Staccato Peaks () is a series of rock peaks extending 11 miles (18 km) in a north–south direction, rising to about 940 m with Hageman Peak being the highest peak of the Staccato Peaks, rising from the snowfields 20 miles (32 km) south of the

Walton Mountains Walton Mountains is an isolated chain of three predominantly snow-covered mountain masses, rising to about 1,450 m at Mount McArthur, extending south from Schubert Inlet for 25 miles (40 km) in central Alexander Island, Antarctica. The mou ...

in the south part of

Alexander Island Alexander Island, which is also known as Alexander I Island, Alexander I Land, Alexander Land, Alexander I Archipelago, and Zemlja Alexandra I, is the largest island of Antarctica. It lies in the Bellingshausen Sea west of Palmer Land, Antarcti ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

. The peaks were first sighted from the air by

Lincoln Ellsworth Lincoln Ellsworth (May 12, 1880 – May 26, 1951) was an American polar explorer, engineer, surveyor, and author. He led the first Arctic and Antarctic air crossings. Early life Linn Ellsworth was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 12, 1880. His ...

on 23 November 1935, and mapped from photos taken on that flight by

W.L.G. Joerg Wolfgang Louis Gottfried Joerg, better known as W. L. G. Joerg (February 6, 1885 – January 7, 1952), was an American geographer, and in particular an expert in the geography of the Arctic and Antarctic regions, who exercised broad influence on the ...

. Remapped from air photos taken by the

Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition The Ronne Antarctic Research Expedition (RARE) was an expedition from 1947–1948 which researched the area surrounding the head of the Weddell Sea in Antarctica. Background Finn Ronne led the RARE which was the final privately sponsored exp ...

in 1947–48, by Searle of the

Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey The Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition (FIDASE) was an aerial survey of the Falkland Islands Dependencies The Falkland Islands Dependencies was the constitutional arrangement from 1843 until 1985 for administering the v ...

in 1960. The name, given by the

United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee The UK Antarctic Place-Names Committee (or UK-APC) is a United Kingdom government committee, part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, responsible for recommending names of geographical locations within the British Antarctic Territory (BAT) and ...

, refers to the precipitous and abrupt way in which the peaks rise from the surrounding

snowfield A snow field, snowfield or neve is an accumulation of permanent snow and ice, typically found above the snow line, normally in mountainous and glacial terrain. Glaciers originate in snowfields. The lower end of a glacier is usually free from ...

s and is associated with other musical names in the vicinity.

2012 British Antarctic Survey expedition

In December 2012, Hamish Pritchard of the

British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of list of global issues, global issues, and to provide an active prese ...

(BAS) embarked on an expedition through the Staccato Peaks, he and his accompanists arrived at the Shostakovich Peninsula, and trekked inland in an eastward direction, they reached Hageman Peak shortly afterwards, and marched into the central zone of Staccato Peaks, here, a two-man field camp was established at the base of Duffy Peak overnight. After disestablishing the minor field camp, Pritchard's team continued to travel eastward before they left the geographical vicinity of these peaks, after traveling an elapsed distance of almost 40 kilometers, Pritchard arrived at Mimas Peak, where he began his successful ascent of this topographical feature, on 16 December 2012, Hamish Pritchard became the first individual to ascend to the summit of Mimas Peak, while ascending to the summit of this peak, rock samples were detected by Pritchard, he concluded that these summits must have emerged from retreating ice sheets hundreds of years ago.

References

Mountains of Alexander Island {{AlexanderIsland-geo-stub