A couple having a romantic getaway in an Antarctic chalet found their passion cooled when they were caught in the worst polar storm for 30 years, with 125mph winds and temperatures of -50C (-58F).
Barbara Rennie, one of 10 people currently staying at New Zealand's Scott Base on the island, had met Derek Richards during the four-month winter night in Antarctica. Alaskan-born Richards is spending the winter at the US's McMurdo base, just over a mile from Scott Base.
Wind-blown snow quickly clogged the chimney of the hut on Ross Island, which is used as a holiday chalet for inhabitants of the base.
The couple were forced to switch off their diesel heater because of the risk from fumes. Within 20 minutes their drinking water had frozen and the chalet's electricity had been cut off.
Gusts of winds blew up to 125mph and snowdrifts were left 12ft deep.
Speaking from Antarctica, Scott Base manager Dan Mathers told the Guardian that the couple had coped well. "They were pretty cold but they just hunkered down in sleeping bags and kept in radio contact. They used their nous. We're trained to deal with situations like this."
A team from Scott Base drove to the hut late on Sunday night as winds dropped. They now face weeks of repairs to the base until they are relieved by new staff after the sun comes up in three months' time.
