My skis were finally put to use today as the options were to hang out with twenty Weddell seals or to ski up the Phillipi Glacier. Amazingly, with a set of skins attached to the bottoms touring skis will travel up steep slopes; unfortunately our initial ascent was extraordinarily steep, and near the top I was slipping a bit. Since an out-of-control fall would have meant a trip over the edge of the glacier and then a fifty foot plunge into the ocean, after my second slip (which sent me sliding about fifty feet down the slope) I ditched the skis and walked uphill.
Once at the top the slope was much more gentle, and we skied about four miles over the icy snow to the head of the glacier — the snowfield there was vast and pure white, with small mountains and ridges enclosing either side. We spent the next four hours each going our separate directions to do a bit of exploring, and on Shane’s advice I brought my iPod — strangely listening to Pete Townsend while sitting on a snow-covered ridge added a very cool element to the experience.
Aside from reaffirming what a terrible skier I am the return trip was uneventful, and once back we briefly visited the seals. They were allowing us to approach within six feet or so, and the Weddells are the most affectionate of the seals that we’ve seen, with the mothers and pups cuddling together. We’re now anchored for the night, but wind gusts keep pushing the ship over to nearly ten degrees, so tomorrow may not have the nice weather that we had today.