This week I got to go out in the field to one of the little shacks that are used as weekend getaways. There are about six in total 3 up on the plateau and 3 that are only used when the sea ice is thick enough to travel over.

The ‘plateau’ is about 45 – 60 minutes drive on the quad bikes from Station and is the top of a glacier. It is amazing, all shiny, white and blue, ancient melt streams have made patterns in the top like dry river beds. The wind is constantly carving the surface, blowing it clean and smooth so there is a constant whisper of dry snow being blown around the surface as it tries to collect some-were. Around the edge of the glacier are the crevasse fields, were the edges are starting to fall off and crack. The crevasses don’t really look like much from the top, just little indents were the snow gathers and get caught. They sort of look like little rivers running across the hill side, then as soon as the wind gets up and the snow starts blowing around they disappear. 

When the quad bikes stop the silence is amazing, no sounds except for the glacier constantly complaining, making loud cracks and groans as it slowly contracts and expands. It is a surprisingly noisy place for some-were so quiet.

After crossing the plateau, we headed to the North Masson Range for a little walk and some practise at getting bogged in the soft snow and then rescuing each other.  Much more fun then it sounds, at one stage I thought I was riding a snow plow there was that much snow flying around.

There are some great rock climbing spots and ice walls……. but I think our fearless training officer has made a decision to let us learn to walk on flat ice before making us abseil or climb……

We left the quad bikes and headed off walking over a lake that is like polished glass, but as it has frozen something in the water has released air bubbles and they have risen through the water as it’s freezing. It looks amazing, little streams of bubbles frozen into the water as they rose from the bottom.  On either side the lake is flanked by Mountains and a great big tall ice wave which has been carved out by the wind blowing over the Mountains and bouncing off the lake and up the hillside.

High up in the Mountains nest the snow petrels, goodness knows why they would want to live in such an inhospitable place but they do. They look like little white fairies flying around the peaks and disappearing into cracks were they nest.

Now this all sounds kind of idyllic but on the downside surrounded by all this beauty my feet that I couldn’t feel 10 mins ago have suddenly started coming back to life and OMG does it hurt. Not just a little bit, it really hurts like getting a tattoo on your toes hurts. WOW, I will in future wear toe warmers and gloves at all times. To distract myself I decide to have a piece of chocolate….. Second major blow, chocolate tastes like crap when it is frozen to -20!!!! It’s horrible all the fats must solidify and Cadbury’s tastes like homebrand with no cocoa butter in it, blahhhh.

So while the scenery is all very nice, I really was beginning to want to get to the hut and have a cup of coffee.  Rumdoodle hut is nestled under a Mountain, next to two frozen lakes.  It is tiny (3mt x 1.5mts) and super daggy but cute, 4x little bunks, a tiny weeny kitchen with a little stove and joy of joys a toilet seat 🙂 You need to provide your own bag, but it feels sort of normal sitting on the seat and it is out of the wind so your bum doesn’t freeze!!!

We lit the heater, peeled off layers of goose down, balaclava’s, hats and polar fleece.

I made a cheese platter and got out the wine, we put on some french pop music and I think that for Antarctica this is as close to glamping as it gets and its kind of nice.