Lower Erebus Hut (LEH) Camp

Ice fumeroles near camp

LEH camp and the volcano

A couple of tents at LEH camp

A warm "mountain" style tent
is a nice change after the cold
Scott tents at Fang...

The "Miss Piggy" fumarole
looking over camp.  This one
is about 40 feet high.

After two days ac
climatizing at Fang Camp, the mountaineer and a helper from the high camp (called Lower Erebus Hut after the hut that is there) came down on snowmobiles and drove us up the mountain to our new digs.  It's about What an improvement.  Even though it's colder up there, we each got our own mountain tent.  These tents actually get warm in the sun, unlike the Scott tents that stay pretty much the same temperature as outside.  Plus, the hut itself is heated, there's a water melting system that doesn't involve gassing yourself to death and the area around the camp is so much more interesting.  As you get closer to the top of the volcano, there are all sorts of volcanic vents where warm gasses escape and heat the ground.  This causes the snow to melt and then reform as a cave, usually with a beautiful fumerole marking the entrance to the "cave".

A helicopter crash just outside
camp from 1971 - all survived.

There are a number of snowmobiles up there that you can use to get around and see things but it's dangerous due to steep slopes, crazy ice and caves that have the potential to collapse if you drive over them.  So, we got advanced snowmobile training.  Fun.  I had no idea how much I didn't know.

Advanced snowmobile training - the terrain
is crazy so we got some extra training.
This is right before Lily tipped the machine over.

Inside the hut at LEH

Helicopter coming in to land by the hut.