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Stuck in Antarctica's icy grasp Stuck in Antarctica's icy grasp
(35 minutes later)
It will come as no surprise to anyone that, this year, Christmas in Antarctica was white. The pack ice around the Akademik Shokalskiy stretched from the hull and in all directions, a grey-white field of thick floes and tumbled boulders of ice, interspersed with frozen pools and, inching along in the distance, icebergs. Icicles fell from the metal steps on the outside of the ship and the decks were covered in flurries snow. As winter scenes go, you could do worse. It will come as no surprise to anyone that, this year, Christmas in Antarctica was white. The pack ice around the Akademik Shokalskiy stretched from the hull and in all directions, a grey-white field of thick floes and tumbled boulders of ice, interspersed with frozen pools and, inching along in the distance, icebergs. Icicles fell from the metal steps on the outside of the ship and the decks were covered in flurries of snow. As winter scenes go, you could do worse.
Our flotilla of ice and ship moved, imperceptibly, across the surface of the Southern Ocean's Antarctic waters, pushed around by winds and ocean currents. We were meant to be visiting the Mertz glacier this week – named after Douglas Mawson's trekking colleague and not far from the original Australasian Antarctic Expedition's base camp at Cape Denison. But plans change as fast as the winds in Antarctica, as I've learned in these past week.Our flotilla of ice and ship moved, imperceptibly, across the surface of the Southern Ocean's Antarctic waters, pushed around by winds and ocean currents. We were meant to be visiting the Mertz glacier this week – named after Douglas Mawson's trekking colleague and not far from the original Australasian Antarctic Expedition's base camp at Cape Denison. But plans change as fast as the winds in Antarctica, as I've learned in these past week.
On Christmas Eve, a blizzard hit our ship with 50-knot winds – mild for these parts – that made it difficult to stand up straight on the deck. The swirling snow enveloped us in a cloud of blinding white, through which the only information we had about the world outside our immediate vicinity came in the form of the howls and whines of speeding air.On Christmas Eve, a blizzard hit our ship with 50-knot winds – mild for these parts – that made it difficult to stand up straight on the deck. The swirling snow enveloped us in a cloud of blinding white, through which the only information we had about the world outside our immediate vicinity came in the form of the howls and whines of speeding air.
By Christmas morning, we were beset with ice. Our expedition was forced into a temporary pause, while we waited for the polar winds to be kind to us and blow the pack ice out of our way.By Christmas morning, we were beset with ice. Our expedition was forced into a temporary pause, while we waited for the polar winds to be kind to us and blow the pack ice out of our way.
Weather that changes on a sixpence is something you have to get used to around the frozen continent. Around here the winds, snow and temperatures aren't just a layer of information about your environment, they are your environment. And, on the frozen continent, there are no such things as plans, only possibilities that depend on the weather.Weather that changes on a sixpence is something you have to get used to around the frozen continent. Around here the winds, snow and temperatures aren't just a layer of information about your environment, they are your environment. And, on the frozen continent, there are no such things as plans, only possibilities that depend on the weather.
At the time of writing, the Shokaslkiy is waiting for icebreaker assistance. We are stuck in heavy pack ice just off the coast of Cape de la Motte and have been here almost two days. The nearest icebreaker, the Chinese vessel Xue Long (meaning "Snow Dragon") will arrive on Friday morning, local time. A French ship called the Astrolabe has been sent out from the nearest Antarctic base, Dumont D'Urville, and is set to arrive around the same time. The farthest ship, but also on its way, is the Australian icebreaker, Aurora Australis, which was in the middle of re-supplying the Casey Antarctic base when it was called into action to help the Shokalsiy.At the time of writing, the Shokaslkiy is waiting for icebreaker assistance. We are stuck in heavy pack ice just off the coast of Cape de la Motte and have been here almost two days. The nearest icebreaker, the Chinese vessel Xue Long (meaning "Snow Dragon") will arrive on Friday morning, local time. A French ship called the Astrolabe has been sent out from the nearest Antarctic base, Dumont D'Urville, and is set to arrive around the same time. The farthest ship, but also on its way, is the Australian icebreaker, Aurora Australis, which was in the middle of re-supplying the Casey Antarctic base when it was called into action to help the Shokalsiy.
While we wait, the science goes on. Oceanographers have used the hiatus to drop temperature and salinity probes into the ocean from the back of the ship, marine ecologists are recording seal sounds to work out what is living here and ornithologists are using the vantage point of the bridge to systematically count bird populations.While we wait, the science goes on. Oceanographers have used the hiatus to drop temperature and salinity probes into the ocean from the back of the ship, marine ecologists are recording seal sounds to work out what is living here and ornithologists are using the vantage point of the bridge to systematically count bird populations.
Though the winds died down on Christmas day itself, they are now back at 45-50 knots outside, with gusts up to 60 knots. Though the winds died down on Christmas Day itself, they are now back at 45-50 knots outside, with gusts up to 60 knots.
This is a hard environment, unforgiving and antithetical to the very idea of life. But it is remarkable how life still clings on here, in spite of everything the continent does to prevent it. Algae stick to the underside of sea ice, lichen grows improbably across the surface of high-altitude rocks, penguins, birds and seals roam the shorelines, living and dying along the slimmest edges of temperature, water and nutrients.This is a hard environment, unforgiving and antithetical to the very idea of life. But it is remarkable how life still clings on here, in spite of everything the continent does to prevent it. Algae stick to the underside of sea ice, lichen grows improbably across the surface of high-altitude rocks, penguins, birds and seals roam the shorelines, living and dying along the slimmest edges of temperature, water and nutrients.
This is no place for people. Those who choose to live or work here absorb an automatic set of rules for the road, ideas that they know will eke out an extra margin of safety in this hard environment. Working out which direction the wind is blowing, relative to which way the ship needs to go, relative to the position of the floating icy obstacles in its path, becomes a daily chore, an ablution.This is no place for people. Those who choose to live or work here absorb an automatic set of rules for the road, ideas that they know will eke out an extra margin of safety in this hard environment. Working out which direction the wind is blowing, relative to which way the ship needs to go, relative to the position of the floating icy obstacles in its path, becomes a daily chore, an ablution.
Carefully applying woollen gloves, hats, scarves, down jackets, long johns and polypropylene jumpers before walking through any of the doors onto deck becomes automatic. Nothing happens fast, you don't just throw things on, you have to be carefully tucked in, weather-sealed and zipped-up.Carefully applying woollen gloves, hats, scarves, down jackets, long johns and polypropylene jumpers before walking through any of the doors onto deck becomes automatic. Nothing happens fast, you don't just throw things on, you have to be carefully tucked in, weather-sealed and zipped-up.
Antarctica is not just cold, windy and wet. It is the extreme of all those things. Leave a hole in your armour – a glove not tucked into a sleeve, a gap around your neck where you forgot your scarf – and the weather will find and punish you fast. The cold starts off as stabbing, then it sears the skin and eventually sends the nerve-endings into a symphony of confusion. I took a glove off to type an email outside at one point and, after my fingers turned white and I lost the ability to move them, I swear they felt hot. Painful, boiling hot, as though I had just plunged them into a cup of coffee.Antarctica is not just cold, windy and wet. It is the extreme of all those things. Leave a hole in your armour – a glove not tucked into a sleeve, a gap around your neck where you forgot your scarf – and the weather will find and punish you fast. The cold starts off as stabbing, then it sears the skin and eventually sends the nerve-endings into a symphony of confusion. I took a glove off to type an email outside at one point and, after my fingers turned white and I lost the ability to move them, I swear they felt hot. Painful, boiling hot, as though I had just plunged them into a cup of coffee.
The landscape might disappear in a blizzard but it shifts in other ways too. An ice floe or ice sheet might look stable, the wind might be negligible, the sun might look low or dim in the sky. But it doesn't mean there isn't a crevasse, weak-point or hidden section of open water, or that the wind won't appear in a second or that the levels of UV radiation aren't still huge in the gloom.The landscape might disappear in a blizzard but it shifts in other ways too. An ice floe or ice sheet might look stable, the wind might be negligible, the sun might look low or dim in the sky. But it doesn't mean there isn't a crevasse, weak-point or hidden section of open water, or that the wind won't appear in a second or that the levels of UV radiation aren't still huge in the gloom.
Here, people are each other's eyes and ears: the first sign that the Antarctic conditions are taking their toll is when people stop moving around, stop talking and turn inwards upon themselves. Groups are always told to be careful when stepping out but, almost as important, they are told to keep watch on each other just as much.Here, people are each other's eyes and ears: the first sign that the Antarctic conditions are taking their toll is when people stop moving around, stop talking and turn inwards upon themselves. Groups are always told to be careful when stepping out but, almost as important, they are told to keep watch on each other just as much.
Watching people is also important to avoid losing your bearings. It is remarkably easy to get lost in Antarctica. Everything is white, one iceberg often looks remarkably similar to another, and distances are supremely difficult to judge. Driving back from Mawson's Huts last week, we saw the ship on the horizon – a dot in the distance, across the flat ice sheet – a good hour before we reached it. We were moving fast across the ice and it just never seemed to get closer.Watching people is also important to avoid losing your bearings. It is remarkably easy to get lost in Antarctica. Everything is white, one iceberg often looks remarkably similar to another, and distances are supremely difficult to judge. Driving back from Mawson's Huts last week, we saw the ship on the horizon – a dot in the distance, across the flat ice sheet – a good hour before we reached it. We were moving fast across the ice and it just never seemed to get closer.
Mind maps get scrambled in seconds here and, if the batteries die in your GPS device or the engine of your vehicle packs up and refuses to re-start, you're on your own. The nearest person is probably several thousand miles away. This is not the kind of place replete in second chances – you can't simply ask for directions if you get lost or wait for someone to wander past to ask for help.Mind maps get scrambled in seconds here and, if the batteries die in your GPS device or the engine of your vehicle packs up and refuses to re-start, you're on your own. The nearest person is probably several thousand miles away. This is not the kind of place replete in second chances – you can't simply ask for directions if you get lost or wait for someone to wander past to ask for help.
Antarctic veterans will tell you that, once you have internalised the rules, being on this continent is a privilege. Not just because it is so remote, unique or because you hear indescribable silence or see epic empty landscapes. The privilege comes from being in a place that requires you to engage with it, become attuned to it and make a serious attempt to understanding it. The environment here deserves respect, it's not simply an unchanging background over which you live your real life, as you move from A to B and beyond.Antarctic veterans will tell you that, once you have internalised the rules, being on this continent is a privilege. Not just because it is so remote, unique or because you hear indescribable silence or see epic empty landscapes. The privilege comes from being in a place that requires you to engage with it, become attuned to it and make a serious attempt to understanding it. The environment here deserves respect, it's not simply an unchanging background over which you live your real life, as you move from A to B and beyond.
Right now the continent has us in its grasp and, though help is coming, the continent will decide when to let us go.Right now the continent has us in its grasp and, though help is coming, the continent will decide when to let us go.
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