Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-16
4Area Men
TOHeIpChart
Antarctic Area
By JOHN SHERWOOD
Star STAFF Writer

Siren Of Antarctica that calls
them back to this last un-
explored continent Of adven-
ture, where barren deserts Of
blue ice wear the tantalizinR
names Of Wilkes Land, Ross
Ice Shelf, Area Of Inaccessi-
bility and South Pole.
This is the prehistoric Ice
mantle Of Antarctica that lures
a six-man team Of Geological
Survey specialists who leave
Washington this week for the
the bottom Of the world. Three
Of these men have been there
before.
The veterans are Donald c.
Barnett Of Woodbridge, Va;
William r. Macdonald, Crowns
vile. Md, and Kenneth s. Nc
Lean. Colorado. Newcomers 10
the old world viii be James R.
Heiser, Arlington; Richard z.
Kenfield. Wisconsin, and Al
fred P. Zavis, Vienna, Va. They
will conduct varied field sur
veys for topographic map con-
troll on the weirdest landfor1ns
on the face Of the earth. -
Huge Cap Of lee
Antarctica. nearly as large as
the United States and Europe
combined. stores 7 million
cubic miles Of ice which n
melted would raise the worlds
seas some $50 feet.
Its isolation makes it ex-
tremely difficult to reach
Surrounded by q great moat Of
three oceans, the continent IL
separated by 500 miles of nearly
uncharted waters from the
nearest land.
It's no wonder that man has
never lived there until com
paritively recent times. and
that for many years the sight
OF the lonely land was only for
the eyes Of the whalers and the
seal hunters.
The 2.400-mile flight the six
men will make from Christ
church. New Zealand IN Me.
Murdo Sound has been called
the worlds most dangerous
route. Its like flying inside. a
bouncing ping-pong ball." they
say.
In the Antarctic billiards the
snow stings like sand and the
world becomes a vast white
ness with no reference point.
Even at quiet times, when the
dead calm may lower tempera-
lures to 125 degrees below zero
under the midnight sun, the
horizon may vanish and erase
all sense Of depth and distance.
The Geological Survey men,
as part Of the United States
Antarctica research program of
the National Science Founda-
ton, will travel throughout the
desolate wastelands by helicop-
ter, airplane and motor tobog-
gan.
The famed huskies which
made up the dog sleds in the
past are being replaced by Sno-
Cats that are. in turn, being
replaced by the motor tobog-
gan. These motorized sleds,
used mainly by the Americans.
can seat two passengers. but
drivers prefer to follow on skis
and guide the sled with 60-foot
reinS. This is to prevent dis
aster II the toboggan should
disappear into a crevasse hid
den by a thin covering Of
drifted snow.
Weather Is a Hazard
The survey men will attend
a mountain climbing school at
McMurdo, the gateway to Ant
artica, in anticipation Of climb
ing nearly vertical ice slopes in
the PeniScola Mountains.
Treacherous weather Is an
other hazard. A sudden sweep
Of cold air from the Magnetic
Pole may blow northward to hit
warm air and roar into winds
near Balleny Island. Thus are
baby cyclones born to tear
across the Ross Ice Shelf and
break up violently in the Queen
Maud Range with the winds
bowling a chilling chorus.
In this land where petrified
wood and coal have been found
to date back $50 million years,
at a time when the climate was
warm and supported lush vege-
tation, the mappers will set
up camps Of pyramidal tents.
Working IL hours a day during
their six-month tour, their first
field survey may prove a
frightening experience with the
ominouS crack Of ice shifting
underfoot. Or a boot may go
through a thin crust Of Ice to
bring up visions Of a deep Gre
vase in the two and a half
miles Of solid ice underfoot.
During their tour the men
will be able to spend their
money in only a few ways.
These are beer, poker games
and genuine Antarctica sou
venirS made in New Jersey.
a. n m