May 16, 2022

Preparing for a big change in camp – The big move

View out of kitchen windows at supper time. We hope this will soon change.

We have now almost completed excavating around the base of the dome, and tomorrow will likely be the day where we attempt to pull the dome out of its hole and onto the surface. We will park the dome in the middle of main street and hook up our backup generator. This should definitely change the view from the kitchen. We will remove the main generator and all pipes and cables to the dome. The “dome hole” will be backfilled to present surface and Wednesday or Thursday, the dome will be pulled back to its original position, albeit 5-6 meter higher. All infrastructure will be re-installed and we hope everything will be in operation again before we receive more people. Although some of the tasks appear daunting, and we are short of time, mood in camp is good. People are working hard and dedicated. Frederik’s cooking also helps on the mood and tonight we got fish for supper.

What we did today:

1. Built WP 4 (doctor’s clinic).
2. Grooming skiway.
3. Making ramp for dome.
4. WP 9 (food storage) under power and thermostat controlled.
5. Cutting snow and ice blocks from around base of dome.
6. Removed 35 kW generator from Carpenter’s garage and organized cables for interim power in camp.

Ad.5: The plastic sheet that we placed around the base of the dome in 2015 has done its work. Solid ice from melting on the dome has stayed above the plastic. This has made it easier to cut snow away from the ski. In the process, we encountered a lot of ice where we normally place the main snow melter. We are considering to move the snow melter a little away from the dome.

Weather today: Clear blue skies. Temp. -31°C to -22°C. Wind: 9-12 kt from WSW. QNH 1012 hPa. Visibility: Unrestricted. In the evening: Ground fog.

FL, J.P. Steffensen