- 1979 First Edition. 256 pages
- Published by Anthony Nelson Ltd. England
- Hardcover with dust jacket. Pale green boards. Format C.
- Very good condition. Minor shelf wear and fading to dust jacket.
Foreword by Sir Vivian Fuchs. Indexed. Illustrated.
This is an adventure story, the story of a sixteen-man expedition which went South to explore the Elephant Island Group. None was a professional explorer, they were sixteen quite ordinary servicemen from Lance Corporal to Naval Commander.
Some of them had never even lived rough before their five weeks training. Each had his special part to play, but each had to be able to undertake everything - to canoe across the grey icy sea, to climb the towering mountains, all to carry out scientifc work beyond the next snowy skyline.
For three months they lived through storm and blizzard under cavas; of twenty three tents they brought back seven and some tattered pieces - the remainder were taken by wind and sea.
To make the first ascents of Clarence Island (631ft) and the other island peaks, they had first to cross the sea, and for this they used canoes - the first Antartic expedition to do so. Of their ten strong Tasman canoes, they brought back three, and the broken remains of two more. Four had been wrecked by an avalanche, one broken by a storm tossed growler, and two lost at sea.
The purpose of the expedition was to make the first scientific exploration of these unknown islands, and the appendices at the back fo the book provide a series of papers describing the structure and life of this island group. Some are by team members; others are written by the professional scientists of the British Antarctic Survey, who are studying the observations and collections which were brought back to Britain.
The author and leader of the expedition, Chris Furse, is a Commander in the Royal Navy. He is a keen aonithologist and artist; the drawings in the book are his.
Product is in stock.
