Skier 71 loadning the broken Pistenbully 300 into its cargo bay, both by Sverrir using the forklift to push and Skier crew using the winch of the LC130 aircraft to pull.

All weekends in EGRIP are memorable, but still some more than other, and this one must be in the absolute top! Given scheduled flight operations both Saturday and Sunday, it was clear from the beginning that we would be a busy camp, and that turned out to be more true than anyone had imagined. Saturday, we received Skier 61 with 6 colleagues from the NSF Greendrill project as well as their cargo, bringing camp population up to 19 for a very nice Saturday dinner and party. Aslak, Claus, Dorthe and Mads prepared a delicious 3 course dinner, starting with tuna mouse on freshly baked bread, moving on to a delicious Finish salmon and potato soup as the main, and topping it off with tasty apple cake and Greenlandic coffee for a perfect finish! As we knew that Sunday should bring two more planes to camp, the party stopped a bit earlier than normal, but still included dancing in the dome as well as various games.
Sunday started off with brunch at 11, so we could be ready to receive Skier 71 around noon. After some delay the Skier was on snow at EGRIP 13.42 local time, bringing four new EGRIP camp members as well as 4 Greendrill colleagues, and cargo for both camp and the Greendrill project. Then the memorable challenges started, first Skier 71 had to make a very delicate parking exercise to line up with our broken Pistenbully, so it could be winched/pushed into the cargo bay of the Skier. This all went as planned, thanks to the professionalism of both Skier 71 flight crew, loadmasters and EGRIP camp ground crew. Hence, 5 outgoing camp members boarded Skier 71, and after slightly more than 2 hours ground time the Skier was ready to depart. First attempt at departing EGRIP, however, had to be rejected, as the Pistenbully was in need for more shoring inside the Skier cargo bay. Skier 71 had to taxi back to the apron, shore up the Pistenbully even more and get its fuel reserves topped up, before going back to the EGRIP skiway for more attempts. Then nature conspired against us and a combination of increasing cross-winds, increasing temperatures and deep tracks in the skiway made by each and every failed attempt at take-off, made the Skier crew decide that the game was up for the day. Colder temperatures and grooming of the Skiway had to be done, and departure was thus re-scheduled to Monday. Camp now had to accommodate the Skier crew of 8, as well as the 5 outgoing passengers on top of a planned camp population of 22, yielding a grand total of 35 souls to shelter! Our cook/doctor Astrid and Calab from the Greendrill project prepared dinner for all, while all bunks were put up by Julien and Aslak, and a few extra matrasses were put on the floor in the dome to prepare for the night. To quickly expand accommodation, is of course part of our preparedness plans, but still an impressive sight to behold when put swiftly into action. Indeed, both EGRIP camp members and the Greendrill crew worked seamlessly together to make everything as comfortable as possible, with both Greendrill and EGRIP tents being put up in short order. With the practicalities quickly out of the way, we could all enjoy each other’s company in the dome, and so we did. EGRIP, Greendrill and Skier crew all making the most of a unique opportunity for such a big get-together here at EGRIP!

Weather this weekend: Ground fog and mid-level clouds, but also sunny spells and temp. from -28°C to -19°C. Wind: 4-12 kt mostly from WNW and NW. Visibility: Often limited to a few miles due to fog and mist, especially in the early hours.

Crew of Skier 71 as well as camp members enjoying the comfort of the EGRIP dome after having worked long hours Sunday, while Dorthe is making sure JP has a pillow for the night, as he still has many hours of skiway grooming to do.

A weekend to remember!