The train of the science traverse will consist of a Pistenbully tractor, two heavy sleds: one with kitchen and dining room and generator, another with a weatherport with bunkbeds for six, a plastic sled with three cargo compartments and a fuel tank, and lastly a small cabin sled with radar equipment and finally the radar antenna. There will also be two snowmobiles, pulling the ice-core drilling equipment. It takes time to put all this together to ensure the well-being of an eight-person crew, a good scientific outcome, and the resources to reach the GRIP site some 400 km to the South. This effort involves all people in camp. Once the traverse leaves, the rest of us will focus on making the entire EGRIP camp ready to be pulled to GRIP next month.
What we did today:
- Building up cargo on the plastic sled.
- Getting materiel up from the ramp tunnel to stow on traverse.
- Drilling the second 10 m firn core.
- Outfitting kitchen in large tomato hut.
- Checking communication and emergency equipment for traverse.
- Working on fuel system and fuel bladder for traverse.
Weather today: Sunny and clear. Temp. −28°C to −17°C. Wind: weak to 8 kt from N, then 8 kt from the SW. Visibility: Good.
FL, J.P. Steffensen
