Greetings from Bravo! Since we are fresh back from the pack ice (only just), we thought we'd explain what was happening from our end while we were waiting for the changeover, plus give you an idea of the daily routine/trials and tribulations of a McVities Penguin Polar Relay Team. Firstly, the finale to the changeover drama... As explained in the last update, there was considerable doubt as to whether the changeover would go ahead or not, right up until the last minute. We were in constant radio coms with the plane (November Alpha November) as it approached our position on the ice, giving updates on the weather as it steadily worsened. From where we were sitting in our tent on the pack ice it seemed totally impossible that the pilot would even consider landing, but he insisted on 'giving it a go', so we just stood by to give him as much help as we possibly could from the ground. The pilot, Paul, gave us an ETA of 03:17 our time, so we sat listening for the sounds of the approaching Twin-engined Otter. Finally - there it was, so we dashed outside leaving one of the team by the radio. By this time the ice fog was so thick that we could only just see the outline of the plane as it passed overhead. The pilot couldn't see us at all, although he knew by the GPS that he was over our position. We radioed to tell him he had just overflown us, so he asked that as he made the next pass we would radio when he was directly overhead. This we did, then began a series of nerveracking passes as he tried to check out the runway. We could hardly see the pulks marking the ends of the 500m strip, but after 8 or 9 passes, he obviously decided that everything was OK and made his final approach. We watched with fingers crossed as he came in low through the fog, then at last! Skis made contact and he had done it - much to our and Charlie's considerable relief. Through good luck (and of course good judgement!), we had picked a very flat airstrip on multi-year ice, with few bumps and very small sastrugi (wind-blown snow ridges which can be up to 3 foot in height), which had helped considerably, but the pilot did an exceptional job. So here we are, back in Resolute Bay, showered and clean for the first time in two weeks. We thought a description of our daily routine might be of some interest, so here goes: 06:00 - 'Rise and shine!' It takes about three hours to get ourselves ready to go and the camp packed up, and as we normally aimed to be away by 09:00, 6:00am had to be our wake up call. The tent is obviously very cold, but we had to be up and dressed straight away and have our sleeping bags packed away before we lit the stoves or they got damp from the defrosting tent. The stoves (four of them) were lit as soon as possible, and we began to melt snow for drinks and breakfast. Ski binding repairs quite often had to be done at this point as well, so they had to be brought in to warm up so we didn't get cold burns from the metal edges. Hot drinks are very important - at least two each and more if possible, plus two 1-litre water bottles per person needed to be filled. Hot cereal made up our breakfast and was eaten with added butter to increase our calorie intake to the required 5,000 calories a day. We piled on the rest of the layers before finally turning off the stoves - balaclavas, hats, neck gaiters, wrist gaiters, thin gloves, mitts - and then it was time for the tent to come down. Packing was done as quickly as possible, biodegradable rubbish was buried and the rest packed to come back with us, and then... 09:00 - Off we set. The daily routine was to ski for an hour, then rest for 5 minutes and have a snack, drink and a pee, then off again. Longer than 5 minutes and you started to cool down, even so we often found our hands cold after each break. Navigation was done using the sun; only if it was very overcast did we resort to the compass which was rather sluggish and not terribly accurate this close to the Magnetic North Pole. Snacks were chocolate, Penguins, cereal bars, peanuts and dried fruit and parma ham or salami (the meat had to have a very low water content so it wouldn't freeze). Depending on how we felt, we would ski for 7 or 8 hours, then finally look for a campsite. This basically had to be flat, with snow deep enough to take the skis which acted as our pegs, and also sheltered from any prevailing winds. 16:00 / 17:00 - The tent would go up first, then two people would dive inside to start melting more snow for hot drinks and laying out the gear. Two more would set up the radio antennae if it was a coms night, while the last two would cut snow blocks for melting for drinking water, and pile snow up on the snow valance around the tent to make it reasonably draught free. Then the best part of the day, hot soup with lumps of cheese in it, while we waited for the GPS to warm up. All electronic equipment had to be warmed first or the batteries wouldn't function, so while we waited we all guessed our mileage for the day. After the soup and GPS check, it was time to dry out our boots, socks and sledging suits, make dinner, melt more snow, write the group journal and log, wash up, have a wash ourselves .... at 21:00 we turned in and then the next day we started all over again! We hope this gives you an idea of the way in which we spent our two weeks on the pack ice. Obviously, it was a bit more exciting than just the daily round - leads closing in front of us just when we needed it, rubbery sea ice to ski along, the sound of ice cracking and booming in the distance as new pressure ridges formed. In spite of the average -30 C temperatures, we all came back fit and well, with no frost nip or frost bite. Many thanks to all those who are following the Relay's progress, and also thanks to all those who have sent messages to the teams. Any replies or e-mails are relayed to the team during coms, and they really help keep our spirits up. Please keep writing! Finally, thanks to all our families and friends at home for their love and support - we made it!
Rose Agnew |