Undaunted Journey

A perilous journey begun last week at the South Pole will be listed, if it succeeds, as one of the great landmarks in the history of exploration. If it fails, as some gloomy ones have predicted, twelve brave men may die on the Antarctic icecap.

The British Commonwealth trans-Antarctica expedition, led by Scientist-Explorer Vivian Fuchs, reached the air-supplied U.S. base at the South Pole in jaunty condition, in spite of its punishing, 930-mile battle from the Weddell Sea. To greet the Americans, handsome, bearded Dr. Fuchs, 49, wore red moccasins, blue ski pants and a white polo-necked sweater. One of his men, New Zealander George Lowe, wore a Panama hat. The twelve Britons reveled in the Antarctic luxury of the polar base, ate at tables, took hot showers. They spent most of their time checking their four Sno-Cats and their one Weasel (nicknamed "Rack and Ruin"), which will be abandoned when its fuel load is consumed.

No Quitters. With the short Antarctic summer racing toward its end, every hour counts. Fuchs intended to stay at the South Pole only two days, but a furious blizzard delayed him for more than another day. He did not wait for it to end, but set off across the white plateau with the snow blowing thickly around his vehicles. Not one of his eleven men chose to fly out to safety.

The first leg of the 1,200-mile journey to Scott Station on the Ross Sea will be the 500 miles to Depot 700, where Sir Edmund Hillary left a stock of fuel and supplies (TIME. Jan. 13). If all goes well, Sir Edmund will join Fuchs there and guide his expedition through the maze of crevasses between Depot 700 and the coast. If all does not go well, there may be a chance of rescue by air, although the Antarctic blizzards that begin in February are not friendly to aircraft.

Blizzards & --60DEG. Interviewed by air lifted newsmen at the South Pole, undaunted Explorer Fuchs showed confidence in his ability to get to the coast alive and by land. His Sno-Cats, he said, are in fine condition, and he will space the expedition's elaborate scientific observations a little wider. So, says Dr. Fuchs, he should average 30 miles a day and reach Scott Station about March 1. Hillary, who warned him two weeks ago not to make the try, now thinks that he can do it.

Not all Antarctic experts are so optimistic. By mid-February, they point out, the temperature on the 11,000-ft. plateau drops to -60DEG F. The Sno-Cats will be hard to keep going and start up after a stop. Blizzards and white-outs will make it perilously tricky to negotiate the crevasses. Every day, as winter approaches, the weather will get worse. The New Zealanders who man Scott Station will keep their fingers crossed until they actually see Fuchs's Sno-Cats filing down from the icecap.

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