Pressured

Behind the New Zealand Station there is a beautiful phenomenon which we've come to know as "the pressure ridges". The movement of the sea ice against the shore has created great forces and pushed it upwards. In places it looks like frozen sea waves while in other spots big chunks of ice have been pushed upwards. Alternating thawing and freezing has also created beautiful icicles.
In years past you were allowed to walk freely in this landscape, but for some reason (maybe a minor incident like someone twisting his ankle) it was deemed too unsafe. The Kiwis for years have been allowing their people to do this and have been doing regular safety inspections of the route to make sure that unsafe areas were marked with black flags. So after much lobbying and the appointment of official "guides" the route was opened again for Americans who could sign up for it on the sign-up sheet outside the Rec office.


More pictures on our picture website:
http://michielandsherithepictures.blogspot.com/