Progress Report

After all the hard work of the last few days getting the Ice Train ready, both Cats were in operation today heading south and at the time of writing one of the Cats is still on the move. As a result of the axle problem the team have made changes to the layout of the train for the next phase of the journey to reduce the loads transferred through the various elements of the train. It will now…

by Hugh Bowring, Operations HQ Ian welding under the living caboose – by Brian Newham. The last week has proven to be a very testing time for the Ice Team as they have had to endure severe weather conditions and a series of mechanical set-backs. Taken individually these challenges would have been hard enough to deal with, but collectively they have put great pressure on the guys and have pushed…

The Ice Team have been busy working on a number of mechanical issues today in preparation for embarking on the next stage of the traverse. Most of these have been completed successfully, with just some welding work having to be carried over to tomorrow. More details of this will follow tomorrow, but for now we will leave you with this wonderful picture by Brian Newham on a cold and windy evening…

The Ice Team made the final runs to the fuel depot successfully yesterday and now the entire Ice Train is together at S72 31′ 50.2″, E023 27′ 01.7″. The plan from here is to move south and into unchartered territory for the team. Before that can happen, however, there are a number of important checks, modifications and repairs which need to be carried out to a number of different components of…

Photo by Brian Newham. At last the condtions have improved and the Ice Team are on the move again. Both cabooses and fuel scoots now half way up the hill and we are hoping to have everything at the fuel depot within the next few…

It’s been a day full of frustrations. Overnight the wind eased from a roaring 50+ knots to a more sensible and manageable 35kts and although it was far from pleasant, we were able to recover somewhat from the battering we have taken over the last few days. Things were brought back to order, doorways cleared and life brought back to a more comfortable level. By mid morning the wind had dropped…

The weather at overnight camp has deteriorated, rather than improved. The temperature is hovering around minus 30C, but the average wind speed has crept up to 45 knots with gusts of 56 knots; visibility is about 3m and there is heavy drifting snow, so there has been no chance for travel today unfortunately. It has, however, given the team the chance to catch up on other tasks and duties. On…

Strong winds and heavy drift this morning made any movement look unlikely but conditions improved sufficiently by late morning that Brian decided it was worth starting the Cats. It took three hrs to preheat, start and then warm the vehicles before they could start moving, but the gamble paid off. The team moved the storage container and a fuel scoot up to the depot before darkness called a halt…

It is -30C, snowing heavily and the winds are gusting up to 48 knots. Visibility is about 5m and there is zero contrast. The Ice Team have no choice but to sit out this…

The Ice Team moved all loads 25km and are camped on the blue ice area at the bottom of the next technical section. Visibility and contrast have been limited for much of the day today, but despite this they have made good progress. The last 3 km required the relaying of loads as the Cats lost traction on the blue ice. Photo by Brian Newham.Status Met observations, snow sampling and medical tests…