Weather deteriorated Saturday afternoon. We were prepared, and at EGRIP we kept each other company mainly inside the dome. As water supply is working, we did a lot of laundry: bed sheets, towels and tea towels. Everybody got a shower and we enjoyed a Saturday dinner on Sunday, where Michael and Louise made crepes with ham, onions and eggs. Just before the blizzard hit, we mounted a mini balcony at the front door of the dome. This will be the top of a staircase leading to the dome door from the snow surface below. Otherwise, Sverrir kept the generator running and we routinely checked on water level in the water tanks. Also, it was important to keep an eye on the outhouse, as it sometimes was difficult to find it in the blizzard. The dome however, is so massive that you could always find your way back.
On traverse, the team also sat out the blizzard on Sunday. They had to excavate snowmobiles, radar and other equipment several times. It also took some work to keep the generator running in the blowing snow.
EGRIP had regular communication with the traverse via several devices.
What EGRIP did in the weekend:
- Cleaning up in camp.
- Completing water supply. We now have hot running water.
- Mounted plateau on dome entrance for attaching a staircase to dome.
- Saturday: Preparing for the blizzard in forecast.
- Sunday: Sitting out blizzard in dome.
- Had Saturday night dinner on Sunday.
- Contact with traverse.
Weather in the weekend: From Saturday afternoon and onwards: Overcast. Temp. −14°C to −11°C. Wind: 20 − 26 kt, gusting 36 kt from NW. Visibility: 200 m down to 50 m. Snow and blowing snow. Traverse reported similar weather conditions.
What traverse did in the weekend:
- Proceeded to WP170 (73.7724 N; 39.1373 W) and passed the 3000 m contour Saturday evening at 2200L. Last 60 km in white-out.
- Rescued lost hand auger.
- Sitting out blizzard in traverse kitchen.
- Looking at data in preparation for the hunt of the borehole at GRIP.
- Digging out snowmobiles from snowdrifts.
- Drilled 9.86 m hand augered core and took liner snow samples.
- Regular contact with EGRIP.
FL, J.P. Steffensen and TL, Helle Kjær
