Trip Reports

South Georgia Traverse - 16 November to 9 December 2001

Written by Leader Steve Bell, December 2001

Our first traverse of South Georgia, following in the footsteps of Ernest Shackleton and his team during their epic journey in 1916, was successfully completed on 24 – 26 November. Twelve climbers and three guides (leader Greg Mortimer, plus Steve Bell and Kieran Lawton) completed what is believed to be the ninth crossing of the island since Shackleton’s 37 hour non-stop effort 85 years ago. The main part of the crossing, from King Hakkon Bay to Fortuna Bay, was made in very poor conditions, often white-out, and always very windy. However, the traverse itself is straightforward, with no climbing involved, and we were encouraged to find that it is achievable in less than perfect conditions. The distance covered is about 25 miles, although with heavy rucksacks and a battering wind, it felt much further.

The journey from King Hakkon Bay on the south side of the island, to the old whaling station at Stromness, was made on snowshoes and skis, with the team sharing the pulling of 2 sledges. After being dropped off by the Polar Pioneer, we spent the first night on the glaciated Shackleton Gap, where we got rather wet due to the very “Scottish” conditions. However, it was surprisingly warm and temperatures for the whole journey were above freezing. White-out conditions improved in the morning and we headed due east, across the long Murray Snowfield, to reach the foot of the steep Trident mountains. A steady climb (no more than 15 degrees) led to the top of a pass to the north of the Trident, where the wind hit us like an express train. Struggling with heavy loads, we made a steepish (30 degrees) descent for about 200m on to the Crean Glacier. A few crevasses added to the interest.

The Crean Glacier is massive, and we trudged along its constant flatness for hours, camping where it started to rise toward some rocky nunataks. Throughout the day we had been battered and knocked by the wind, which was mercifully coming from behind us. But during the early morning of the next day, the wind increased further, flattening our tents and knocking over anyone who ventured from them. We braced ourselves against the tent poles to add a little support, but 3 of the 6 tents had poles broken. By 11.00 the wind had subsided enough to go outside and strike camp, and once again with the wind pushing us along, we set off in clearing weather.

At last we reached the top of the Crean Glacier, at a broad, indefinite col beside a striking nunatak. Ahead was the Fortuna Glacier, which we crossed quickly to a gap in the mountains, through which we went for a fantastic view of Fortuna Bay far below. A descent on scree, snow and, later, heather and tussock grass, led to the stony beach, which we reached at about 18.00. Here we were back in the land of the living, with elephant and fur seals, penguins and a plethora of birds. From here it is a simple walk to Stromness, but there was not enough time to complete it due to our late start. So we embarked on the Polar Pioneer and returned 2 days later to complete the walk, in perfect weather, over the ridge to Stromness. « Previous report | Next report »

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