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Far Eastern Party
The Far Eastern Party was a sledging component of the 1911–1914 Australasian Antarctic expedition, which investigated the previously unexplored coastal regions of Antarctica west of Cape Adare. Led by Australian geologist Douglas Mawson, the party aimed to explore the area far to the east of their main base in Adélie Land, pushing about 500 miles (800 km) towards Victoria Land. Accompanying Mawson were Belgrave Edward Ninnis, a lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers, and Swiss ski expert Xavier Mertz; the party used sledge dogs to increase their speed across the ice. Initially they made good progress, crossing two huge glaciers on their route south-east.
On 14 December 1912, with the party more than 311 miles (501 km) from the safety of the main base at Cape Denison, Ninnis and the sledge he was walking beside broke through the snow lid of a crevasse and were lost. Their supplies now severely compromised, Mawson and Mertz turned back west, gradually shooting the remaining sledge dogs for food to supplement their scarce rations. As they crossed the first glacier on their return journey Mertz became sick, making progress difficult. After almost a week of making very little headway Mertz died, leaving Mawson to carry on alone.
For almost a month he pulled his sledge across the Antarctic, crossing the second glacier, despite an illness that increasingly weakened him. Mawson reached the comparative safety of Aladdin's Cave—a food depot five and a half miles (8.9 km) from the main base—on 1 February 1913, only to be trapped there for a week while a blizzard raged outside. As a result, he missed the ship back to Australia; the SY Aurora had sailed on 8 February, just hours before his return to Cape Denison, after waiting for more than three weeks. With a relief party, Mawson remained at Cape Denison until the Aurora returned the following summer in December 1913. Explorer and mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary described Mawson's month-long journey as "probably the greatest story of lone survival in Polar exploration".
The causes of Mertz's death and Mawson's related illness remain uncertain; a 1969 study suggested hypervitaminosis A, presumably caused by the men eating the livers of their Greenland huskies, which are now known to be unusually high in vitamin A. While this is considered the most likely theory, dissenting opinions suggest prolonged cold exposure or psychological stresses.
The Australasian Antarctic expedition, commanded by Douglas Mawson, explored part of East Antarctica between 1911 and 1914. The expedition's main base was established in January 1912, at Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay, Adélie Land. This was much farther west than originally intended; dense pack ice had prevented the expedition ship SY Aurora from landing closer to Cape Adare, the original eastern limit. Only after the Aurora—heading west—had rounded the ice tongue of the Mertz Glacier, was a landing made.
Battling katabatic winds that swept down from the Antarctic Plateau, the shore party erected their hut and began preparations for the following summer's sledging expeditions. The men readied clothing, sledges, tents and rations, conducted limited survey parties, and deployed several caches of supplies. The most notable of these depots was Aladdin's Cave, excavated from the ice on the slope five and a half miles (9 km) to the south of the main hut.
On 27 October 1912, Mawson outlined the summer sledging program. Of the seven sledging parties that would depart from Cape Denison, three would head east. The Eastern Coastal Party, led by the geologist Cecil Madigan, was charged with exploring beyond the Mertz Glacier tongue; they would initially be supported by the Near Eastern Party led by Frank Leslie Stillwell, which would then turn to mapping the area between Cape Denison and the glacier.
The final party, led by Mawson, would push rapidly inland to the south of the Coastal Party towards Victoria Land, an area he had explored during Ernest Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition in 1908–1909. He hoped to travel about 500 miles (800 km) east, collecting geological data and specimens, mapping the coast, and claiming territory for the crown.
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Far Eastern Party
The Far Eastern Party was a sledging component of the 1911–1914 Australasian Antarctic expedition, which investigated the previously unexplored coastal regions of Antarctica west of Cape Adare. Led by Australian geologist Douglas Mawson, the party aimed to explore the area far to the east of their main base in Adélie Land, pushing about 500 miles (800 km) towards Victoria Land. Accompanying Mawson were Belgrave Edward Ninnis, a lieutenant in the Royal Fusiliers, and Swiss ski expert Xavier Mertz; the party used sledge dogs to increase their speed across the ice. Initially they made good progress, crossing two huge glaciers on their route south-east.
On 14 December 1912, with the party more than 311 miles (501 km) from the safety of the main base at Cape Denison, Ninnis and the sledge he was walking beside broke through the snow lid of a crevasse and were lost. Their supplies now severely compromised, Mawson and Mertz turned back west, gradually shooting the remaining sledge dogs for food to supplement their scarce rations. As they crossed the first glacier on their return journey Mertz became sick, making progress difficult. After almost a week of making very little headway Mertz died, leaving Mawson to carry on alone.
For almost a month he pulled his sledge across the Antarctic, crossing the second glacier, despite an illness that increasingly weakened him. Mawson reached the comparative safety of Aladdin's Cave—a food depot five and a half miles (8.9 km) from the main base—on 1 February 1913, only to be trapped there for a week while a blizzard raged outside. As a result, he missed the ship back to Australia; the SY Aurora had sailed on 8 February, just hours before his return to Cape Denison, after waiting for more than three weeks. With a relief party, Mawson remained at Cape Denison until the Aurora returned the following summer in December 1913. Explorer and mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary described Mawson's month-long journey as "probably the greatest story of lone survival in Polar exploration".
The causes of Mertz's death and Mawson's related illness remain uncertain; a 1969 study suggested hypervitaminosis A, presumably caused by the men eating the livers of their Greenland huskies, which are now known to be unusually high in vitamin A. While this is considered the most likely theory, dissenting opinions suggest prolonged cold exposure or psychological stresses.
The Australasian Antarctic expedition, commanded by Douglas Mawson, explored part of East Antarctica between 1911 and 1914. The expedition's main base was established in January 1912, at Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay, Adélie Land. This was much farther west than originally intended; dense pack ice had prevented the expedition ship SY Aurora from landing closer to Cape Adare, the original eastern limit. Only after the Aurora—heading west—had rounded the ice tongue of the Mertz Glacier, was a landing made.
Battling katabatic winds that swept down from the Antarctic Plateau, the shore party erected their hut and began preparations for the following summer's sledging expeditions. The men readied clothing, sledges, tents and rations, conducted limited survey parties, and deployed several caches of supplies. The most notable of these depots was Aladdin's Cave, excavated from the ice on the slope five and a half miles (9 km) to the south of the main hut.
On 27 October 1912, Mawson outlined the summer sledging program. Of the seven sledging parties that would depart from Cape Denison, three would head east. The Eastern Coastal Party, led by the geologist Cecil Madigan, was charged with exploring beyond the Mertz Glacier tongue; they would initially be supported by the Near Eastern Party led by Frank Leslie Stillwell, which would then turn to mapping the area between Cape Denison and the glacier.
The final party, led by Mawson, would push rapidly inland to the south of the Coastal Party towards Victoria Land, an area he had explored during Ernest Shackleton's Nimrod Expedition in 1908–1909. He hoped to travel about 500 miles (800 km) east, collecting geological data and specimens, mapping the coast, and claiming territory for the crown.
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