Shackleton Traverse 22’. Set off.
The last hurdle of an obstacle course faces us at 0700 tomorrow morning. We are anchored alongside the Vincent Islands in King Haakon Bay. The Vinson of Antarctica traverse team is poised to set off across the island of South Georgia to Fortuna Bay on a variation of the Shackleton Route via the Briggs and Esmark Glaciers, the Kohl Plateau and down the Koning Glacier to Fortuna Bay.
Why an obstacle course? Not only have we been planning this expedition since 2019 for September 2020 which was of course cancelled due to Covid until this season, but there are other challenges about doing such a trip which begins with getting everyone down to Santiago two days before the critical, once per week flight from there to Mount Pleasant Airport in Falklands Islands where Vinson would be waiting for us. Co-leader Stephen Venables was delayed in Edinburgh so his skis and bags only arrived on the Friday afternoon causing him some stress!
Once on board, we had a day and half of stowage, household briefings, safety at sea briefings, the biosecurity inspection of our outdoor kit and a visit by the Rat Catcher Dog, Sammy and her handler Naomi. No rats found.
Then there is the boat itself. Boats are famous for having breakdowns at the most inopportune times, so as the suspense mounts as we cast off on September 12th, those of us who know about these pitfalls have our fingers crossed that we will not have any mechanical problems that could scupper the whole thing. Skipper Kenneth and crew Mariana and John had the boat in tip top condition and it all works – and there we were in South Georgia after a delightful sail making the anchorage at Undine Harbour in four days flat.
And there we waited three days for the storm to abate so we could move around to King Haakon Bay, but this was also not straightforward and although protected from the east through north to the west, the cold front blew through and a strong south westerly brought swell into the bay. Snatching at our anchor we had to re-anchor three times before conditions became untenable when we made a dramatic escape through the rocky headlands to Johan Bay around the corner. There was no room for error on that one!
Today on the 20th, in high winds and light surf on the beach we offloaded all the skis, pulks, food bags and misc kit and cached that on the snow well above the elephant seals who are scattered about owning the shore. To check our gear we had time to take a windy ski to Peggoty Bluff and back, with a photo op on the top. This is where in 1916 the James Caird came ashore after their epic at Cave Cove, and where they began the famous trek across South Georgia to Stromness Bay.
Only one more landing tomorrow morning. Then we are off on skis pulling pulks up to the Shackleton Gap. The forecast is good for the next four days. What can possible go wrong now?
Pictures by Kenneth Perdigón
Skip Novak
Expedition leader
