Winds are supposed to pick up a bit again Tuesday afternoon, so we are all trying to make the most of todays less windy weather for all the things we need to do. Hence, Grant, James and Kevin spend most of the day on getting the white canvas on the new drill tent, while Sepp and Tom got the balloon inflated in the trench for the new cook’s freezer and also got it covered with snow blown snow, Sepp working late to finish the job. It was also a big day for the solar panel project, with Chantal and Julien sharing their climbing experience with Charlotte and Rahul. And after a test climb on the dome by Chantal, a first plan was devised on how to best mount the solar panels on the dome. Following this strategy, Charlotte successfully mounted the first panel on the dome, with Rahul belaying her from the ground. It was clear that this even with today’s moderate winds, this is cold and exposed work, so we hope we will get many days of low winds in the coming weeks!
Another important job today was carried out by Jonathan and Carlos, getting cargo off the surface and organized before the forecast windier conditions arrive. Inside the dome Julien installed a new fresh water tap in the common area, so we don’t have to go through the kitchen to get water anymore. Otherwise, our surroundings are also slowly changing and getting more and more level, with Tom grooming the camp area to get rid of snow drifts, even levelling out the last remnant of the wind scoured moat around the dome. And as always Anders is making sure we all get the calories we need, with both afternoon cake, and the classic Danish dessert “Rød grød med fløde” after dinner today!
What we did this Monday:
- Groomed and leveled around the dome and in camp in general.
- Finished building the new part of the drill tent.
- Inflated and covered balloon in the trench for the cook’s freezer.
- Installed first solar panel on dome.
- Elevated cargo in camp in anticipation of more windy days ahead.
- Mounted the fresh water tap in common area of the dome.
Weather: Cloudy condtions in the morning giving way to progressively larger sunny spells during the day. Temp from -28C to -16C, gradually decreasing all day. Wind 3-11 kts turning from WSW to WNW and back to W.
FL, Bo Vinther
