Cruising along the Ross Sea Ice Shelf

Friday, January 27th

It is almost impossible to describe the sheer immensity of the Ross Sea Ice Shelf.

As Ross sailed south he saw a white line: “extending from its eastern extreme point as far as the eye could discern to the eastward. It presented an extraordinary appearance, gradually increasing in height, as we got nearer to it, and proving at length to be a perpendicular cliff of ice, between one hundred and fifty feet and two hundred feet above the level of the sea, perfectly flat and level at the top, and without any fissures or promontories on its even seaward face.” Ross realized there was no possible penetration further, stating: “we might, with equal chance of success, try to sail through the cliffs of Dover, as to penetrate such a mass.” Naming it Victoria Barrier, it was later changed to the Ross Sea Ice shelf.

That day we sailed along the Ross Sea Ice Shelf on our way to The Bay of Whales.