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OHYAT: All In
May. 1st, 2012 10:04 amONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO TODAY, all the men who were staying for the winter of 1912 were finally reunited at the hut at Cape Evans.
It hadn't been an easy road to get there, though – Atch, Silas, Keohane, and a new man named Williamson who'd previously been on the ship's crew, had gone on a perilous sledge trip across unstable sea ice to try to rescue – or at least resupply – the party of six men under Lt Campbell, who were (for all they knew) stranded up the coast and unprepared to endure an entire winter. It was a very uncomfortable journey as the season was well and truly ending, and aside from the cold and blizzards there was the constant anxiety about whether the ice they were on would break up.
Eventually they reached a point where it was impossible to go any further, so they depoted some supplies in case Campbell's party were to make their way south, and turned back. Some of the ice which they'd crossed on their way up had gone out by the time they retraced their steps and they had to pick their way over a narrow band of fast ice along the rocky coastline. On April 23rd, they returned to Hut Point, where Cherry was convalescing under the stewardship of Gran and Dmitri, quite the worse for wear, and aware they had had a narrow run. In Atch's official report of the second winter, he wrote of Silas:
It wasn't until the 28th that it was deemed safe to cross the bay to Cape Evans. The man-hauling party which set out that day found the estimate to have been a bit optimistic: Silas recorded that they could feel the ice bend underneath them, and the sledge left a perceptible bow-wake. As they neared Cape Evans a cold blizzard descended, causing the men back at Hut Point some significant anxiety on their behalf, but they found the hut safely. When the weather cleared two days later, a flare was sent up from the hut to signify their safe arrival, and the remaining men and dogs set out on the first of May.
It hadn't been an easy road to get there, though – Atch, Silas, Keohane, and a new man named Williamson who'd previously been on the ship's crew, had gone on a perilous sledge trip across unstable sea ice to try to rescue – or at least resupply – the party of six men under Lt Campbell, who were (for all they knew) stranded up the coast and unprepared to endure an entire winter. It was a very uncomfortable journey as the season was well and truly ending, and aside from the cold and blizzards there was the constant anxiety about whether the ice they were on would break up.
Eventually they reached a point where it was impossible to go any further, so they depoted some supplies in case Campbell's party were to make their way south, and turned back. Some of the ice which they'd crossed on their way up had gone out by the time they retraced their steps and they had to pick their way over a narrow band of fast ice along the rocky coastline. On April 23rd, they returned to Hut Point, where Cherry was convalescing under the stewardship of Gran and Dmitri, quite the worse for wear, and aware they had had a narrow run. In Atch's official report of the second winter, he wrote of Silas:
... he had come on this trip fully believing that there was every possibility of the party being lost, but had never demurred and never offered a contrary opinion...'He only spoke his mind on the matter when they decided to turn back. I imagine it went ( something like this: )
It wasn't until the 28th that it was deemed safe to cross the bay to Cape Evans. The man-hauling party which set out that day found the estimate to have been a bit optimistic: Silas recorded that they could feel the ice bend underneath them, and the sledge left a perceptible bow-wake. As they neared Cape Evans a cold blizzard descended, causing the men back at Hut Point some significant anxiety on their behalf, but they found the hut safely. When the weather cleared two days later, a flare was sent up from the hut to signify their safe arrival, and the remaining men and dogs set out on the first of May.
As we neared the Cape Atkinson turned to me: 'Would you go for Campbell or the Polar Party next year?' he said. 'Campbell,' I answered: just then it seemed to me unthinkable that we should leave live men to search for those who were dead.– Apsley Cherry-Garrard, The Worst Journey in the World
