Cape Adare Log - Dante

The British Antarctic Expedition, also known as the Terra Nova expedition of 1910 - 1913 is best known for the courageous but ultimately ill fated attempt to race to the South Pole. The fate of Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his team is well known but many do not realise that scientific investigation and discovery lay at the heart of the British Antarctic Expedition. The meteorological logs and related data and documents and the aurora log from the expedition are all held at the National Meteorological Archive. The team included geologists, biologists, a physicist, a zoologist and a meteorologist. All members of the teams were expected to take a turn at making meteorological observations during all parts of the expedition. A small team called the 'Northern Party' were posted to Cape Adare where they built a hut and overwintered in 1911 - 1912. The register shows that the wind gusted to hurricane force for much of 9th May, this led the observer Raymond Priestley to comment that it was 'blowing like hell' and to reference a phrase from Dante's Inferno Canto 5. At the asterisk Priestly noted (read Meteorologist)

'Bellowing there groan'd
A noise as of a sea in tempest torn
By warring winds. The stormy blast of hell
With restless fury drives the spirits* on
Whirl'd round and dash'd amain with sore annoy.'