Also during the day we could see a small red Twin Otter aircraft flying across the lake ice below. It had taken us two and a half hours to walk up the glacier to the ridge but a little less than that to come down. On our return to camp it was a nice surprise to find that the aircraft had air-dropped the mail. This has to be most complex and the most appreciated postal service in the world. Particularly impressive given my lack of address or post code.
Chocolate cake makes a welcome change from meals prepared from field ration boxes.
Wonderful feeling after a hard day on the hills to be able to relax in your sleeping bag with tea and the post. There were some letters from home for me, a Christmas present all the way from Pembrokeshire, and a surprise letter from one of the readers of this diary. We continued with the science programme on the lake and also completed a survey of the local area. The time had come to think about the next site. Just to the north is Ablation Valley, similar geography but slightly larger.