Once that's done we bank sharply and circle round to see that they have spotted the blue bags on the sea ice close to the base. Job done and their waving hands show just how much that must have been appreciated. As we are in the area we take a look at the old BAS station called Stonington. I'm not sure of its history but it will have been one of the first huts to be built down here. When I get a chance I shall look it up in the library.
Next leg is the longer flight south to Alexander Island.
I have done this flight before, several times last summer, but I had forgotten how truly amazing this landscape is. At 11,000 feet you can see hundreds or even thousands of miles of ice, snow and mountains. Not here, the far distance is white and we know that for thousands of miles beyond it will be the same. I had a chance to look at Ablation Valley, the site of my forthcoming summer science project. I needed to pick a camp site and a safe route to the work site.