Antarctic Fox - Day 7: Abandoned Antarctica: Base W - Detaille Island

The log of Rachel and Kevin Fox's trip to the Antarctic Peninsula in the Summer of 2008-9

Day 7: Abandoned Antarctica: Base W - Part 1

January 1 - Abandoned British Base W, Detaille Island, the Antarctic Peninsula

Given a few hours of rest after our adventure chasing the Hanse Explorer through ice floes in the Zodiacs we set off on an excursion quite different from any we'd had thus far in Antarctica.

We stopped just off Detaille Island. Our destination: The abandoned British Survey Base W established in 1956 to conduct survey work on the local glaciers and geology, and meteorological study.

At the time that the base was built, the site was chosen in part because of the beautiful sheltered bay, largely free of sea ice. This is a critical feature for Antarctic bases because without access to the open sea the base is entirely cut off from the rest of the world.

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As fate wold have it, Base W's location was its downfall. The year that the base was built turned out to be a particularly mild year in Antarctica, and the bay was very clear of ice. This however turned out to be atypical for this area. Three years later in 1959 the relief ship John Briscoe arrived at the end of the Summer with the base's supplies for the coming overwintering, and they found the bay completely impassable, filled with icebergs that not only made it impossible to unload, but also presented an urgent danger to the ship even staying in the area. The John Briscoe had to get out of there.

The ship sent word that there was no way to deliver the critical overwintering supplies, and the staff of Base W were given just one hour to pack up, make their way to the Briscoe and abandon the base.

Nearly a half-century later in 2004, the British attempted to return to the base with a "Abandoned Base" team whose objective is to either clean up all traces of the base or repair and preserve the abandoned base as a historical site. However again the British were foiled by bad weather and the team found it impossible to unload any gear and they had to skip the base and instead went to Base O on Danco Island (also unmanned since 1959), which they dismantled and removed.

Thankfully, this has left Base W virtually untouched over the last 50 years. Nearly everything is exactly as it was left by the residents scrambling to gather all items of value before they had to evacuate. The result is an incredible snapshot into the past. There are no velvet ropes, restored diorama or placards, just the reality preserved by the respect of the very small number of people who have had the good fortune and cooperative weather to facilitate the journey to this outpost.

Thanks to Antarctica's cold dry climate and the protection of the icy bay, most of the contents of Base W remain exactly where they were left. A few things have been pulled out of drawers and laid out by past visitors, but according the the visitors log the last visitors to base W arrived almost one year ago, 1/16/08: 11 passengers from the Delacio Australis.

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Workshop

Just left of Entrance were two rooms made impassable by snow. They seemed to be a workshop, storage and possibly a bar as well.

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Entry Hall

At the entry a hall heads off along the building on the right. To the left is a door to the workshop shown above. The hall to the right has shelving all along the ceiling. Rooms only exist on the left hand side. To the right is the outer wall with several windows looking out on the snow and yard.

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Barracks

First room on the left in as you head down the hall from the front door.

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Attic Workroom

Second door on the left in the main hall is actually a small alcove with several supplies and a ladder up to an attic. You walk through a dark storage area to this bright workroom at the end with one window over looking the bay. This room contains items that lead us to believe the researcher, doing working in geology and studying glaciers was also possibly the doctor and/or a chemist.

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Attic Storage

Leaving the workroom you have to pause to adjust to the dark in the main attic room which was used for storage. Mostly containing cans of food, but also some larger supplies like a gurney. Heading back the way you had come toward the middle of the large room there is a hole in the floor with a ladder. Descending this ladder will again place you in the main hall of the building.

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It was true magic to walk through the past captured inside this base.

Read the next chapter: Day 7: Abandoned Antarctica: Base W - Part 2

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