Cape Evans and the Terra Nova Hut

 Here's hoping that you had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  I actually thought I was back in Antarctica with the terrible internet service we have had over the past week.  We made a switch to another company and it's much better.
I'll get started back on my Antarctica trip again with a trip to Cape Evans to see Capt. Scott's Terra Nova hut. There are two huts on Ross Island, Terra Nova and Discovery.  Terra Nova is the larger of the two huts and is roughly 16 km from McMurdo Station. To get an opportunity to go to Cape Evans requires you to submit your name for a random drawing and I was very blessed to get the chance to go and see a bit of history that few get to see.
The vehicle below is known as a "Delta" and that's the mode of transportation to get to Cape Evans, I tried to get Uber or Lyft to pick us up but there were no drivers in the area. There is only radio communications with the driver and as you can see, it's definitely not a limo but it was a cool experience to ride in a Delta.  The trip is about an hour and a half one way.  I know, that seems excessive but the road there is really terrible and you have to go about 5-7 mph, sometimes more like 3 mph, to keep passengers in the back from being bounced around and even that slow speed didn't keep us from flying out of our seats a few times.

This Delta is also known as "Tina Marie"

In the back, just cruising along

It's pretty packed in the back.  Because the weather can change so quickly in Antarctica, we were required to bring along emergency kits for everyone, as well as all the ECW gear issued to us. We left McMurdo Station at 6:30 p.m and headed North across the sea ice about 16 miles to Cape Evans.  We stopped a few times to measure cracks in the road as it was getting late in the season for these trips and the road was getting worse by the day.  We also stopped to take some pictures of some icebergs and we even lucked out and got to see an Adele penguin.

Last look at McMurdo Station as we head out on our trip across the sea ice

Iceberg frozen in sea ice

Adele Penguin

Islands along the ice road

As Cape Evans comes into view you can barely make out a cross at the top of Wind Vane hill and as you come around the point, Capt. Scotts Terra Nova hut comes into view.

Cross on Wind Vane Hill in memory of 3 of Shackleton's men who perished in the vicinity

Capt. Robert Falcon Scott built this hut on one of his expeditions to Antarctica.  Later Shackleton would use this hut on his Trans-Antarctic expedition, both are amazing stories of exploration.  If you haven't read any of the accounts of either of these explorers, do yourself a favor and pick up a book about them at your local library.  The gist of the story is this, Scott used this as a base camp while trying to make it to the South Pole, Amundsen beat Scott to the pole by a few days and Scott and two of his men perished on the return trip.  Shackleton decided that since the race to the pole was over, he would lead an expedition for the first Trans Antarctic trip.  When Shackleton's ship, the Aurora, broke free of her anchor, it left men stranded at the Terra Nova hut.  Upon their rescue, they left almost everything behind and it has been left perfectly preserved.
There are no micro organisms in Antarctica to decompose dead animals or people for that matter. When something dies it stays preserved much like a mummy. The Terra Nova hut has several dead animals in and around the hut, and it does have a certain smell to it but it's not overpowering, it's just a musty smell; partly from being closed up much of the time.  It was an awesome privilege to see the inside of two of Scotts Huts.  In another post, I'll show you the inside of Scotts Discovery hut.

Capt. Scott's Terra Nova Hut (Taken from the sea ice)

Capt. Scotts Terra Nova Hut (Taken from land)

Entry Door

Hallway leading to the stables

Pallet of seal blubber used for heat

Mummified Penguins

Stables

Stables were used for storage after the ponies died

Not sure where they would have ridden this bicycle?

Pony snowshoe

Kitchen.  (The cook actually slept in the kitchen)

Officers Table

Cots

Darkroom (Shackleton brought a photographer along and the darkroom doubled as his sleeping quarters)

Scotts sleeping area and private dining table

Scotts Private Table, they were interested in studying penguins.  

Paper on Scotts private table

Bunks with Reindeer fur sleeping bags and wool blankets

Work table

Enlisted mens table

bunks

Kitchen area

Anyone for some canned Rhubarb

Interior walls were built out of crates of food, this is the cooks bunk in the kitchen area

There were lots of these tins of biscuits, there were two different types, Captains biscuits and Digestive biscuits

 

Storage drawer build out of old crates

This is a gas lighting system that was piped throughout the hut, however, a fire broke out one night and the decision was made to not use it anymore because there were no fixtures around the open flames.

Small lamp, notice the gas lines 

Mmmm...anchovies! Yuk!

Kitchen area looking to the rear of the hut

The trip home was quite exciting, the weather began to move in and we were starting to get reduced visibility.  I did get a few shots of some mountains and a few more ice bergs before things took an unexpected turn.

The day was quite warm for Antarctica and the snow road was already quite deteriorated but as you can see from the photo below, we got stuck. I don't mean a little stuck, I'm talking buried up to the axles in a huge vehicle kinda stuck. 

 We ended up having to dig and use plywood and eventually we got out and continued back to McMurdo Station. Our other option was to call for a tractor to come pull us out which would have taken several hours to get to us, the crew we had all pitched in and we made snow ramps and used plywood for traction. When we got back, the weather had really set in and we ended up with white out conditions later that evening. I believe I was on one of the last trips of the season.  I talked with our guides later in the week and the recreation office did one more trip resulting in a delta getting stuck 7 times on the way back.  I'm pretty sure they cancelled the remaining trips for the season after that.  It's hard to imagine all that ice being gone and open water there now.
Overall a great trip to see some amazing historical artifacts that few people ever get to see. In my next post, I'll show you some cool take off and landings to certify Phoenix Ice Runway. Stay tuned!