3587 meters above sea level
Minimum temperature: -47 °C
Clear, sunny skies today made it possible for a long-planned flight to visit us at site 91. We said good-bye to three of the part-time traverse crew, Tom, Unni, and Torbjørn, who are heading back to their jobs and families. They were a big help and also a joy to be with, and we will miss their company as we continue the traverse toward South Pole.
Today was also a special day, almost like Christmas, for our lead mechanic, Kjetil, who received six differentials for the vehicles! Two have broken so far on the traverse, and Kjetil has been able to replace them in the field. We are all hoping that now that we have plenty of extras, they will not be needed!
The calm, sunny weather made it a good day to complete our final tasks at site 91. After waving good-bye to some of our colleagues, Atsu installed his temperature array, which will transmit firn temperatures for the coming several years. Also we drilled a shallow firn core for firn properties, and began packing for our departure tomorrow forward across the ice sheet.
This contribution is from the log of the Norwegian-US Scientific Traverse Team, who are en route from Troll Station to the South Pole Station. Much more information can be found here.
Image caption: Kjetil with his new toys, 6 spare differentials for the vehicles. Photo: Stein Tronstad.