Jökull - 01.12.2006, Page 86

J. D. Ives
bright-eyed, fearless; we, in contrast, continue to age,
already no longer fit enough to walk up onto Öræfa-
jökull which, over the past fifty-three years, has be-
come the objective of a somewhat overcrowded tourist
trek.
EPILOGUE
The search for Ian and Tony in August, 1953, devel-
oped as a large-scale co-ordinated effort with the ex-
pedition members taking part in only the first phase.
The United States base at Keflavík provided two DC-
3s; the Icelandic Glaciological Society fielded a team
of ten mountaineer-glaciologists under the guidance
of Sigurður Þórarinsson for a prolonged search on the
ice cap; and Björn Pálsson generously volunteered
to fly his small private plane to achieve a very low-
level search. The glaciologists ascended Öræfajökull
from Fagurhólsmýri and traced the assumed route of
Ian and Tony all the way to the Ice Camp (by then
abandoned) on Vatnajökull and returned roughly the
same way, making first ascents of several of the Hrúts-
fjall summits en route. The US airforce command ar-
ranged for Sigurður Þórarinsson, Ragnar Stefánsson,
and me to accompany the final airborne mission. No
trace of the missing students was found.
In 2003, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary
of the 1953 expedition a memorial plaque, dedicated
to Ian and Tony, was set into a large boulder on one of
the Skaftafellsjökull end moraines. Practically all the
still-living members of the 1952, 1953, and 1954 ex-
peditions and many family members, including three
generations, attended together with three undergradu-
ate students from the University of Nottingham.
Ragnar Frank Kristjánsson has informed me that a
selection of the recovered equipment has been incor-
porated into an exhibit at the park’s Visitor Centre.
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to so many people that only a few
can be mentioned. The late Ragnar Stefánsson and
family, and especially Anna María Ragnarsdóttir,
have assisted throughout a life-time; the late Sig-
urður Þórarinsson; Ragnar Frank Kristjánsson, Na-
tional Park Superintendent; all those involved in the
recovery of the remains of Ian and Tony’s last camp,
but especially Alex, Eyjólfur, and Matthew: their care
and sensitivity in the face of a most delicate personal
situation is greatly appreciated. And, perhaps ironi-
cally, the Grimsby deep sea fishing industry is to be
acknowledged for providing me with my first experi-
ence as a school boy in the High Arctic and for intro-
ducing me to Iceland.
ÁGRIP
Búnaður frá breskum leiðangri árið 1953, finnst á
Skaftafellsjökli.
Eyjólfur Magnússon og Alexander H. Jarosch,
frá Jarðvísindastofnun Háskólans, fundu gamlan
fjallgöngu- og viðlegubúnað á Skaftafellsjökli 6. júlí
síðastliðinn, er þeir voru þar við íssjármælingar. Mun-
irnir lágu um 5.5 km upp á jökultungunni, á móts við
Svarthamar. Tekist hefur að bera kennsl á munina en
þeir eru hluti búnaðar Ian Harrison og Tony Prosser,
meðlima úr námsleiðangri Nottingham Háskóla, sem
týndust á Öræfajökli í ágúst 1953. Engar líkamsleif-
ar hafa fundist. Hér er greint frá aðdraganda þessa
harmleiks, umfangsmiklum en árangurslausum björg-
unaraðgerðum sem og fundinum síðastliðið sumar.
REFERENCES
Ives, J. D. and C. A. M. King 1954. Glaciological obser-
vations on Morsárjökull, S.W. Vatnajökull, Part I: The
ogive banding. J. Glaciology, 2(17), 423–428.
Ives, J. D. and C. A. M. King 1955. Glaciological ob-
servations on Morsárjökull, S.W. Vatnajökull, Part II:
Regime of the glacier, past and present. J. Glaciology,
2 (17), 477–482.
King, C. A. M. and J. D. Ives 1955. Glaciological obser-
vations on some of the outlet glaciers of south-west
Vatnajökull, Iceland, 1954, Part I: Glacier regime. J.
Glaciology, 2 (18), 563–569.
King, C. A. M. and J. D. Ives 1956. Glaciological obser-
vations on some of the outlet glaciers of south-west
Vatnajökull, Iceland, 1954, Part II: Ogives. J. Glaciol-
ogy, 2 (18), 646–651.
84 JÖKULL No. 56, 2006