ice cover was not unustially heavy. However, the ice was not the soft, 

 rotten summer ice heretofore encountered in the Ross Sea during the 

 months of December and January in previous crossings. It was hard, 

 tough, and very difficult to crack. Near zero air temperattires (6° to 

 -6°F) increased the toughness of the ice to a condition resembling a 

 mixtixre of plastic and obsidian. The heavy snow cover, moreover, 

 cushioned the breaking force of the ship to a high degree and made 

 crossings between leads a difficult procedure, requiring much backing 

 and ramming. Helicopters were employed repeatedly throiighout the most 

 troublesome areas, to scout more favorable ice and possible leads. 



The possibility of traversing the Ross Sea ice pack during the 

 winter season has long been the subject of much controversy. The 

 GLACIER'S late October passage may offer some pertinent additional 

 observations as to the feasibility of such an attempt. During the 

 winter months, air temperatures considerably lower than those experi- 

 enced in October wo\ild toughen the ice to an even greater extent. 

 A further obstacle would be the inability to scout for leads and more 

 favorable ice conditions during the darkness of the midwinter months. 

 Any attempt at traversing the Ross Sea pack ice during the winter 

 months iv-ould be a most difficult and time-consiming operation, but 

 still not impossible for an icebreaker of the GL/vCIER class. 



The edge of the fast ice on 28 October 1956 in KcMurdo Sound 

 extended from just south of Gape Royds vrest across the sound to 'Adthin 

 about ten miles of Putter Point, From here it followed north along 

 the Victoria Land coast at approximately this same distance from the 

 shore. At the edge of the fast ice, the thickness was measured and 

 found to vary between two and three feet. To obtain a suitable safe 

 off-loading area, a channel was broken south to a point one and one- 

 half miles west of Inaccessible Island, where the ice i^ras four to five 

 feet thick. Some nevi ice formed north of the fast ice edge during the 

 week the GLACIER remained at McMurdo Sound, 



November - On 5 November 1956, the GLACIER left KcMurdo Sound 

 for Little America V at Kainan Bay. Some broken pack ice was passed 

 through in getting out to Beaufort Island and this continued until 

 Cape Crozier was reached. Some open water occurred to the west and 

 north of Beaufort Island, which was rounded from the west at a distance 

 of not more than 200 yards from shore. The remainder of the passage 

 to Little America was made in open water containing only a light 

 covering of grease ice in places. The ship's track closely followed 

 the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf. The Ray of V^ales was filled with 

 fast ice, which was about three feet thick at the northern edge. 

 Kainan Bay was also filled with fast ice, which was knovm to have 

 frozen since April 1956, but which had attained a thickness of about 

 ten feet — a remarkable growth for only seven months freezing time. 

 The thickness of the ice in Kainan Bay \vas measij^ed at five holes 



40 



