June 4, 2024

Disassembling, Moving and Grooming

Many hands were needed to get the metal “pig” the final stretch out of the drill trench to the ramp, after the metal beast had been liberated from its Viessmann cabin. Left: Pushing and pulling! Right: Heavy breathing after the effort makes for foggy photos, but still the satisfaction can be seen on everybodys faces. In front Martin, sitting down: David, Grant, Astrid, Sepp. Standing behind: Steff, Dorthe, Bo, Susanne.

Today weather was a lot nicer in camp, with fairly low winds and good surface contrast. Hence this was a good day for grooming the entire skiway, a task undertaken by Sverrir. In the drill trench, the work to get cabins and equipment broken down and brought to the surface continued at pace. Some items are quite heavy, such as the base of our deep drilling tower and the “pig”, a big metal tank meant for drill fluid and chips separation during deep drilling. Despite the fact that the snow floor in the trench permits such items to slide, it is still heavy work needing careful planning and many people to both push and pull. After another labour-intensive day, the wind completely died down, just before dinner time, permitting outside grilling of hot dogs and even an outside dinner for the most enthusiastic, who were willing to dress up for the occasion and the -18C outside. It is quite amazing that what is considered “freezer temperature” can feel so pleasant, but having had days below -30C with quite a bit of wind here at EGRIP, then suddenly the “freezer” seems warm!

What we did today:

1. Disassembled tower, small Viessmann’s in drill trench.
2. Continued packing down in drill trench.
3. Movement of packed equipment to apron.
4. Scaling of loose load.
5. Readying pallets at apron.
6. Packing down of Cryo-egg/pølse equipment.
7. Groomed Skiway.

Weather today: Mostly thin clouds permitting the sun to illuminate the surface. Temp. from -24°C to -18°C. Wind: 0-10 kt from N and NE, completely calm around dinner time, Visibility: Mostly unrestricted.

FL, Bo M. Vinther

Both chains and a crane were needed in order to get the big metal “pig” out of the partly disassembled Viessman and positioned for sliding around the inclined trench. Left: Astrid, Steff, Dorthe and David. Right: The same group, but with Susanne, Grant and Martin behind, working on liberating the drill tower base.