South Georgia Mountaineering expedition 24’
It was a windy start from the abandoned whaling station at Grytviken this morning. Ice and snow on deck, howling gusts coming down from Mt Hodges above generating williwaw twisters out in the cove. We cast off at 0900 and meekly rolled out the staysail after leaving Cumberland Bay East in 35 knots of wind, straight up the chuff (nautical lingo for dead downwind). It’s cold, but sunny. The team is inspired. We are well fed and healthy having tested ourselves on a seven hour ski tour the day before – so what can go wrong? Well, just about everything, as point of fact we are on the sub-antarctic island of South Georgia.
Paul, Mariana and Justino securing the mid deck as Vinson sails down the coast of South Georgia under staysail alone.
Steve Brown and Justino talking rigging.
A routine? Yes, most definitely and most welcome, unlike the few routines I have experienced which never went down that well for one reason or another. This is familiar ground for sure, as I have been coming here for over 37 years, an almost seasonal migration in flight from the pressures and joys of a semi-urban life ashore, travelling over 10,000 miles (granted most of it by airplane, yes, like a bird) in order to forage on the glaciated terrain of this magical island for nothing more than some solitude and a real adventure with like-minded souls. Although the island is only 170km long, the good thing is we have no-where near exhausted its potential for these adventures. South Georgia, this denizen of the Southern Ocean can be very difficult, unpredictable at best, most often humbling.
On the Tijuca Jetty, Grytviken the night before leaving for Larsen Harbour.
It is early season, snow cover is down to the waterline which makes travelling on skis and pulling pulks an easy start. More snow generally means more safety from hidden crevasses up high and the colder temperatures keep snow bridges frozen. Counterintuitively, late winter weather is generally more stable. And, we are the only vessel, yacht or cruise ship, on the island. The last of the krill fishing boats are signing off at the administrative base King Edward Point today after the winter’s season and heading north for re-supply. We are alone on an island.
A dusting of snow and all quiet below.
We are a team of six climbers supported by the Vinson crew of three to attempt an unclimbed mountain at the far south side of the island and we are planning to be dropped ashore by the weekend with provisions and supplies for 12 days. There is a weather window in the offing on Thursday and Friday, at least to calmly get our equipment on the beach and organized and then gain the Salomon Glacier up from Hamilton Bay, trying to make a first camp hopefully around 500 meters. The weather is expected to kick in over the weekend so days tent bound will be a given, while we wait for the next lull as the typically ferocious weather systems pass through.
Skip, Ian Young, Kenny Brookman and Steve Brown on the warm-up ski tour from Grytviken.
While we are on the mountain skipper Paul Guthrie and crew Mariana Esperon and Justino Borreguero will be standing close by in the Tolkienesque Larsen Harbour, anchored in a pool surrounded by kelp, cliff bound in rock and ice. Communicating with an Garmin Inreach and an Iridium phone our climbing team of Stephen Venables, Iain Young, Kenny Brookman, Julian Freeman-Attwood, Steve Brown and myself will be getting daily weather reports from the boat, hoping as always that once we are established below Mt Macklin, with the draft horse like work of dragging all out kit up to 1000m, we will be rewarded with one of those rare 24 or 36 hour windows of opportunity to summit in fine conditions – the icing on the cake of a major and laborious baking exercise.
Skip Novak
Co-Expedition Leader
