{"id":9255,"date":"2014-12-23T18:29:45","date_gmt":"2014-12-23T23:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/all-geo.org\/highlyallochthonous\/?p=9255"},"modified":"2014-12-23T18:29:45","modified_gmt":"2014-12-23T23:29:45","slug":"one-year-ago-today-landfall-on-the-antarctic-peninsula-proper-more-penguins-and-an-avalanche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/all-geo.org\/highlyallochthonous\/2014\/12\/one-year-ago-today-landfall-on-the-antarctic-peninsula-proper-more-penguins-and-an-avalanche\/","title":{"rendered":"One year ago today: landfall on the Antarctic Peninsula proper, more penguins, and an avalanche!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/span>\"A<\/span>23rd December, known by GeoKid \u201cthe day before Christmas Eve\u201d, saw our first stop on the mainland of the Antarctic Peninsula and on nearby Cuverville Island. Both Anne and Chris got snowy hikes in that day, so our entry will interweave our experiences as recorded in our journals. <\/p>\n

Anne: \u201cOur first landing of the morning was at Neko Harbour, a tiny slice of exposed land on the Antarctic Peninsula itself. If there was any doubt we were truly in Antarctica, this stop dispelled it. Glaciers everywhere, icebergs in the water, a small cobble beach, snow, penguins, skuas, and steep slopes. Other than where we were, the only exposed rock was vertical. Even that seemed to be draped by >100 feet of glacier on top. <\/p>\n

\u201cOn the beach where we landed were Gentoo penguins bathing, granitic cobbles and chunks of ice washed in by surges created when one of the glaciers calved. Chris and GeoKid stayed near the penguin colonies while I made my way uphill on the hike. It was warm going, but the snow had a fairly good icy crust on it and the views increased as we gained elevation. We switch-backed up to an outcrop with views down on the harbour, another arm of the bay, and the lower bits of the glacier. But there were still hundreds if not thousands of feet of mountain and ice above us. Spectacular!<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>

View from the beach at Neko Harbour. Note the washed up glacier bits on shore. Photo by A. Jefferson, December 2013.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"A<\/a>

A warm climb on a cold continent. Photo by A. Jefferson, December 2013.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"View<\/a>

View from the top of Anne’s climb at Neko Harbour. Still at least 300 m of relief above her. Photo by A. Jefferson, December 2013.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>

The good ship Corinithian, in Neko Harbor. Photo by A. Jefferson, December 2013.<\/p><\/div>\n

Chris: Neko Harbour was a fun stop. Whilst Anne went on her hike, Geokid and I hunkered down to observe the nesting Gentoo penguins. Because large plant life is absent in Antarctica, other nest material is required, and the penguins build nesting mounds from scavenged pebbles. Just as bare rock is a precious commodity, so are the pebbles – which means the penguins are continually stealing rocks from neighbouring nests to shore up their own.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Gentoo Penguin colony at Neko Harbour, Antarctic Peninsula. The wall of ice across the inlet is the mouth of a glacier. Photo: Chris Rowan, 2013.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Gentoo<\/a>

Gentoo penguin at Neko Harbour, Antarctic Peninsula. Photo: Chris Rowan, 2013<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Gentoo<\/a>

Gentoo penguins on pebble nests at Neko Harbour, Antarctic Peninsula. Photo: Chris Rowan, 2013.<\/p><\/div>\n

The video below shows penguin geo-larceny in action: the commentary is a little silly, I’m afraid, but GeoKid found this routine fascinating and made me make up a story to explain what was going on.<\/p>\n