Narrative:

Korsch and Napp arrived at Scott Base on November 14, one day behind schedule because of a turnaround by the C130. The next two days were spent on the Survival Course and organising field equipment and on November 17 we were transported to the Miers valley by helicopter. We "camped" in the Wannigan at the western end of Lake Miers which we found very comfortable compared with a polar tent. Over the next few days we carried out a reconnaissance geological survey, concentrating on the divide between the Marshall and Miers valleys and then the south wall of the Miers Valley. On one occasion when the winds started suddenly we were on an exposed part near the summit of the ridge and Korsch suffered a case of frost nip on the nose.

On November 19 we observed three dead seals approximately 400m above the valley floor on the north wall of the Miers Valley. They were about 100m apart on a steep talus slope consisting of jagged blocks up to 30cm in diameter, and were in various states of preservation. The youngest carcass had been there for a very short time, probably less than a season, because frozen blood had not yet been wind abraded.

Korsch and Napp were relocated to Shapeless Mountain on November 23 by helicopter which then transferred Hosted from K6A at Mt Bastion to K6B. After setting up camp in a small basin approximately 2 1/2km ENE of the summit of Shapeless Mountain we did a reconnaissance trip to the summit of the mountain. In the cold windy conditions Korsch suffered a second case of frost nip but after this Hosted made "Lone Ranger" masks out of leather to protect our noses, and these proved to be very effective in cold, windy conditions.

The first two field days at Shapeless Mountain were spent on reconnaissance surveys and then the rest of the field work was oriented towards detailed data and sample collection.

Our major handicap at Shapeless Mountain was the loss of work time due to strong winds, and although we worked whenever possible, sometimes in marginal conditions, we still lost approximately half our field days.

On November 27 K3 (coal geology) party arrived at Shapeless Mountain and camped approximately 3km from our site. When they departed on December 2 we were able to obtain a fully charged battery for the Compak radio from them to supplement our batteries.

On December 1 about 1km NE of the summit we observed a snow petrel in flight and on December 9 while at the western extremity of Shapeless Mountain we observed two snow petrels in flight.

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HRH Prince Edward during his visit to Antarctica was scheduled to visit K6B as well as other Kiwi field parties on December 10, and hence we remained at camp for the whole day while weather conditions were good. The helicopter finally flew overhead just after 9 p.m. but was unable to land as the weather conditions had changed and the wind increased to strong gusts. Had we been informed on the morning radio sked of the expected arrival time of the royal party we could have utilised the good weather for field work.

Although we concentrated our field work on the rocks exposed at Shapeless Mountain we visited Mistake Peak on December 12 and found a similar geological situation there as to that on Shapeless Mountain.

After an extended stay on Portal Mountain K6A (Walker and Gabites) were finally relocated to Shapeless Mountain on December 16. Bad weather on the polar plateau side of the mountain meant they were unable to land at the site they had chosen and hence they joined us at our campsite. Highlight of the reunion was the birthday party for Isobel Gabites, celebrated with the resupply sent from Scott Base and for which we were very grateful.

Our relocation from Shapeless Mountain to the Allan Hills originally scheduled for December 13, was delayed for a few days and rescheduled for December 18. Bad weather in the Allan Hills region forced a postponement and on December 20 Korsch and Napp were transported to Scott Base by helicopter, the Allan Hills segment being cancelled due to lack of time.

At Scott Base we cleaned our field gear, packed rocks and equipment for shipment back to New Zealand and commenced report writing, eventually leaving Antarctica on January 2 arriving in Christchurch and then Wellington on January 3.

In the field all garbage was stored in plastic garbage bags and returned to Scott Base where it was sorted into combustible and non-combustible items. Plastic garbage bags were used for our campsite toilet and the excreta was also transported back to Scott Base.

Apart from minor problems outlined elsewhere the field season was extremely successful with the major aims being accomplished. This could not have been done without the support from the staff of Scott Base.

Weather:

Excellent weather conditions were experienced early in the season, both in the Miers Valley and during the first ten days at Shapeless Mountain. However, out of the last 17 days on Shapeless Mountain we had suitable working weather on only four (4) days. The major factor was the wind which blew consistently at 20-30 knots with gusts to over 70 knots, coupled with temperatures page 51 of around −20°C. A summary of our weather observations is presented in Appendix III.

Communications:

A Compak radio was provided for the twice daily radio skeds with Scott Base. We found that we always needed to transmit on high power and that the batteries had a life of only 8-10 days. Communication with Scott Base was often very difficult due to ionospheric disturbances, and a lot of skeds had to be relayed via Vanda Station or another field party. On the positive side it was only in extremely rare cases that we were unable to receive transmissions from Scott Base.

One problem we experienced in the field was that although we had provided a "shopping list" during the radio skeds, the items and our mail were not put on helicopters coming to Shapeless Mountain although there were at least 3 opportunities when this could have been done. The problem continued after we left the field as mail for K6A was not forwarded during their relocation from Shapeless Mountain to the Allan Hills. Information regarding possible helicopter moves was often patchy and when helicopters did not arrive when scheduled explanations via the radio were rarely given.

Transport:

All transport in the field was by helicopter with the put in to the Miers Valley being on schedule. The relocation to Shapeless Mountain was one day late due to bad weather. The planned relocation from Shapeless Mountain to the Allan Hills was delayed for seven days due to several factors including the visit to Scott Base of HRH Prince Edward, bad weather and a backlog of helicopter requirements. Consequently, this part of our scientific programme had to be cancelled and we returned to Scott Base on the originally scheduled date.

The nature of the project at Shapeless Mountain required visiting all parts of the mountain and this often meant walking up to six hours a day. It was originally intended that K6A would camp on the opposite side of the mountain so that we could use their camp as a "resting point". However, they were delayed at Portal Mountain for nine days for the same reasons as our delay at Shapeless Mountain and when they eventually were moved to Shapeless Mountain bad weather forced them to camp with us.

A further problem was the lack of Hercules flights from McMurdo to Christchurch prior to Christmas and we had to spend 14 days at Scott Base waiting to be transported to Christchurch.

Field equipment:

We were impressed with the quality of the clothing, the only exception being the woolen finger gloves. Due to collecting and packing rocks, page 52 these gloves would only last a few days before holes appeared. The primuses functioned perfectly with no sign of CO poisoning even at our high altitude (2350m) camp at Shapeless Mountain.

During one particularly bad spell of weather the "North Face" dome tent periodically collapsed in the gale-force winds as the flexible metal poles bent inwards. When the wind slackened it would "pop" out again. During this time the polar tent was very stable in the wind.

Minor damage to the dome tent occurred on December 7 and on December 19 and although the tent was easily repaired in the field it was not as well suited to the high winds as was the polar tent.

The only loss of equipment was one bush shirt, two pairs of socks and a geological hammer. These were sent in a cargon from Wellington to Scott Base but could not be found on arrival at Scott Base although most of the equipment sent in the same cargon did arrive safely.

Recommendations:

1.	Field parties being forced to spend several days at any one camp site waiting for a helicopter move was the most serious problem experienced during the 1982-83 field season. The situation could have been improved if Scott Base had provided explanations as to the reason for the lack of availability of helicopters to NZ field parties/ and why helicopters did not eventuate when they were finally scheduled.
2.	The radio sked twice daily was a prolonged affair and needs to be streamlined so that only urgent messages are handled during the initial check in by the field parties and all other communications including weather, requests for helicopter moves and shopping lists are conveyed during a second run through the field parties.
3.	The following equipment is recommended for including in an Earth Science Laboratory at Scott Base: (i) General (applicable for all scientists) 1. Draughting table 2. Light table 3. Draughting equipment 4. Stereoscope for aiphoto interpretation 5. Photocopier. (ii) Specific 1. Diamond saw with at least 10" blade for cutting reasonable sized rock specimens.