RokIzGud Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 (edited) Pretty interesting article. I wonder if there is any goo rock climbing here. Maybe a few cool FAs. Lots of the rock pics look like s**t though... Antarctica’s Dry Valleys "Most of Antarctica has about 2 1/2 miles of ice covering it, and that cold, white wasteland is what most people picture when they think of our south pole. But as I discovered last week, when I posted about its mysterious Blood Falls, there is a series of dry valleys in Antarctica, about 4,000 kilometers square, that have no ice on them at all. The world’s harshest desert, the moisture is sucked from the dry valleys by a rain shadow effect — winds rushing over them at speeds up to 200/mph — that leave this bizarre and fascinating landscape, much closer to that of Mars than the rest of our planet, open to exploration. Lacking the resources (or cojones) to go there myself, these photos are by scientists and researchers who’ve been there, and are included as part of galleries on the McMurdo Dry Valleys Management Area website" Edited February 6, 2010 by RokIzGud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 FA's for rich white guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Dry Valleys rock is total choss. the good rock is in Queen Maud Land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 ^^ Ulvetanna and Holtanna Rakekniven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olyclimber Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 global warming will popularlize these fantastic climbing destinations Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stonehead Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 cascadeclimbers.com----collapsing probability space into the most (un)likely futures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Get yur drilz out boyyz............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidk Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Queen Maude Land is where it's at for rock, but it already receives a lot of attention. The McMurdo Dry Valleys are an Antarctic Specially Managed Area (ASMA), meaning the region is highly regulated and restricted. You pretty much can't go there unless as part of the lucky handful of science grantees or necessary USAP support staff. Aside from a professional photographer once in a while or the few Distinguished VIsitors (senators, heads of state, etc.) who might get flyovers or a short walk at one of the camps, no one gets to go for reasons other than science. The only steep rock in the Dry Valleys is crumbly dolerite (essentially intrusive basalt, with columnar jointing) and soft sandstone. There is granite throughout the valleys, but it is low angle and very weathered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeR Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 FA's for rich white guys! What you got against rich brown guys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 FA's for rich white guys! What you got against rich brown guys? snow makes brown people cry it does improve watermelons tremendously though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeR Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 Nicely played sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 they do look pretty white Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted February 7, 2010 Share Posted February 7, 2010 http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DgbsVsRrRGE/SYC0GqzkMPI/AAAAAAAABUE/Xlfrh3w17mM/s1600-h/176R6675.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_b Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Lots of general mountaineering/ice moderates to be had in the Dry Valley region of the Transantarctic but climbing is essentially illegal to the people who go there (can't justify mobilizing rescue) and it'd be difficult to know what has been done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_b Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Crazy pics G-spotter (btw, did you hear English scientists recently denied your name sake existed). Is that sedimentary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 It's GRANITE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_b Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Nuts! Like a blade of granite in cold ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Nuts! Like a blade of granite in cold ice. COLD ice? NO WAY!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvashtarkatena Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 They're called Nun Attacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j_b Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 Si Senor, by opposition to temperate ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 i bet some badass giant penguins seiged that shit back in the pre-Shoggoth days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Choada_Boy Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 The Mountains of Madness range has some cool climbs, but it's pretty hard to get to, even for the region. PM me for more information, I'm not willing to post more here, now, the implications of the effect of unleashing even partial knowledge of this sprawling void of cosmic climbing horror upon the consciousness of the human race is almost too much for my still fragile psyche to bear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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