*PREPARATIONS FOR THE FIELD

• Reception and planning for your event

  The reception was well organised, friendly and efficient. The main issues of the event were promptly discussed and organised.

• Availability and condition of equipment received

  The equipment requested from Scott Base was supplied in good condition.

• Field training

  The re-fresher AFT for Pyne and Bertler was helpful and appreciated. The frequency of full AFT requirements for experienced people should be reviewed to take account of personal experience and regular Antarctic activity that includes fieldwork. The current 3-year frequency is too short and has changed from the 5-year frequency implemented by Rex Hendry.

• Field party equipment 'shakedown' journey

  N.A.

• Delays at Scott Base, whatever the cause

  Unsuitable weather conditions at the start of our schedule delayed the deployment of mass balance snow stakes at Mt Erebus Saddle until the end of our field deployment. Good weather conditions and a smooth flight plan permitted all other moves to be carried out according to schedule.

• Safety and Risk Management processes

  Safety and risk management is a difficult task and benefited from the personal experience of the Antarctica New Zealand coordinator. However, the established process does not take into account local knowledge and/or experience of the field party. To allow a realistic evaluation we page 4 recommend to establish a process that includes a memory of previous seasons. This will not only benefit the evaluated group and Scott Bases resources but represents a useful data base for groups going for the first time to locations that have been visited previously by other groups.

• General comments about Scott Base

  Scott Base staff created a friendly, professional, and supportive environment. We are grateful for the enthusiastic and helpful support we received. The new HFC is an excellent facility to test field and science equipment, to pack helicopter loads and to prepare cargo shipment. The use of the elevator in the HFC should be open to science groups moving polar tents and other field equipment between floors. It is difficult to understand why it requires currently a Scott Base operator to do this for the field groups.

• Other comments

  Overall, we experienced a significant increase in paper work. The requirement for each field party member to fill out a Scott Base Clearance Form seems excessive and impractical.