First of all, preparations for the departure of the science traverse are going well. The full sled train with a Pistenbully, two heavy sleds and a plastic sled was coupled up and looks nice. Now we will load up the sleds with cargo, equipment, instruments and living space for eight people. The shallow drill is assembled, and a 10 m firn core was drilled. In the afternoon, the 109th landed with a plane with mechanics and some equipment to assess the fault on the broken plane. It was concluded that spareparts had to be brought in from the U.S.. So, they flew off again, leaving the airplane (nickname ‘02’) almost all alone on the EGRIP apron. However, the one guest from the 109th, Ben, who stayed since yesterday was replaced by Paul who will now spend his time with us until June 6th. We hope he will enjoy his stay. This means, that the plane you see on our webcam the next two weeks is not due to a frozen camera; but a real plane sitting there.
What we did today:
- Pistenbully no. 3 is now complete and fully operational.
- The first plastic sled (out of two) is now completed.
- Two heavy sleds for traverse are now completed.
- First 10 m ice core drilled SSE of camp.
- Receiving Skier 31. One person from the 109th exchanged with another one.
- Making furniture for traverse kitchen in big tomato hut.
- Planning cargo composition on science traverse.
Weather today: Partly overcast and little snow in the morning, it cleared up later. Temp. −18°C to −13°C. Wind: 15 kt from SW until 1600L, then suddenly turning to N and becoming weak. Visibility: Moderate, but good enough for flying.
FL, J.P. Steffensen
