Snow Hill Island
One hundred years ago this month, six members of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition, under the command of Otto Nordenskjöld, erected a prefabricated hut (the dark square towards the right side of the photo) and prepared to spend the winter on Snow Hill Island. They expected to be picked up the following summer by their ship the Antarctic, under the command of Captain Carl Anton Larsen. The Antarctic didn’t show, and the men spent a second winter. During this time, they were active in their scientific investigations, including the discovery of a fossil penguin five feet tall on nearby Seymour Island.
In his attempt to reach Snow Hill in 1903, Larsen was blocked by ice. Three men were dropped off at Hope Bay, about seventy-five miles from Nordenskjöld, in the hope of reaching him at Snow Hill. After over wintering, the trio set out and two weeks later, by extraordinary coincidence, ran into Nordenskjöld who was on a research outing on Vega Island. The spot was named Cape Well Met.
The Antarctic, beset in ice, sank. Larsen and twenty-two men made their way to Paulet Island where they spent the winter of 1903. As the ice broke up Larsen and five men took an open boat and made their way to Hope Bay, only to find a note that the three had gone to Snow Hill. Larsen headed to Snow Hill.
On November 8, 1903, an Argentine search party on the ship Uruguay found the Snow Hill contingent. That evening, as Nordenskjöld was closing up the hut and preparing to look for the remains of the Antarctic and her crew, Captain Larsen showed up in his open boat. This was eight days after leaving Paulet Island and a year and nine months after the original drop off at Snow Hill Island. The reunion was completed on November 11 when Uruguay picked up the crew from Paulet Island, less one sailor, Ole Wennersgaard, who had died during the winter.
One hundred years ago this month, six members of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition, under the command of Otto Nordenskjöld, erected a prefabricated hut (the dark square towards the right side of the photo) and prepared to spend the winter on Snow Hill Island. They expected to be picked up the following summer by their ship the Antarctic, under the command of Captain Carl Anton Larsen. The Antarctic didn’t show, and the men spent a second winter. During this time, they were active in their scientific investigations, including the discovery of a fossil penguin five feet tall on nearby Seymour Island.
In his attempt to reach Snow Hill in 1903, Larsen was blocked by ice. Three men were dropped off at Hope Bay, about seventy-five miles from Nordenskjöld, in the hope of reaching him at Snow Hill. After over wintering, the trio set out and two weeks later, by extraordinary coincidence, ran into Nordenskjöld who was on a research outing on Vega Island. The spot was named Cape Well Met.
The Antarctic, beset in ice, sank. Larsen and twenty-two men made their way to Paulet Island where they spent the winter of 1903. As the ice broke up Larsen and five men took an open boat and made their way to Hope Bay, only to find a note that the three had gone to Snow Hill. Larsen headed to Snow Hill.
On November 8, 1903, an Argentine search party on the ship Uruguay found the Snow Hill contingent. That evening, as Nordenskjöld was closing up the hut and preparing to look for the remains of the Antarctic and her crew, Captain Larsen showed up in his open boat. This was eight days after leaving Paulet Island and a year and nine months after the original drop off at Snow Hill Island. The reunion was completed on November 11 when Uruguay picked up the crew from Paulet Island, less one sailor, Ole Wennersgaard, who had died during the winter.
