Sat around waiting.. 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and finally at 5, they came in to tell us that the flight was a go.
The restored Basler DC3, which brought the team to the polar ice cap.
We packed up our stuff, got our sleds organized and made our way to the most incredible plane. It is a Basler DC3 that was made in 1944 for the Royal Canadian Air Force. There is a plaque in the cockpit that shows its lineage.
It was originally designed as a military plane for cargo and parachuting and it’s been refurbished. It is in impeccable condition and it is stunning. All Canadian crew. Continue reading “Day 6: Antarctica”
Cold – fog rolling in on the horizon, which has done two things: dropped the temperature and put our flight today into potential jeopardy.
Sleep is a challenge. Brilliant, bright, bright night – it’s so weird. Even if you use all the devices to cover your eyes, you still feel like you’re trying to sleep staring at the sun.
Dr. Ross works on her tan at Union Glacier
A twin-otter plane also landed at midnight, but despite all of this, everyone got some sleep.
At glacier camp, we had eggs, ham, pancakes and fruit for breakfast.
A well-stocked Antarctic kitchen
Today was day of organization. We practiced packing the sled,…ski bindings, poles with funny little pole covers – pogey or poggie (sp?) – to try and reduce hand frostbite.
Then we went for ski back towards airstrip. We stopped and set up group tent, which we’ll use to eat if the world is reasonable.
Then we practiced with all the different stoves – whisper light and a good old-fashioned boy scout two burner Coleman (Dad, I think they took yours.)
If all is well, we hope to be leaving at around 5 p..m. our time for a four or five hour flight to the last degree.
We still don’t know yet whether it will happen. It is completely weather and wind dependent. If everything goes well, the next blog will be from the last degree. Wish us luck.
The TYL smile for a photo after arriving at Union Glacier.
It’s only -7 and we’re 864 m above sea level.
Well, the plane took off and 5 hours later we landed at Union Glacier! We are here. Its 6:45 and dinner is at 7. Our luggage (so fun to call it that!) our gear will be offloaded shortly. It’s 8 kilometres from the blue ice runway to camp. We still need to set up tents etc….. will be a late night. Dinner at 7, briefing at 9 then we go out to set camp.
The plane is one helluva beast. Its kind of hard to describe what it feels like. But imagine BIG with no amenities. They did serve lunch to us!
When you deplane, it feels like you have landed on a lunar landscape – nothing but snow, glaciers and mountains. Distance is impossible to determine – you look at a mountain and it is 20 kilometres away and the glacier is 4 kilometres wide. You can see for miles.
The camp is pristine and its location makes it ideal for camping as the wind is minimal. We are putting up camp beside the main area. Then there are two large tents for eating – one for the ALE clients and one for clients guided by others: us and Polar Explorers.
Tomorrow we are supposed to break camp, ski out 4 kilometres and set camp, do some exercises (stove etc.), then we ski back and either set camp here or fly out to the last degree… We don’t know yet.
Dr. Delgado does his best airplane pose in front of the Ilyushin
Up since 6 waiting for word. We’re taking turns to be sure someone is always available in a room to be the messenger for the team – that’s me at the moment.
In today’s day and age, you’d think we could manage by cell but way too dodgy given the spotty cell coverage and the short time window between the call and the flight.
8:40 a.m.
Meteorologist at Union Glacier is monitoring clouds and plans to wait another 60 minutes before making a decision. We are in limbo.
10:30 a.m.
WE GOT THE GREEN LIGHT! We will hopefully be heading to airport in 30 minutes.
If all goes well then the next blog will be from Union Glacier!
Sorting gearPicking up some essentials!Diego, Michel, Dale and Heather weighing in their gear.
Today was the day of information overload. We had a briefing by Antarctic Logistics Expeditions (ALE) this morning – they weighed our gear and took our bags away.
A few major things we learned were that they take ‘biosecurity’ very seriously. This means that if there are any particles on clothing or boots, they need to be wiped, shaken or washed off. They are trying to ensure that there is no new flora or fauna introduced. We will step in disinfectant as we board the plane.
We were told to separate into carry on, packed gear, and city stay stuff. The airplane, a Russian Ilyushin, holds 17 tons of stuff and 20 tons of fuel. The decision to fly is dependent on weather, visibility and winds. And of course that the airport is open; a few years ago, the airport was closed for 10 days due to strike!
The plane will land on blue ice. This runway is created by wind warming the top layer of snow/ice as it comes over the mountains. This sublimates the ice into blue ice. It is a glacier that is slowly making its way to the ocean. They lose 20 cm of surface glacier per year. Traditionally, the wind on the runway is 30-40 knots.
Union Glacier is the new base camp and because of its location, the runway is a bit more consistent than the old Patriot Hills. This has to do with the direction of the runway, the surrounding hills, and a more consistent safe runway.
They moved the actual base camp eight kilometres away from the runway in an area where the wind eddies and that means it is less windy at camp. But around the camp there are a lot of crevasses. In fact they lost one of their ‘big snow cats’ – a snow machine – into a crevasse earlier this year and it took a couple of months to get it out, so, we are not allowed to go a-wandering. Camp is at about three to four thousand feet altitude.
We met the rest of the group tonight over drinks – and if all goes well we will be heading out tomorrow. In fact, they are predicting an 80% chance that we will go – though past experience tells me not to hold my breath. (Last time, we spent six days on call to get to the Antarctic.)
We camped out with Dino’s Pizza and beer in Diego’s room for dinner and now are off to bed.
Weather: mostly cloudy with intermittent heavy rain
Today, we went out to an original Spanish Fort about an hour outside of Punta. With Dr. Diego Delgado as our translator, we were able to get a lot of the history of the region. We passed Hudson Island, famous in Pinochet’s time for housing prisoners and the disappeared. We were able to follow the outline of Tierra del Fuego as it arched along the coastal road following the Strait of Magellan.
The Fort itself was built in the 1800s for the Spanish who colonized and protected the strait. The major route for East West shipping was along the Strait of Magellan as passage across Tierra del Fuego was far too dangerous. Punta prospered during this time and fell into some decline after the Panama Canal was opened and trade routes shifted.
We got back to the hotel around 2 and headed into town for some last minute supplies. The team then congregated at the Shackleton Bar. We met all three guides and two of our group – Ian and anotherindividual. There were lots of introductions – a really good group. Two members of the team were delayed, one individual has lost a piece of luggage; and three more are to arrive late tonight. We ate a late dinner with the group.
Tomorrow, we have our briefing with ALE. We need to be packed and ready to go – gear goes to the storage area tomorrow so once its sent its sent. We then start on call for the flight as of the 4th.
Very, very early wake-up call (2am EST equivalent) and over to airport. Needless to say we were over our baggage limit!
Flight was uneventful for some, but Dr. Delgado did the doctor thing for a sick passenger.
All the luggage arrived and Michel said ‘I guess we have to do the trip’ to which the response was F___!
After a 4-hour direct southern flight, we arrived in Punta Arenas, which, is farther south than James Bay is north. This is the height of summer. Given the challenging and unforgiving climate, summer is brief, but wow is it colourful. Trees are stunted in height and windswept in appearance. Small hills line the coast with homes built in the scrub.
The team’s gear!
Grabbed a cab into town with a couple of guys doing a bike trip!
Hotel has a casino attached – a brand new place. Wasn’t here the last time we were here six yrs ago. Overall, the town hasn’t changed much.
We did a wander about the ghost town (!!!) – just us and a bunch of packs of wild dogs……. and of course kissed Magellan’s foot for travellers luck. New years day so everything is closed. Lunch at the hotel cafe.
Afternoon spent laying out gear for Commander Keith – he will decide what you do and do not get to bring. Some my fluffy slipper, blow dryer, hair gel and sweatpants i.e. comfort clothes – will be staying in Punta. And wow does he cut a swath through the gear – no to this, yes
that’s a must, ‘what were you thinking’, ‘what IS that?’
All in good humor and now gear thinned to fighting weight. It is starting to feel very real!
Dr. Delgado having some fun in the airport.Heart transplant recipient Dale Shippam.
We are in Santiago……..bumpy, bumpy flight.
It felt like an almost day 1 …..mostly because we avoided two near catastrophes.
1) Michel was nearly stranded in Montreal under feet and feet of snow and made the connection with about 10 minutes to spare. Shockingly, all of his luggage actually made it to Santiago!
2) Last minute tech issues nearly sank us but we are good and we can’t thank Tom from ExplorersWeb.com enough for the last minute advice at all hours of the day and night yesterday. Man, you rock!
It is 80 degrees (30 centigrade) sunny and gorgeous. Our guide, Dr. D. Greig one of our heart failure fellows, is here on his Christmas break. He h
as rented a van and we are off for a tour!!! Lunch at a traditional Chilean restaurant. Found out that Chile is actually known for their Pisco Sours.
Santiago has a population of 4 million. We saw the tanks and cop cars that they used to quell a rebellion in 1973. The tank shoots water and the cop car: tear gas. Thankfully, there’s no revolution tonight.
We think we are going to be experiencing a bit of a thermometer joke over the next few days -10 in Toronto, +30 in Santiago, +20 in Punta and -30 in Antarctica… Tough to yo-yo like that!
The team in Santiago enjoying the warm weather.
Santiago is pretty quiet today as they are preparing for the New Years Day Celebration. They have closed the centre of the town. We did a walkabout and had a look at some of the old town – beautiful. Apparently they have different styles of “cafes” here. There are the type that we are used to, where you get a coffee…..and then there is the other type where the doors are smoked and the waitresses wear very short skirts. We went to the first variety. There doesn’t seem to be anywhere to shop – I do like to support the local economy where I’m able.
Boys had a bunch of local beers and we ate at the Airport Hotel. We are up in six hours for our next flight to Punta.
