ice to explore!
Up close, the icebergs frozen into the sea ice, were magnificent. Some had towering walls of blue-white ice, scalloped by the wind. Others had soft, sculpted flanks. One pair even had a cave carved between them. Standing at the foot of one iceberg, we looked up past its summit, and saw the moon hanging in a perfectly blue sky.
Then we climbed Basner Island and simply took in the views: rocky ridges stretching away across the ice, scattered bergs, and ice cliffs running out to the horizon. It was the best day ever.
That night we ate dinner to Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Reflecting now, we should have played only 'Winter'.
On day three the wind was still blowing at 40 knots. We waited for it to ease, but it didn't. Too windy for a walk, we headed home. Then, as if on cue, the wind dropped to almost nothing. Our tracks ran straight to the horizon under a low, golden sun. It was just stunning.
Antarctica makes you work for its rewards: hours of whiteout, frozen kettles and relentless wind. But standing on Basner Island on a still, clear afternoon, surrounded by icebergs, it was worth every layer.
Justine Thompson
Casey Station Leader
