May 17, 2022

Preparing for a big change in camp – The big move

Sverrir at the undercarriage of the dome. He is about to lift the white ski with a pneumatic jack.

Today, we prepared the dome for the big move. The entire undercarriage is now in the open. A snow ramp has been made with a one in ten slope and tomorrow our two pistenbullys will pull the dome 6-7 meter up to the surface. Inside the dome we have secured all glassware and plates and cups and whatever may fall from the shelves once the “earthquake” of the move begins. The skis are broken loose from the ice lock with pneumatic jacks, a kind of inflatable rubber pillows. All afternoon the dome has been moaning and groaning as each ski popped free of the ice under the force from the jacks. The cool thing about the move is that we can move the entire 4 storey building in one go, furniture, beds, sofas and all.
For us living in the dome, everything will be the same except a change in view from the windows.

What we did today:

1. Outfitted several WeatherPorts with bunkbeds.
2. Grooming skiway.
3. Freeing all ski under dome and mounting connecting rods. Excavation completed.
4. Repaired Yanmar snow blower.
5. Built wooden extensions to the cable well.
6. Lifted EGRIP no. 1 marker and road sign to surface.

Ad.3: The dome is now ready to be moved. However, we chose to wait with the actual move until tomorrow morning. This way we, will have a full day to rig the dome and camp with interim power, and to begin backfilling the holes left behind after the dome and main generator have been moved away.

Weather today: Clear blue skies. Temp. -30°C to -21°C. Wind: 5-11 kt from WSW. QNH 1012 hPa. Visibility: Unrestricted.

FL, J.P. Steffensen