Traverse is back and clearing the construction site for preparation of next stage

The fully loaded traverse train arrives at EGRIP at 0920.

At the appointed time at 0800 this morning, we had telephone contact with the traverse. They were only 17 km from EGRIP and could see the station! This was a big surprise, as we expected them to be back in the evening.

It turned out, that during the attempts to excavate the heavy sleds at the depot, the pull bar of one of the sleds broke. It could still be towed; but only by backup chains. This meant, that the crew would not be able to make a stop once they got going. With a long train, it is necessary to push back and compress the train before starting, and this was not possible with a broken pull bar. Instead, the drivers took turns and swapped seats while driving, and they made it back to EGRIP in really good time.

At EGRIP we cleaned up the construction site. The balloons were hoisted up to the surface. Two of the balloons will be reused in the next stage, and the rest will be packed down.

What we have done today:

1. Lifting balloons out of trenches with crane through elevator shaft.
2. Traverse arrived back this morning at 0920.
3. Building boxes for snow for Nansen sleds.
4. Beginning to unpack timber from timber sled.
5. Removing hoses and pump from construction site.

Ad. 2: The traverse arrived back in camp after driving 135 km to depot, excavating depot, arranging train and driving 135 km back to EGRIP. All in 42 hours.

Weather today: Overcast in the morning, clear, the rest of the day. Temp. –19 °C to -28 °C, Wind 14 kt from W, in the evening 3 kt from SW. Visibility: in the morning 1 km due to light snowfall, in the afternoon, to horizon.

FL, J.P. Steffensen