Tag: Polar

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The Winter Journey: Part XII

Frightfully Hard Pulling

When we left the men of the Crozier party yesterday they were in slightly better spirits as the temperature rose to a relatively balmy -50°F (-45.6°C). However, their arduous efforts were rewarded with a meager 1.66 miles of progress after several hours of pulling their sledges through dense fog. When the men turned out on the morning of July 8th, 1911, not much had changed:

Position: Camp 10

Time: 10:30

Temperature: -51.8°F (-46.6°C)

Wind Direction: SW

Wind Force (Beaufort): 1 (1-3 knots)

Wind Chill: -67°F (-55°C)

Sky Condition: Partly cloudy w/ stratus

Weather: Fog

Overnight Minimum Temperature: -59.3°F (-50.7°C)

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69

The journals of the men were fairly sparse with regard to the details of the men’s activities on July 8th, but all accounts mention the difficulty of navigating through the fog and finally getting on to some better pulling surfaces. Cherry-Garrard summarizes the changing snow surface:

On 8 July we found the first sign that we might be coming to an end of this soft, powdered, arrowrooty snow. It was frightfully hard pulling; but every now and then our finnesko pierced a thin crust before they sank right in.

The Worst Journey in the World, pg. 243

After another day of grinding relay work the men had a little bit more to show for their efforts, making 2.25 miles of progress towards the rookery at Cape Crozier. At the end of the day’s march, Bowers reported the following weather conditions:

Position: Camp 11

Time: 01:00 (July 9th)

Miles Made Good: 2.25

Temperature: -36.2°F (-37.9°C)

Wind Direction: N

Wind Force (Beaufort): 2 (4-6 knots)

Wind Chill: -56.5°F (-49.2°C)

Sky Condition: Overcast w/ stratus

Weather: Fog

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69
Progress of the Crozier party after 12 days

One of the things I found interesting about the day was that the temperature had risen to -36°F (-37.8°C), an increase of 40°F over the span of 48 hours. What makes this even more impressive is that it happened in the midst of the polar night, in the complete absence of incoming solar radiation (insolation). The temperature rise can only be attributed to the combined process of warmer, moist air being transported poleward (advected) from the Ross Sea and the greenhouse effect. The combination of the moist air from the Ross Sea flowing over the ice shelf and the cold air damming in the Windless Bight likely contributed to the density of the fog as well.

Will the Crozier party’s luck improve during the ongoing heat wave? Perhaps, but I wouldn’t count on it; this crew are the ultimate gluttons for punishment. What will Antarctica have up its sleeve tomorrow?

BT

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The Winter Journey: Part IX

Dreadfully Cold Work

When we last left the men of the Crozier party, they were holed up in their sleeping bags after snow and poor visibility forced them to take a day off. The temperature warmed up to a balmy -27°F (-32.8°C), and the men enjoyed the well-deserved rest after a string of extremely cold days and backbreaking relay work. Amazingly, some of the ice that had accumulated in their clothes and sleeping backs melted, though that may not have been for the best. On the morning of July 5th, 1911 the men found the following conditions:

Position: Camp 7

Time: 09:00

Temperature: -54.5°F (-48.1°C)

Wind Direction: NE

Wind Force (Beaufort): 2 (4-6 knots)

Wind Chill: -78.6°F (-61.4°C)

Sky Condition: Mostly cloudy w/ stratus

Overnight Minimum Temperature: -54.8°F (-48.2°C)

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69

All in all, the men got a one day reprieve from temperatures below -50°F (-45.6°C). As they would come to find out, the snow that fell on the day prior only made things worse. As Dr. Wilson described it:

At 7 a.m. we turned out and the surface was the worst for pulling on that we had yet had. We relayed for 8 hours and only advanced 1.5 miles in the day.

Diary of the ‘Terra Nova’ Expedition to the Antarctic 1910-1912, pg. 145

As mentioned in an earlier post in this series, the extreme cold prevents the runners of a sledge from melting the top layer of snow crystals to provide the thin layer of lubricating water to glide upon. Compounding the issue was the fresh snowfall; sharply faceted crystals from new snow increase friction along the surface of the runners as well (Solomon, The Coldest March, pg. 223). After eight hours of brutal relay work, the men of the Crozier party only had 1.5 miles progress to show for it at the end of the day:

Position: Camp 8

Time: 21:00

Miles Made Good: 1.5

Temperature: -59.1°F (-50.6°C)

Wind Direction/Force: Calm

Sky Condition: Mostly cloudy w/stratus

Weather: Fog

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69
Crozier party progress after 9 days

The Crozier party has been able to get about two-thirds of the way through the Windless Bight after a week of heavy pulling. Will their luck improve once they get past Cape Mackay and back onto the windswept portions of the ice shelf? I wouldn’t count on it, but check back in tomorrow to find out!

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The Winter Journey: Part VIII

A Great Relief

After five days in temperatures below -50°F (-45.6°C), the men of the Crozier party are having a devil of a time. They’re barely able to make two miles of forward progress per day, and two of the men are suffering from frostbitten hands and feet. Ice accumulation in their clothing from sweat and breath has made their clothing as hard as boards. However, on the morning of July 4th, 1911 the men woke to a change in the weather pattern:

Position: Camp 7

Time: 09:30

Temperature: -27°F (-32.8°C)

Wind Direction: NE

Wind Force (Beaufort): 4 (11-16 knots)

Wind Chill: -56.4°F (-49.1°C)

Sky Condition: Overcast w/ stratus

Weather: Snow

Overnight Minimum Temperature: -64.4°F (-53.6°C)

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69

Quite the change from the last few days – and a rapid warm-up from the overnight minimum….almost 40°F! The change did not go unnoticed by the men either:

During the night of 3 July the temperature dropped to -65°F (-53.9°C), but in the morning we wakened (we really did wake that morning) to great relief. The temperature was only -27°F (-32.8°C) with the wind blowing some 15 miles an hour with steadily falling snow.

Apsley Cherry-Garrard, The Worst Journey in the World, pg. 239

Imagine that…the men felt a great relief when the temperature rose to ‘only’ -27°F (-32.8°C). To me, it speaks volumes of just how horrendous the conditions were leading up to July 4th. The combination of the darkness and the steadily falling snow prevented the men from sledging today, and they spent the day in their sleeping bags enjoying a well-deserved rest and basking in the relative warmth. The weather had not changed much by the time the men took their last weather observation of the day:

Position: Camp 7

Time: 21:30

Miles Made Good: 0

Temperature: -29.3°F (-34.1°C)

Wind Direction: ENE

Wind Force (Beaufort): 3 (7-10 knots)

Wind Chill: -53.8°F (-47.7°C)

Sky Condition: Overcast w/ stratus

Weather: Snow

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69
Progress of the Crozier party after 8 days – stuck at Camp 7 due to bad weather

Today’s post will be fairly short since the men of the Crozier party did not make any progress and largely spent the day snug in their tent. To all of my American readers, I wish you a happy Independence day! All the best to any readers abroad as well – cheers!

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The Winter Journey: Part VII

A Beastly Cold Business

At this point in the journey the men of the Crozier party have been out from Cape Evans for six days, half of which have been at -50°F (-45.6°C) or colder. The last few days have been particularly trying, with temperatures dipping below -60°F (-51.1°C) in the overnight periods and the days filled with exhausting relay work that nets little in the way of forward progress. Not much had changed when the men emerged from their tent on the morning of July 3rd, 1911:

Position: Camp 6

Time: 11:00

Temperature: -51.5°F (-46.4°C)

Wind Direction/Force: Calm

Sky Condition: Few clouds (cirrostratus)

Overnight Minimum Temperature: -64°F (-53.3°C)

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69

By this point, the specter of doubt was foremost in the minds of the men. The cold was intense and unrelenting, and simple tasks like lighting matches and getting into and out of sleeping bags required the utmost patience and effort. Cherry-Garrard felt that the party didn’t have the “ghost of a chance” of reaching the rookery at Cape Crozier (The Worst Journey in the World, pg. 237).

The men were able to navigate by what little light was present on the horizon early in the day, and by moonlight into the late afternoon. The surface over the Windless Bight was very heavy again, and the men were only able to advance about 2.5 miles through grueling effort. At the end of the day’s march, Bowers observed the following conditions:

Position: Camp 7

Time: 22:00

Miles Made Good: 2.5

Temperature: -57.7°F (-49.8°C)

Wind Direction/Force: Calm

Sky Condition: Partly Cloudy w/ cirrostratus

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69
The Crozier party’s progress after 7 days

As far as today’s conditions in the Windless Bight, it is far, far warmer than it was this time 109 years ago. The most recent observation from the Windless Bight automatic weather station indicates the temperature is -7.6°F (-22°C). The conditions over the greater Ross Ice Shelf region have been fairly turbulent over the last few days, with high winds contributing to mixing of the boundary layer. However, satellite imagery shows skies are starting to clear and model data is predicting mostly clear skies and lighter winds, which will allow things to start cooling off again.

Day/Night Band (DNB) Image from the VIIRS instrument onboard the Suomi NPP satellite (via NASA Worldview). The greater Ross Island region is featured here.

Will anything break the cold snap the Crozier party is facing? Or will the deep freeze continue?

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The Winter Journey: Part VI

An Experience to be Remembered

After covering 17 miles on the first two days of the journey, the men of the Crozier party have only managed to cover a total of 10 miles over the last 3 marches due to blistering cold and poor snow surfaces. Their fourth night on the ice shelf wasn’t any better, with temperatures below -60°F (-51.1°C) and a stiff easterly breeze stirring up some drift. The wind subsided by late morning, but the bitter cold remained on the morning of July 2nd, 1911:

Position: Camp 5

Time: 10:30

Temperature: -59.4°F (-50.8°C)

Wind Direction/Force: Calm

Sky Condition: Partly cloudy w/cirrostratus

Overnight minimum temperature: -64.2°F

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69

After struggling through their morning routine of wedging themselves into their gear and striking camp, the men faced another day of relay work in the sandy snow of the Windless Bight. On the bright side, the men were able to discard their candles in favor of the light of the moon to guide their way. Unfortunately for the men, the temperature fell throughout the day and the surface continued to impose a slow, heavy trudge. In the words of Cherry-Garrard:

It was a really terrible march, and parts of both my feet were frozen at lunch. After supper I pricked six or seven of the worst blisters, and the relief was considerable.

The Worst Journey in the World, pg. 236

Dr. Wilson also reported that light easterly airs would freeze exposed skin almost instantly, and that the men had to make extensive use of their nose nips (Diary of the Terra Nova Expedition to the Antarctic 1910~1912).

Balaclava helmet won by Apsley Cherry-Garrard during the Terra Nova Expedition. Those metal snaps had to be hell in those temperatures. Photo from my visit to the Antarctic Dinosaurs exhibit in Charlotte (Feb. 2020).

Even though the sledging on this day was brutal, there were still a few moments of wonder as the men were captivated by the beautiful auroral activity to the east:

For there was one halt when we just lay on our backs and gazed up into the sky, where, so the others said, there was blazing the most beautiful aurora they had ever seen. I did not see it, being so near-sighted and unable to wear spectacles owing to the cold.

Apsley Cherry-Garrard, The Worst Journey in the World, pg. 237

I’m convinced that Cherry-Garrard was the Charlie Brown of this expedition…he really did have the worst luck. However, I think there is something to be said about the interesting juxtapositions that Antarctica creates. I always found it fascinating that a place of such harsh, unforgiving conditions could also possess such an ethereal beauty.

As for the men of the Crozier party, their arduous efforts only gained them another 2 miles of progress for the day. On camping for the evening, the weather conditions were as follows:

Position: Camp 6

Time: 21:15

Miles Made Good: 2

Temperature: -64°F (-53.3°C)

Wind Direction/Force: Calm

Sky Condition: Partly cloudy w/cirrostratus

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69

It almost seems pointless to ask this question now, but will the luck of the Crozier party ever improve? Check in tomorrow!

BT

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The Winter Journey: Part V

A Succession of Shivering Fits

After two full days on the McMurdo Ice Shelf, the men of the Crozier party are really starting to feel the effects of the intense cold and heavy surfaces. Their third night would turn out to be especially bad as the temperature nearly fell to -70°F (-56.7°C). Apsley Cherry-Garrard describes the difficulties he faced:

It was a very bad night: a succession of shivering fits which I was quite unable to stop, and which took possession of my body for many minutes at a time until I thought my back would break.

The Worst Journey in the World, pg. 233

Poor bastard. The coldest ambient temperature I felt during my time in the Antarctic was about -40°F (-40°C), but I had the distinct pleasure of experiencing a wind chill factor at -75°F (-59.4°C). At these temperatures, just walking between the buildings on station can be a chore; I cannot even imagine being stuck in them for several days with the only respite being the heat used to cook meals. To me, it speaks volumes about the hardihood and dedication of these men.

What did the men wake up to on July 1st? The first weather observation from Birdie Bowers follows below:

Position: Camp 4

Time: 09:00

Temperature: -65.6°F (-54.2°C)

Wind Direction: NE

Wind Force (Beaufort): 1 (1-3 knots)

Wind Chill: -82.8°F (-63.8°C)

Sky Condition: Clear

Overnight Minimum Temperature: -69°F (-56.1°F)

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69

The men struck camp and set off shortly before 11 a.m., and faced another day of very heavy pulling. The very low temperature and poor snow surface forced the men to do relay work once again, and it took all of their collective might just to pull one sledge forward. Dr. Wilson and Cherry-Garrard also started to experience optical illusions with respect to their outbound tracks, making their footsteps appear like small hummocks in the snow (The Worst Journey in the World, pg. 234).

In total, the men only managed to cover 2.25 miles on their fifth day out from Cape Evans. In addition to the extreme cold, ice accumulation in the men’s clothing was becoming problematic. The men’s sweat and breath froze to their cold weather gear almost instantly; the end result being a coat that was nearly impossible to get in and out of at camp. When the men turned in for the evening, the temperature was still hovering near -60°F (-50.8°C):

Position: Camp 5

Time: 22:00

Miles Made Good: 2.25

Temperature: -59.5°F (-50.8°C)

Wind Direction: E

Wind Force (Beaufort): 1 (1-3 knots)

Wind Chill: -75.8°F (-59.9°C)

Sky Condition: Clear

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69

Will the men of the Crozier party get a respite anytime soon? Check in again tomorrow to find out!

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The Winter Journey: Part III

A Slow and Very Heavy Plod

After two days of manhauling, the Crozier party had managed to pull their sledges a distance of 17 miles from Cape Evans and establish a foothold on the McMurdo Ice Shelf. However, the first signs of trouble appeared as the temperature plummeted to -47°F and Cherry-Garrard’s fingers were frostbitten. Lets do our morning check-in with the guys and get the first weather observation of the day for June 29th, 1911:

Position: Camp 2

Time: 09:00

Temperature: -48.3°F (-44.6°C)

Wind Direction: E

Wind Force (Beaufort): 1 (1-3 knots)

Wind Chill: -63°F (-53.8°C)

Sky Condition: Few clouds (Cirrostratus)

Overnight Minimum Temperature: -56.5°F (-49.2°C)

Remarks: Aurora fairly bright, curtain to N, altitude about 45°

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69

The first night on the ice shelf did not go very well for the men. Cherry-Garrard described the experience as “a baddish time,” and noted that the party spent a good deal of the night shivering in their bags (The Worst Journey in the World, pg. 242). The darkness of the winter night was also starting to take its toll, turning routine camp work into an hours-long ordeal.

As the men set off into the darkness from Camp 2, they were treated to bright auroral displays that lifted their spirits a bit. However, the decreasing temperatures and changing snow surface turned the days sledging effort into a backbreaking affair. The party only managed to gain 2.5 miles of ground before lunch, and could only muster another 2 miles after lunch. The temperature hovered around -50°F throughout the day, with Wilson and Cherry-Garrard both getting frostbitten on their feet. After 10.5 hours of heavy exertion in the brutal cold, the men called it quits for the day and pitched camp. The nighttime weather report from Birdie Bowers follows below:

Position: Camp 3

Time: 19:30

Miles Made Good: 4.5

Temperature: -49.7°F (-45.4°C)

Wind Direction: E

Wind Force (Beaufort): 1 (1-3 knots)

Wind Chill: -64.6°F (-53.7°C)

Sky Condition: Clear

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69
Crozier party progress after three days

Commentary

Why did the pulling become so hard for the men once they got onto the McMurdo Ice Shelf? Why could they only manage 4.5 miles? The main issue was the temperature and its impact on the snow surface. Susan Solomon notes this impact in The Coldest March

The key factor was the temperature, which determines how readily a thin film of liquid water can form as the runners of sledges or skis glide over the snow beneath them…Formation of an optimal liquid layer lies at the heart of skiing, and temperature is a critical factor in the delicate balance of forces that makes skiing or pulling either torturous or easy.

Susan Solomon, The Coldest March, pg. 35

At -50°F, it is essentially too cold for the runners of a sledge to maintain the lubricating layer of water as snow crystals resist melting and increase friction along the surface of the runners.

How are things in the area of Camp 3 today? The most recent observation from the Willie Field automatic weather station (AWS) is -29.2°C (-20.6°F) – about 30 degrees warmer than what the men reported in 1911. The weather pattern has been fairly stormy across the Ross Ice Shelf as of late, and the increased wind has largely mixed out the coldest near-surface air.

How will the Crozier party fare during their second night on the ice shelf? Will they manage to stave off frostbite and get some rest, or will they spend another night shivering in their bags? Check in tomorrow to find out!

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The Winter Journey: Part II

A Very Keen Wind

After the first day, the Crozier Party managed to pull their sledges almost 10 miles out onto the sea ice and set up camp along the western side of Hut Point Peninsula. Now the really hard work begins….let’s check in and see how the weather was on the morning of June 28th, 1911

Position: Camp 1

Time: 07:45

Temperature: -24°F (-31.1°C)

Wind Direction: SW

Wind Force (Beaufort): 1 (1-3 knots)

Wind Chill: -35°C (-37.2°C)

Sky Condition: Mostly Cloudy w/ cirrostratus

Overnight Minimum Temperature: -25.5°F (-31.9°C)

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69

After striking camp, the men continued to pull southward over a rough sea ice surface, only managing a 1 m.p.h. pace. The party reached Hut Point around 13:30, and stopped to have lunch at the eponymous Discovery Hut.

Scott’s Discovery Hut

After lunch, the men set out to the southeast in a -26°F (-32.2°C) temperature and rounded Cape Armitage (the southernmost point of Ross Island), enjoying what Cherry-Garrard described as “the only good bit of good pulling we were to have.” After two miles of sledging, the men encountered the edge of the McMurdo Ice Shelf. The sea ice surrounding Hut Point Peninsula had largely broken out near Cape Armitage in the previous autumn, giving the ice shelf edge a cliff like appearance. In a rare stroke of good luck for the men during this journey, they were able to find a snowdrift slope up to the top of the shelf fairly quickly.

However, this stroke of good luck was soon tempered by a painful setback for Cherry-Garrard:

We had therefore had to find a place where the snow had formed a drift. This we came right up against and met quite suddenly a very keen wind flowing, as it always does, from the cold Barrier down to the comparatively warm sea-ice. The temperature was -47°F (-43.9°C), and I was a fool to take my hands out of my mitts to haul on the ropes to bring the sledges up. I started away from the Barrier edge with all ten fingers frost-bitten.

The Worst Journey in the World, pg. 229

Ouch. Only two days in to what is supposed to be a six week journey and one of the party member’s hands are already stricken with frostbite. After hauling the sledges up on to the ice shelf, the men were able to tack on another half mile of pulling before pitching camp for the night. As the men settled in for the night and finished dinner, Birdie Bowers recorded the following observation in the meteorological log:

Position: Camp 2 (17 miles from Cape Evans)

Time: 21:10

Miles Made Good: 7.25

Temperature: -46.5°F (-43.6°C)

Wind Direction/Force: Calm

Sky Condition: Partly Cloudy w/ cirrostratus

British Antarctic Expedition 1910-1913, Meteorology, Vol. III Table 69
Crozier Party progress after two days sledging

Within a few hours of pitching camp, painful blisters developed on each of Cherry-Garrard’s frostbitten fingers; the Antarctic has a way of extracting a heavy toll for even small mistakes.

Commentary

Even though the men encountered some rough surfaces and rapidly dropping temperatures, they still managed to turn in a respectable 7.25 miles of pulling. The sudden drop in temperatures was not out of the norm, however. There is almost always a fairly pronounced temperature gradient that exists from the eastern side of Hut Point Peninsula to the western side. I’ve observed a gradient on the scale of 10-15°C quite frequently during the Antarctic spring. A modeled surface temperature chart produced by the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS) Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) illustrates this temperature gradient quite nicely.

AMPS WRF 0.89km Resolution Surface Temperature Chart. Red star denotes approximate location of Camp 2; yellow star denotes approximate location of the Discovery Hut.

As seen in the chart, there is approximately a 10°C gradient from Camp 2 to Hut Point, with even colder air located further east on the Ross Ice Shelf. How do conditions today stack up against those recorded in 1911? The closest automatic weather station (Willie Field) reported a minimum temperature of -34.2°C (-29.6°F) before rapid warming occurred with a storm sweeping across the Ross Island region. Current wind speeds at Willie Field are ranging from 35-40 knots, with the temperature hovering at -17.6°C (0°F) – an increase of 30+°F in just a few hours! The unique combination of orography, temperature gradients, and localize wind patterns make forecasting in the greater McMurdo/Hut Point Peninsula region a vexing endeavor at times.

Tonight’s post was powered by music from amiinA and Julie Fowlis…definitely helped me get in a groove!

Tune in tomorrow as the Crozier party really starts to feel the cold…but just how cold did it get?