"First signs of Antarctic autumn wreathed Mt. Erebus in wind-filled clouds which blew vast loose snow flurries from the ice surface hampering efforts to unload the cargo vessels. These in turn had to keep on steaming to maintain their hold on the ice and to shift quickly as ice floes would break off and drift toward them. Temperatures near the zero mark served notice that time was running out for the intruders in their puny ships from the north."--Commander Standish Backus Mount Erebus (elevation 12,444 feet) is the most active volcano in the region of Antarctica