Shifting tides buckle and crack the sea ice near the shore,
forming ridges called pressure ice.
Seals bask near cracks in the pressure ice,
where they can easily dive into the sea for food.
The area has four months of continuous daylight in summer,
and almost as much winter darkness.
The sun circles endlessly but wan in summer.
A cave forms under the sea ice sheet at the shore,
when the rising tide lifts the ice.
Frank Pearson holds a lamp in the cave
for a film crew from ABC, a US TV network.
Photo: Guy Mannering.
Across the Ross Ice Shelf towards the Williams airstrip,
which serves the US base at McMurdo.
US McMurdo Base, an hour's walk from Scott Base,
is fun to visit for coffee, and to shop at the PX store.
Memorial for Robert Falcon Scott, British explorer,
who froze to death with four companions on the Ross Ice Shelf
after losing a race to the South Pole
to a Norwegian team under Roald Amunsden in 1911-12.
Icy, volcanic Mt. Erebus (3795 m) lies behind.
The black speck directly beneath Erebus is Castle Rock.
When preparations for the field were complete,
other activities beckoned while awaiting
air transportation to the exploration area.
Members assisted on a Scott Base expansion project,
consulted experienced US and NZ personnel,
and practiced surveying, geology, mountaineering and skiing.
In this photo, Gerald Holdsworth prepares to tackle
420-m Castle Rock, an ancient volcanic plug.
Steep rock repelled the first three attempts.
Finally, the north-east ridge succumbed.
Actually, it was a piece of cake.
It was 3 December 1962.
None of the members knew
that the expedition would begin on the next day.
Shifting tides buckle and crack the sea ice near the shore,
A cave forms under the sea ice sheet at the shore,
When preparations for the field were complete,