Castle Rock

On Sunday, the day after our last flight, I went on a hike to Castle Rock with a couple other ROSETTA folk.

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Being the only day in the week that we are not on the schedule to fly, of course, the skies were clear and visibility as good as can be. The wind, however, was a different matter altogether. As soon as we managed to find our way out of town to the trail, we were subject to the most chilling winds.

Along the trail there are small dome structures called apples …

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…that provide emergency food and shelter. We stopped inside the first apple to check out the interior and escape the unrelenting wind.

Due to time constraints (i.e., a lack of pee-bottles), we chose not to do the loop but to hike to Castle Rock and do the climb up to the summit, which just opened for the season that day.

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Dave stops to enjoy the view.

The Castle Rock climb is a decent scramble…

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Scott leads the climb up Castle Rock.

…and ropes are placed along the route to aid the climb.

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The summit. Mt. Erebus with a well defined plume.

Published by Alec

Hi. My name is Alec Lockett, and I am senior, geology major. I grew up in Belmont, MA, and chose Colorado College primarily because of the block plan, the rad location, and the awesome vibes I got from the students; I cannot imagine such a wonderful four years at another school. For my senior thesis, I will use airborne gravity and magnetic data from the ROSETTA-Ice 2015-2016 surveys to investigate two cross-Ross Ice Shelf transects in West Antarctica for geophysical modeling. ROSETTA-Ice (A systems approach to understanding the Ross Ocean and Ice Shelf Environment, and Tectonic setting Through Aerogeophysical surveys and modelling) is a current project that is acquiring geophysical data over the Ross Ice Shelf through airborne collection. I have the extraordinary opportunity to participate in this field data collection. When I am not busy geologizing, I enjoy reading, watching films, spending time outside whether skiing or biking, and drinking coffee.

One reply on “Castle Rock”

  1. Hi Alec,
    These photos and your comments are breath taking! Do you think your years of skiing in frigid weather prepared you for this excursion? Not for the faint of heart. We hope you are home for Christmas so we can hear in detail. But mostly we hope you get to New Zealand, have fun and stay safe! All our love, Auntie Susan and crew xo

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