Jolly!

I got out on my first jolly on Friday. I got a message from Cookie to be at the helipad in half an hour, so I dropped what I was doing and hightailed it. Trev and Glenn were going out to a field hut and also to an antenna site to see what was out there, and I got the spare seat.

It was fantastic to get the opportunity to see some more of this place, especially so from the air. The scenery from the air was genuinely breathtaking. Up in the hills, there are so many lakes (some frozen, some not) and fjords it gives a completely different aspect of Antarctica, compared to the dustbowl that is Davis. And to see the plateau rising in the distance, taking up all of the horizon is surreal.

That's Watts, on the right

We first went to Watts Hut, then on up to Tarbuck Crag. Kudos to Dave, our chopper pilot, for actually landing on top of Tarbuck - there is literally only enough level ground to just fit the skids, and it was also quite windy. That was going to be it for the day, but the boys requested a trip out to Platcha Hut, which was approved. Platcha is in an amazing spot, right on the edge of a lake, and right on the edge of the plateau. The icecap starts growing from here, and continues on rising all the way to the middle of the continent.

Nice parking Dave!

Me on top of Tarbuck Crag

Platcha Hut