Images of

ANTARCTICA

Cape Evans

Photos © 2002 Seth White

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Before I arrived here, I had read a (very) tiny bit about Antarctica and the area around McMurdo Station. One of the things I knew was that there were several historic huts near the station which were built in the early days of Antarctic exploration. And that was about it. So I got here and quickly found out that the three most important huts from those days were still standing, and all were within driving distance from McMurdo. The first was Scott's Discovery Hut (see here). This was the first hut built on Ross Island, during Scott's 1902 attempt to reach the Pole. This hut is only 1/2 mile from McMurdo and sits at the end of Hut Point Peninsula. The second hut built was during Shackleton's Nimrod expedition - another unsuccesful attempt to reach the Pole in 1908. This hut is at Cape Royds, about 25 miles N of McMurdo. During this expedition, Shackleton reached farther south than anyone before him, and could have reached the Pole. However he realized that if he pushed on for the glory of reaching the Pole, he and his men would die on the way back as their supplies had run low during their longer-than-expected journey. The third hut is Scott's Terra Nova hut. It was built at Cape Evans during his tragic 1911 expedition. This hut was the base of operations for Scott's party, and it was from here that Scott, Evans, Wilson, Bowers, and Oates left on their sledge-hauling expedition to the South Pole. Their basic details of this story are well known: they reached the Pole after a grueling journey, only to find that Amundsen had beaten them there. Exhaused and thoroughly demoralized, they started back to Ross Island. They never made it - they all died on their return from exhaustion, starvation, scurvy, and weather. This is it: the Terra Nova Hut.

During November 2002, the recreation department started doing trips to this hut. They had signup sheets, and they would drive you out and back in a Delta. There was NO WAY I was going to miss out on THIS opportunity! I went out on a fairly overcast but nice day. The Delta, with its huge balloon tires, bounced us around the whole way as we drove over the sea ice. When we first arrived, I walked around a bit and took pictures of the Hut and surrounding area. Here's another picture of the hut, looking out toward the sea ice. The roof has been covered by a tarp to help preserve it. Restoration of this hut didn't begin until the 1960's. The first people to start work here found the entire building full of snow and ice, and it was a major job to get it cleaned out. They found a great number of incredible things along the way - inscriptions on walls, a wallet with money inside, etc. The cold temperatures definitely helped preserve this place, but still the brutal weather has taken its toll. This and other structures are definitely suffering. The problem is that the remoteness and severity of the locations, along with scarce funding make it difficult to truly preserve these places in the manner they deserve. Anywhere else in the world, a 100 year old structure wouldn't be any big deal. But here, it is. This is where some of the very first people on the entire continent lived. Their stories and heroics are the stuff of countless legends, and it was right here that they struggled to survive in the harshest place in the world. This hut and a few others are the only major physical records these men left of their presence here. I'm probably going to sound gee-whiz-ish quite a bit as you read this webpage, but really, this place was unlike any other place I have ever been. I was absolutely awestruck by the fact that I was actually here.
Another picture of the hut, with the sun making an appearance.
This is an anchor from the ship Aurora. This hut was built by Scott during his Terra Nova Expedition, however it was also used later by Shackleton's final expedition. Most people know the story of his journey aboard the Endurance, through the Weddell sea, and to South Georgia Island. But there was a second, lesser known half of that expedition: the Ross Sea Party. It was their job to land here and lay depots of food and supplies between here and the Pole. Since Amundsen and Scott had already been to the Pole, it was Shackleton's intention to do the first crossing of the continent. To do this, he was going to start across from the Weddell sea side and end up here. They could not haul enough supplies to last the entire way, so depots were needed along the second half. There was no way to communicate in those days, so the Ross Sea Party had no way to know that Shackleton never even made it to his starting point. So they still thought that unless they laid supply depots, the other members of the expedition would die on the way here. They did manage to lay supplies, but not without terrible hardship. Three members of the expedition died, but even those who survived had to endure years of isolation with meager supplies. A main reason for their suffering was that their ship, the Aurora, blew away from its moorings during a severe storm. This happened before they had finished unloading the ship, so they were stranded without a ship and without the materials they intended to live on! This, as you might imagine, became a very bleak existence. They scavenged all they could from the other nearby huts and eeked out an existence against the very long odds. But in the end, they accomplished their task of laying depots and were eventually rescued. This anchor still sits embedded in the sand right in front of the hut.
Here is another view of the Aurora's anchor.
Here is a well-weathered copper container. There is all sorts of stuff laying around the hut. Crates, cans, spools of wire, little decrepit structures that were used for various scientific purposes, and so on. You really need to watch your step, or you might destroy a priceless piece of Antarctic history.
Here is a side edge of the hut. The two poles sticking up are for telephone wires, I believe. I know that they actually strung out a spool of aluminum wire from here to Hut Point so they could communicate with people if they visited that hut. And I think these poles were used for that purpose.
The thing at the lower left is a roll of telephone wire!
The back side of the hut, with some crates and wind-sculpted snow.
The front side of the hut, with sleds, skis, stoves, and other stuff laying around.
A closeup of some flour crates outside the hut.
More of the flour tin crates.
Here is the front side of the Terra Nova Hut. The entryway is usually kept locked, and you must get NSF permission to take the key with you if you come out here. I actually visited Cape Evans three times - this time as well as during the sea ice training and while hunting for sea ice algae (on Christmas day! - see here). However, this was the only time we had the key to the hut.
As you walk in through the entryway, you see a guestbook on a table. There are strict rules about how many people can be inside at one time, as well as how many people can visit during a year. The caretakers (principally Kiwis) are very concerned with effect that visitors have on these places. Humidity and temperature levels are monitored with sensors placed around the hut, and you are warned NOT to touch anything.
To the immediate left of the doorway is this: a bicycle!!! It belonged to Griffith Taylor, a scientist with Scott's party. Let's see here...a suspension seat, broken fork, remnants of rubber tires....but no headbadge - I wonder who made this bike? It's a kinda cool double down tube frame design.
Another view of the bike.
Looking at the bike from the rear.
A closeup of the right crank arm and chainring. Cooooool.
Near the bike is this: a box of penguin eggs. Omelette?
Here is a picture of the hut's main room. It's dark since my flash wasn't powerful enough to illuminate the whole room.
This is the same picture, only brightened with photo software. The kitchen table is exactly where it was during Scott's time. There is a famous photograph of a Christmas banquet (or was it a banquet for Scott's birthday? I am not sure) with the whole crew around this table.
Back into the main room. One thing I had read was that a fellow named Dick Richards had inscribed a note on his bed listing the three men who had died on the expedition. Turns out, this is the bunkbed in question.
This inscription reads: "RW Richards August 14, 1916 Losses to date: Haywood Mack Smyth Shak (?)". Haywood, Mackintosh, and Spencer-Smith all died on their way back to Cape Evans after laying supplies. Shak is Richards wondering if Shackleton was still alive, or if their efforts had been in vain. I stole this picture from someone on the internet, because my pictures of this all turned out blurry. Anyhow, pretty somber stuff. The courage of the Ross Sea Party and the things they endured are unbelievable. Some people call their tale the most heroic thing ever done in Antarctica. Kelly Tyler was here (with an office in the Crary lab) over the summer doing research on a book she's writing about the Ross Sea Party. She is evidently pretty well known and is an authority on the heroic age of Antarctic exploration.
Back to the stuff inside the hut. Here are some good-looking cocoa boxes.
When people started working on restoration here, they found things exactly as the Ross Sea Party left them when the Aurora came back to rescue them (with Shackleton on board). However, using photos from the Terra Nova Expedition they tried to put things back the way they were when Scott and his crew were here. At that time, this area was evidently a darkroom...and it has been restored as such. Various jars of chemicals and other equipment are all over this room.
Here is a ketchup bottle. Heinz 57, no less! It caught my eye because it looks very much like what you would find in the store today. Curious that the Brits should have brought this good ol' Yankee staple with them. Like the Discovery hut, all items here have little tags on them. It is a museum.
Here's the cooking area. It is amazing how much stuff is still here - pots, pans, silverware, cups, bottles, cans, you name it. I went inside the hut after most others had already seen it, so for a while I was all alone in here. For brief moments, I would not have been immediately shocked to see a group of the old explorers walk in the door after a day-long excursion. This place wasn't really all that brighter than the Discovery hut, and the smell of burnt seal blubber was ever present here too. However, the feeling I got here was much less unsettling. It was more like a time warp. I'm not kidding about half-expecting some old-time explorers to walk in. It was very authentic. Exciting, but yet melancholy. Very personal but very remote, too. Just overwhelming. I felt in awe to actually be standing in this place, but at the same time it was very intimate and personal. I'm sure a better wordsmith could conjure up more descriptive ways of capturing the feelings you get here, but that's about the best I can do. It was absolutely the most unique and awesome man-made thing I have ever seen. What a privelege.
Here's a laboratory area in the corner of the hut. Many people have questioned Scott's preparations, strategies, leadership, and even his character. And not completely without basis. But one thing is certain - he was serious about science. His expeditions did a great amount of scientific research here. They made many important measurements, collected tons of samples of biological and geological specimens, and discovered a wealth of new places in this area - including the Dry Valleys.
Here is a picture of a woman, hanging on the wall of the hut. She is very pretty - I wonder who she was?
Here are some rock specimens. I took this picture because of the irony....when Scott and his men died, they were still dragging about 100 lbs (?) of rock specimens. This certainly was not the cause of their demise, but it is revealing. It is thought that since he lost the race to the Pole, Scott was more determined than ever to have his expedition yield valuable scientific results.
Here is the bunk area where Scott slept. Even here in this tiny hut at the edge of the world, Scott was notoriously rank-conscious. He kept the same traditional divisions between officers and men as seen onboard navy ships.
Shore Party Flour. Mmmm.
Right by the doorway are these skis hanging up, along with a cobble-job wheelbarrow. Cool.
A box of delicious sledging rations. Given the fact that they didn't know much about extreme exertion and caloric requirements in those days, and given the fact that they were British, I would guess that these things were both anti-nutritional and disgusting. Probably like WWII field rations, only much worse.
In the back of the hut there is a stable. No kidding! Why, you ask? Well, Scott brought along some Manchurian ponies with him. After having terrible luck with dogs on his first attempt at the Pole (because he was a very inexperienced dog handler and the dogs' rations spoiled on the voyage), he decided to try ponies. Well, these poor horses didn't last long. They weren't the highest quality horses to begin with, and they didn't do him a bit of good.
Here is a snow horseshoe. Only used once...good as new.
A different picture of the horseshoe. There are bags of feed still lying in the stable. The horses' names are also etched on the walls opposite the various stalls.
Speaking of animals, here is a stuffed penguin laying on a table inside the hut. Why? Well why not??
There is a small lake a ways inland of the Terra Nova Hut. After touring the hut, I walked up here.
Here is a giant piece of lava, sitting exposed near the hut. I like this pic.
Up on a little ridge overlooking the hut is a cross erected by the Ross Sea Party in honor of their fallen men.
Here is a closeup of the marker which sits below the cross. Read this - it is pretty profound.
Here's me with the Ross Sea Party cross. I look like a complete idiot in this and the next picture, but oh well...
Me, with a view overlooking the area around the hut. In the background is the Barne Glacier and the Deltas, as well as a little fish hut used for research during the 2002-2003 summer season. In the foreground (behind me) you can see the various things scattered around behind the hut - crates, a little hut, trash, etc.
Here is another marker, which stands closer to the hut. These 4-language markers are found at various historic sites in Antarctica...Observation Hill, Scott's Discovery Hut, Shackleton's hut at Cape Royds, and others.
So that was about it for my first time to Cape Evans. On the way back, I got this great view of the sun rays shining through the clouds over the Royal Society Range. There is a nice panorama of this view in the Panoramic Photos page.
I got back to Cape Evans later in the season with Michael Kuiper as he stalked the *elusive and vicious* sea ice algae. Actually, it was Christmas day and nobody was working anyway...and we were no different. It was more of a boondoggle, as we only really drilled 3 or 4 ice cores looking for the algae. The rest of the time we stopped and checked out the sights - the Erebus Ice Tongue, Cape Evans, and Big Razorback Island. At Cape Evans, we hiked around for a bit. The lake I saw earlier in the season was now full of skuas. Evidently this area is a skua rookery! So here they are, making a racket in their birdbath.
More of "Lake Skua".
Still more...
...and yet more of the skuas. There used to be a Greenpeace station at Cape Evans, but the only remnant is a placque a ways north along the beach from the hut. I walked along here in hopes I would find it, but I didn't. Not that I was exactly crestfallen about this, but it would have been neat to find the marker....
Another picture of the Aurora anchor.
I had heard about the skeleton of a dog at Cape Evans, still chained to a post. I didn't see it the first time, as it was still buried in snow. It's actually a good ways from the hut, and I probably wouldn't have found it on my own. But Mike knew where it was - and this is it. God, how sad is this? People often make jokes about it being a "Harsh Continent", including me. But it really is....
Another pic of this poor mutt.
Here's one final picture of the side of the hut, with various equipment. This time, a little more snow had melted.