April 28, 2018

Day two at EGRIP. Luckily it got warmer.

Basile and Karl Emil at work building weatherports.

The night was cold, even in the main dome; but at night progressed, the effects of a hot stove and several electrical heaters were felt, and it was much easier to get out of bed than into it the previous evening.  In the morning the wind picked up and snow started drifting, and as the temperature was still below -35°C (chill factor -55°C), we feared a day of hardship working outside. Mid-morning temperature suddenly rose to balmy -22°C, and work became much easier.
We are sorely tempted to open the entrance to the drill and science trenches; but we are pressed with time to get all camp infrastructure up and running. This includes building shelters, in the form of weatherports, for 14 more people who will arrive at EGRIP in the next few days.
Work on weatherports continued well into the evening.

What we did today:

1. Opened access to mechanics garage with snowblower and showels.
2. Started Pistenbully 2 and Caterpillar.
3. Groomed skiway and Weatherport construction sites.
4. Finished Weatherports 3 and 7. Weatherport 9 is under construction.
5. Temperature in main dome above freezing, heated inpart by a Webasto
6. system and the cooks stove. By evening +16°C in the kitchen.
7. Established satellite link and phone to the outside world..

Weather today: In the morning sky clear, haze and drifting snow. Wind easing in the afternoon with some sunshine. Temp. -21°C to -40°C.  Wind:14 kt – to 10 kt from S turing to SW. Visibility: 5 km.

FL, J.P. Steffensen