the bushveld branch gets antarctic

摘要

On Thursday 2 February 2006 a group of fascinated Geologists from the Bushveld Branch had the pleasure of visiting Antarctica vicariously. We were taken there by Dr Duncan Cromarty who was the team leader in 1999. Duncan told us that as a child he was shown colour slides taken by the 1956 team. He was so intrigued that he was determined to go there in person and see the world's fifth largest continent for himself. A happy marriage in no way dampened this ambition and his charming wife was well aware that she had not married a sock salesman from John Orr's who would go to work dutifully at nine and return after five every day. He attended training weekends to learn the basics of coping with life in subzero temperatures, snow and ice rescues, crevasse work, and strong winds. He applied to join the team and was thrilled when he was one of the ten men accepted. He'd love to go again. Later expeditions have included women in the teams.