May 27, 2022

A good routine is building up

The balloon used to make the elevator shaft in 2016 has been re-inserted and inflated. Snow from a snow blower is blasted in and the balloon acts as a mold.

While the science teams are sampling snow or setting up laboratories, they still are very observant to the needs of camp. If asked, they come and help the team working on restoring camp. A good routine is building where everybody helps for the common good. Today, H.C. came with an interesting observation: It’s been years since he last heard so much chatting in the dining area and in the lounge. All due to on simple thing: The lack of internet. Everybody seems happy with this. The lack of general access to the internet has been announced in the field plan – and people relax. Tonight was pizza night and Kevin made nice pizzas for all. The weather continues to be good, but the forecast for Saturday evening and Sunday predicts strong winds and blowing snow – we’ll see, and we are prepared.

What we did today:

1. Excavation and emptying carpenter’s garage in progress.
2. Elevator shaft and cable duct extended.
3. Megapit team has already taken more than 1000 snow samples.
4. Hotlines for snowmobiles installed and clean up around main dome.
5. Casting cable duct towards science trench.
6. Built Viessmann cabin on the surface for the radar project.
7. Working on electrical cables in camp.
8. Finishing touches below the dome.

Ad.2: The floor of the top of elevator to science cave was 2 m below surface. The elevator shaft has been extended by 2 m.

Weather today: Blue sky. Temp. -28°C to -15°C. Wind: 6-9 kt from SW. QNH 1021 hPa. Visibility: Unrestricted.

FL, J.P. Steffensen