Long weekend hike

With the past easter weekend three teammates and I decided to go for a hike around Vesleskarvet (the mountaintop on which SANAE is built).  The conditions were quite cold so we really had to dress warmly.  We had to cross a section of ice that has the possibility of crevasses so we also had to rope up.  In other words we were all attached to a climbing rope and we walked in single file stretched out over the length of rope.  The rationale is that if one of us falls through a snow bridge into a crevasse the rest will have time to anchor themselves with ice axes into the snow and will then be able to rescue the unlucky one who is probably busy taking pictures of the inside of a crevasse.   

** Note: The 'bandaged' face is only Braam in his 2nd world war extreme weather gear, which he insists is very effective. **

At one point we were sheltered from most of the wind and we dug into our lunch.  I think the cup of tea I had will remain in my top 10 of all time.  It was quite special to sit on the ice with a few mates and nothing to see or hear for hundreds of kilometers.

On the return we had to walk up a rather steep incline directly into the wind and the respect one has for the arctic explorers of yesteryear grew further.

After about 5 hours outside we were very glad for the luxury of hot showers and the warmth of cosy old SANAE.