CHAPTER XVI
THE CONQUEST OF MOUNT EREBUS
While some of the party cooked the meal, Marshall examined Brocklehurst's feet, as the latter stated that for some time he had lost all feeling in them. When his boots and socks were removed it was found that both his big toes were black, and that four more toes were also frost-bitten. Ultimate recovery from so severe a frost-bite was bound to be slow and tedious, though Marshall's and Mackay's efforts to restore circulation were, under the conditions, fairly successful. To climb almost continuously for nine hours with badly frost-bitten feet up the steep and difficult track must have required splendid pluck and determination.
After lunch Brocklehurst was safely tucked up in the three-man sleeping-bag, and the five other members of the party started off to explore the floor of the old crater, and the mystery of those remarkable structures was soon solved by the Professor.
Directing their steps towards one of the ice mounds, which bore a whimsical resemblance to a lion couchant, and from which smoke seemed to be issuing, the Professor recognised that these structures were the outward and visible signs of fumaroles.
In ordinary climates a fumarole, or volcanic vapour-well, may be detected by the thin cloud of steam above it, but in the rigour of the Antarctic climate the fumaroles of Erebus have their vapour turned into ice as soon as it reaches the surface of the snow-plain.
Thus ice mounds, somewhat similar in shape to the sinter mounds formed by the geysers of New Zealand, Iceland and Yellowstone Park, are built up round the orifices of the fumaroles of Erebus.
Next morning when the party got up at 4 A.M. they had a splendid view of the shadow of Erebus projected on the field of cumulus cloud below them by the rising sun, and while Marshall was attending to Brocklehurst, the hypsometer, which had become frozen on the way up, was thawed out, and a determination of the boiling-point made.
This, when reduced and combined with the mean of the aneroid levels, made the height of the old crater rim, just above the camp, 11,400 ft.
At 6 A.M. the party left the camp, and, hastening to reach the summit of the present crater, were soon ascending rather steep slopes, formed of alternating beds of hard snow and vast quantities of large and perfect felspar crystals, mixed with pumice. And a little farther on they reached the base of the volcano's active cone. Progress now became painfully slow, as the height and cold combined to make it difficult to breathe.
The cone of Erebus is built chiefly of blocks of pumice, from a few inches to a few feet in diameter. Externally these were grey, or often yellow, owing to incrustations of sulphur, but when broken they were of a resinous, brown colour.
At last, just after 10 A.M. on March 10, the edge of the active crater was reached, and the little party stood on the summit of Erebus, the first men to conquer perhaps the most remarkable summit in the world. From measurements made while at the crater's edge, Erebus may be calculated to rise to a height of 13,370 ft. above sea-level.
The report most vividly describes the magnificent and awe-inspiring scene before the eyes of the travellers.
"We stood on the verge of a vast abyss, and at first could see neither to the bottom nor across it on account of the huge mass of steam filling the crater and soaring aloft in a column 500 to 1000 ft. high. After a continuous hissing sound, lasting for some minutes, there would come from below a big, dull boom, and immediately great globular masses of steam would rush upwards to swell the volume of the snow-white cloud which ever sways over the crater. This phenomenon recurred at intervals during the whole of our stay at the crater. Meanwhile the air around us was extremely redolent of burning sulphur. Presently a pleasant northerly breeze fanned away the steam cloud, and at once the whole crater stood revealed to us in all its vast extent and depth. Mawson's angular measurement made the depth 900 ft., and the greatest width about half a mile. There were at least three well-defined openings at the bottom of the cauldron, and it was from these that the steam explosions proceeded."
As soon as the measurements had been made and Mawson had taken some photographs, the party returned to camp, because it had been decided to start the descent during the same afternoon.
Numerous specimens of the unique felspar crystals and of the pumice and sulphur were collected on the way back to camp, and, having arrived there, the travellers made a hasty meal, packed up, and started down the steep mountain slope, Brocklehurst insisting on bearing his own heavy load in spite of his frost-bitten feet.
Soon a point was reached where the party had either to retrace their way or to cut steps across a névé slope, or, lastly, to glissade down some 500 or 600 feet to a rocky ledge below. In their tired state, they chose the path of least resistance, which was offered by the glissade, and consequently the loads were rearranged so that they might roll down easily. Brocklehurst's load, which contained the cooking utensils, protested noisily as it went down, and the aluminium cookers received a severe battering from their abrupt contact with the rocks below.
At this time the whole party were suffering from thirst, but a makeshift drink was obtained by gathering a little snow, squeezing it into a ball, and placing it on the surface of a piece of rock, where it melted almost at once on account of the heat of the sun.
Adams and Marshall were the first to reach the depot, having dropped down 5000 ft. between 3 P.M. and 7 P.M., and they found that the blizzard of the 8th had played havoc with their gear, for the sledge had been overturned and some of the load scattered to a distance and partly covered with drift snow. The party camped during that night at the depot, and by 5.30 A.M. on the following morning the sledge was packed and the homeward journey resumed.
The sastrugi, however, were so troublesome that rope brakes were put on the sledge-runners, and two men went in front to pull when necessary, while two steadied the sledge, and two stayed behind to pull back when required.
At this time, indeed, the conditions were most trying, for the sledge either refused to budge or suddenly it took charge, and overran those who were dragging it.
Capsizes occurred every few minutes, and, owing to the slippery ground, some of the party who had not crampons or barred ski-boots were badly shaken up. One has to experience such a surface to realise how severe a jar one gets from falling. The only civilised experience akin to it is when one steps unknowingly on a slide which some small street-boy has made on the pavement.
The party reached the spot where they had made their first camp, six miles distant from Cape Royds, at 7.30 A.M. By this time a blizzard seemed to be approaching, and the snow, which was beginning to drift before a gusty south-easterly wind, threatened to cut off all view of the winter quarters. Every one was tired, one of the tents had a large hole burnt in it, the oil supply was almost done, and one of the stoves had been put out of action as the result of the glissade. So in the circumstances the party decided to make a dash for Cape Royds, leaving sledge and equipment to be picked up later.
In the grey light the sastrugi did not show up in relief, and every few feet some member of the party fell sprawling over the snow. At last their eyes were gladdened by the shining surface of the Blue Lake only half a mile distant from winter quarters. But now that the stress and the strain were over, their legs grew heavy and leaden, and that last half-mile seemed to be one of the hardest they had covered.
Meanwhile, at winter quarters we had been busy opening cases, with the result that the cubicles of the absentees were crowded with an accumulation, of stores. We had just decided to make the cubicles tidy again for the travellers, and were beginning on the Professor's, when I left the hut for a moment, and to my astonishment saw six slowly moving figures within thirty yards of me.
Running towards them, I shouted, "Did you get to the top?" and as there was no answer I asked again. Then Adams pointed with his hand upwards; but, not satisfied by this, I repeated the question, and Adams replied "Yes." After that I dashed to the hut and shouted to the others, who streamed out to cheer the successful venturers. A good feed followed, in which porridge had the place of honour.
After some days' delay on account of bad weather, a party consisting of Adams, the Professor, Armytage, Joyce, Wild and Marshall started to fetch in the sledge with the explorers' equipment, and this work was successfully accomplished.
Among some of the scientific results of this expedition, as given to me by Professor David, must be mentioned the calculating of the height of the mountains, and that "as regards the geological structure of Erebus, there is evidence of the existence of four superimposed craters."
"Two features," the Professor wrote, "in the geology of Erebus which are specially distinctive are: the vast quantities of large and perfect felspar crystals and the ice fumaroles.... Its situation between the belt of polar calms and the South Pole; its isolation from the disturbing influence of large land masses; its great height, which enables it to penetrate the whole system of atmospheric circulation, and the constant steam cloud at its summit, swinging to and fro like a huge wind vane, combine to make Erebus one of the most interesting places on earth to the meteorologist."