The Return

Following their successes, the team reconvened at Air Base and awaited their pick-up. On January 17, they flew out during a break in poor weather conditions.

“Take-off gave us all a scare since the snow was soft and our plane was barely able to limp into the air with its JATO bottles exhausted.”—Marts, 1967 AAJ

The team arrived at McMurdo on January 18. After a lawn party from the New Zealand Alpine Club at Christchurch, the team parted ways. Marts reflected on the magnitude of his experience upon returning home:

“Only on reflection could the entire experience be appreciated. The beauty of Antarctica and the rugged isolation of the Sentinel Range was indelibly impressed on our minds. The quality and function of our equipment left us no complaints. Food could not have been better, nor cooperation more perfect. But most of all, the experiences that our ten-man society gained from sharing our efforts and our triumphs have left us with a feeling of unity that will endure.”