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Exp-diliott Underway
»urney of Discovery
mneteeH men in the 829-ton
Canadxa11 sealing vessel Theron
sailed recently from London to
Prepare the way for the last great
journey of discovery. They are
charged with creating “first base"
lSwmlL British Commonwealth
1955/1958 expedition which will
make the 2,000 mile trek across
the unchartered wastes of the Ant
arctic.
Headed by Dr. Vivian Fuchs,
eminent British scientist and Di
rector of the Falkland Islands De
pendencies Scientific Bureau, this
advance guard will negotiate the
ice floes of the Weddell Sea and
establish the main base—named
for Sir Ernest Shackleton—west of
Coates Land.
new adventure
The voyage of the Theron marks
the beginning of a new adventure
for Sir Edmund Hillary, conquer
or of Everest, who joins the ship
at Montevideo, returning to New
Zealand after the preliminary sur
vey to prepare for the departure
of a contingent which he will lead
from the “other side” of Antarc
tica from a base at McMurdo
Sound.
The Expedition, part of the
British and Commonwealth contri
bution to the International Geo
physical Year (1957-1858), aims
not only at the surface crossing of
the white continent* for the first
time, but also at the collection of
scientific data and the investiga
tion of meteorological conditions
* on the ice-capped region that is al
most as large in extent as Austra
lia and Europe combined.
Eight men from the Theron will
remain at Shackleton Base after
the initial survey to prepare for
the main expedition’s thrust ac
ross the South Pole, expected to
begin about November, 1957. If all
goes according to plan—and elab
orate equipment has been enlisted
to see that it does—the two halves
of the expedition should join
hands near the South Pole in Feb
ruary or March 1958. The expedi
tion will have equipment almost
undreamed of by earlier genera
tions of explorers.
The Theron sailed with two
Auster scout planes aboard loaned
by the R. A. F. which will be used
for reconnaissance up to 150 miles
ahead of the trekking parties and
for exploring the pack ice of the
Weddell Sea as the sealer noses
her way toward the looming ice
cliffs marking the edge of Antarc
tica in quest of a low shore point
where supplies can be unloaded
and base equipment established.
TRACKED VEHICLES
__Also aboard are tracked vehicles
for hauling supplies including an
American “Sno-cat”; a prefabri
cated base hut able to bear 300
pounds to the square inch of snow
on the roof; high-lift loaders and
winches; special tents to with
stand 100 mph gales and support
the heavy winter snowfalls; radar
and special direction-finding de
vices; timber for bridging the ship
to shore gap on unloading .
ittle seems left to chance.
And yet ironically dogs are still
ssential companions for those
pho would venture into this froz
n wilderness. Indeed the two doz
,n Huskies in the Theron’s comp
ement may well be vital, especial
v when the expedition begins the
esting ascent of the high Antarc
ic plateau.
For the Huskies can go where
sven the most versatile tracked
vehicle cannot venture; they will
>e used for the most difficult ter
•ain and for reconnaissance, for
indins passable routes through
he deadly, crevassed countiy ol
he icy mountains. .
Ill to all, the expedition is well
provided for, but inevitably much
will still depend upon human
toughness and endurance in what
will almost certainly be the long* "
est period of high activity in low ■
temperatures ever withstood by j
man.
“HUNGRY AT TIMES”
Much attention has been paid to
(Continued on page 16)
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TO YOU and YOURS
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will be happy and joyful... and that your ambitions
and desires will find fulfillment
in the new year.
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