Weekend at Platcha and Brookes Huts

Last weekend Paul, Trevor, Tony and I got out for the weekend. As we left on Saturday morning the temperature was -18C, but as there was hardly any wind it was quite comfortable in all the right gear. We headed straight out to Platcha Hut to drop some of the food and drink off before heading out for a local ride. The main goal was to get to the Russian fuel drums up on the edge of the plateau (some years ago the Russians created this fuel cache for future use, but it has never been used). It was a rough old ride as the day was overcast which made definition of the snow surface very difficult. It was just a matter of riding slowly enough to react to the bumps as you rode over them. When we called in to let station know we had arrived safely, we were told that another group was on their way up to the drums, so we left them this message:

On the way back to Platcha we just did some local sightseeing before getting back in fading light to set up for the night. We got the heater on and the water boiling then settled in for a magnificent dinner of lamb stew.

Trevor and I enjoying a quiet ale before dinner

The next day was some more sightseeing, with our general direction being towards Brookes Hut. Once again definition was a problem but as there was no wind we couldn't complain. This first photo shows the edge of the plateau near Platcha Hut. The little black dot in the centre of the photo is one of the guys on a quad. The second is looking back down Long Fjord along the ice, and helps illustrate the definition problems we were having.

One of the things about this place is that there is always something interesting to take photos of. This next picture is simply of a close up of a rock face with some snow blown into it, but I just really liked the patterns in it.

Another place we stopped was at Ace Lake Apple ("apple" is the word used to describe some of the smaller huts, and so you know an apple is smaller than a melon!). This one is pretty basic - not even having a heater, unless you drag out a generator with you. I don't think I will ever bother using this one for a night away.

Ace Lake Apple, overlooking Long Fjord (Ace Lake is over the hill behind the apple)

After a good fun day, it was good to get to Brookes Hut and get ready for the night. Brookes is massive compared to Platcha (well it's twice the size - two rooms instead of one), and has a nice bit of decking out the front.

Brookes Hut

It was a bit warmer on Sunday night (we think about -10C) so we sat out the front having cheese and bikkies whilst watching night creep in around us. Dinner was a tomato pesto pasta, served with foccacia. Gee I hate roughing it...

Monday morning and the weather was fantastic again - still no wind. We were extremely lucky to have three relatively wind free days. We were a bit slower getting away this day, but it was all good, as we managed to see the sun rise as were were cruising around the bergs. It was a truly spectacular sunrise, one that I hope I never forget. Riding around on the sea ice on quads, dodging around icebergs and watching the sun rise after midday - really amazing stuff. After all this it was time to head back to station. It had started to get a bit chilly again (-22C) so when we got back we were all looking forward to a nice hot (three minute) shower.

Sunrise on the sea ice - this photo was taken at 1:03pm