Tasman Glacier - Polar Exercise

Short Film (Full Length) – 1956

This National Film Unit documentary shows the NZ contingent training in the Aoraki Mount Cook area for their mission to Antarctica, as part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition. On the Tasman Glacier, they practise polar survival techniques, huskies are put through their paces and an RNZAF ski plane dramatically flips before a blizzard blows in, and some classic Kiwi DIY repairs are required on the ice runway. Team leader Sir Edmund Hillary narrates in laconic style. Cameraman Derek Wright went on to chronicle Sir Ed’s famous tractor dash to the pole.

Even though pulling an old vehicle [along the road] wasn't quite the same as pulling a sledge it was excellent training for them...
– Narrator Edmund Hillary on training the huskies on the road during autumn