Test traverse post - picture

I didn't have a chance to test if this would work before departure, but
here is an attempt to blog a picture via satellite email. It will either
work, or be a boring little post, so here goes. The picture is shrunk and
heavily compressed to fit through the low bandwidth link, so there is a
quality compromise.

The picture (credit Sharon Labudda) shows the front of the traverse last
tuesday, as we travelled in whiteout and blizzard conditions. You can't see
the whole traverse caravan because of the conditions, but you should be
able to make out the lead tractor, a couple of fuel tanks, the next tractor
and the living van... behind this are a couple more tractors, more fuel and
several containers...

If it fails to work, we may get it put up on the AAD website.

Traverse Day 7 Update

Day 7 Progress:
Day 7 - 1 December 2013, 1330UT
Position reached: E 132° 30.341' S 70° 33.051'
Elevation: 2724 m
Distance covered so far: 579.8km
Temperature (evening): -25° C

Remarks:
Today we turned west toward Aurora Basin, and left the formed track to
Concordia. It was with some trepidation that we headed off, not knowing for
sure how easy progress would be on an unconsolidated surface.

We left a little later today - we had some reconfiguring of the caravan to
do, and Manu was setting up a snow radar on our tractor. This trails over
the snow on a boom off to one side and takes regular (2 second) profiles of
radar returns from the upper part of the snow pack (tens of metres). This
will be the first look at how the snow layers change across this large
swathe of East Antarctica, and will help understand the geographic
variation in snowfall rates.

At first Manu and I followed in the 'radar' tractor, with the rest of the
traverse ahead of us - we were also pulling our weight, in the form of 3
12000 L fuel tanks. As it happened, the snow _was_ pretty soft, and the
fact that it was heavily worked over by the caravan ahead of us meant we
got bogged a couple of times. This took a little time to get towed out, and
we ended up reconfiguring the train of vehicles to put us up front, just
behind the kassi. No more getting stuck, and a pretty smooth trip -
although still a bit bumpy to read or blog!

All-in all a 62km day with the later start and minor hitches is a
satisfying start to this stage of the trip, and our target arrival around
December 11 looks within reach if nothing changes!

The off-track work is a bit heavier for the kassi crew, because they are
dealing with an untravelled surface to groom, and simultaneously
maintaining GPS course to the set of waypoints provided by Patrice from
IPEV.

We are currently travelling almost due west, along around 70.5S latitude,
and will gradually make our way south in coming days to the ultimate ABN
latitude of 71.2S. The route will be fairly level - we are now a little
higher than ABN (2701m) and will climb another couple of hundred metres or
thereabouts before crossing a ridge in a couple of days and descending.

Speaking of elevation, the cold polar atmosphere is somewhat thinner than
similar altitudes elsewhere, and so we are in the equivalent vicinity of
about 10000 feet, or a bit over 3000 m. For at least some of us we are
noticing a bit more huffing and puffing than usual when we exert ourselves,
but otherwise no ill effects.

Traverse Day 6 Update

Day 6 Progress:
Day 6 - 30 November 2013, 1300UT
Position reached: E 134° 08.301' S 70° 25.851'
Elevation: 2656 m
Distance covered so far: 517.45km (At D85 waypoint)
Temperature (evening): -30° C

Remarks:
A brief bulletin today. Good progress was made and we have reached a
significant landmark: the D85 waypoint, where we leave the "road" to
Concordia, Dome C.

We began the day in low cloud to the surface, but visibility was not too
bad. The cloud lifted in the morning, and the afternoon was delightful and
clear, with no significant wind.

On arrival at D85, we had more great sun dogs and diamond dust
precipitation - for those who haven't heard of this, it is also called
clear-sky precipitation and is visible as millions of tiny ice crystals
falling from a clear sky - a special sight to see.

Tomorrow we turn the corner for ABN, a bit over 800km away. Progress is
hard to gauge in advance and will depend on the surface roughness and
hardness.


Postscript, erratum:
Just noticed yesterday's update had day 5 as 25 November?? It was, of
course 29 November.

Traverse Day 4-5 Update

Day 5 Progress:
Day 5 - 25 November 2013, 1300UT
Position reached: E 134° 16.588' S 69° 32.189'
Elevation: 2558 m
Distance covered so far: 417.03km (50.69 km past Virage Nord waypoint)
Temperature (evening): -30° C

Remarks
Time escaped yesterday (Thursday 24th), so a combined 2 day update
today....

Actually, I'm trying something different today, writing this on my iPad
while underway. The bumps in the road are a little better this afternoon
(Friday). The sastrugi (the hardened wind-sculpted surface bumps) are less
vicious, at around 40cm, than yesterday: where 1-1.5 m heights weren't
uncommon! As I noted in an earlier post, the Kassbohrer does the heavy work
filing holes and scraping off as much as possible from the sastrugi.

This lead work by the "kassi" is hard on driver and machine. I rode with
Anthony (our IPEV Traverse Leader) yesterday afternoon, to observe the
constant task of manipulating blade and speed; keeping a bade full of
rolling snow, occasionally backing up to have a second go at tough spots,
all the while trying to keep the speed up to avoid slowing the main
traverse caravan behind. Normally it is Sharon in the kassi with Anthony,
as she has the skill and experience to share the driving - I'm definitely
an observer in that vehicle!

I said the work was hard on the machine, and in fact yesterday the kassi
"broke" (Anthony's technical description at the time) about 90 minutes
before scheduled stop. A bent hydraulic piston was diagnosed, and the
skilled mechanics in the team were able to make it good, in uncomfortable
-25°C wind, using the well stocked mobile workshop. The whole IPEV
operation (Institute Paul Emile Victor - the logistical arm of the French
Antarctic Program) is impressive. The traverse is very comprehensively
organised and is a major operation - from the big stuff right through to
details like excellent pre-made (French) meals to keep the humans fuelled
and happy.

Despite the cold windy evening, the two French scientists on the traverse
Manu and Olivier made use of the earlier "park-up" to get an experiment
underway. Manu and Olivier are from LGGE in Grenoble, and are along to do
some studies, particularly on the return leg, after we are deployed at ABN.
This will include taking shallow firn cores and making radar
measurements....all with the aim of understanding snow accumulation on
Antarctica, and how it varies across the continent and over time (what we
glaciologists call surface mass balance). This work is needed for
determining the Antarctic contribution to sea level with climate change
impacts, now and into the future.

Yesterday included a notable transition point in our journey - it began
with the last sunrise we will see during the project. The combined effects
of approaching mid-summer and our southward march brought the midnight sun
rapidly.

After 5 days, we are setting into a routine, and we Australians are
becoming familiar with procedures. The driving day is long, seeing the
icescape crawling by at 7-11km/hr. There is a sameness but subtle variety
to the snow surface that is hypnotic in its own way, and today we had a
great set of parhelia (? where is google when you need it!) .... 'Sun dogs'
and intersecting rings of ice rainbows that arc around the sun, up from the
horizon, and around the zenith. Two days ago we had a visit from several
snow petrels which wheeled around the vehicles for a while, before going on
their way - wherever that was!

Conversation, music, audio books all help pass the time, and we can swap
drivers with a cramped seat swap, thereby avoiding a stop for the whole
caravan. I'm pleased that a thoughtful someone gave me some broadcast audio
of some good radio interviews that I ration to a couple a day (Richard
Fidler's Conversations off ABC radio for the interested).

After the sedentary driving day the heavy work comes at the end. Fuelling
and de-blizzing (chipping away accumulated ice and snow) tractors and
shovelling snow into the melter for our washing needs isn't necessarily the
desired antidote for inactivity when it's -25°C and blowing 60km/hr.

The experience is not unlike taking back-to-back long haul plane fights for
2 weeks plus, getting off each day into a gymnasium in a freezer, eating,
grabbing 6-7 hours sleep and repeating. Don't get me wrong, it is a
privilege and an adventure of a lifetime, but it is not for the faint-
hearted! And, of course, it is the key to being able to do the coring at
ABN.

Traverse Day 3 Update

Position: S 68deg 10.174'; E 136deg 4.539'
(just past Pt106 on map posted earlier)
Elevation: 2179m (approx)
Distance covered today: 109km
Distance covered total: 238.55km
Approx distance to ABN: 1111km

Comments:
A good day's travel in reasonable conditions. Overcast with wind and
drifting snow, but visibility was adequate for following the "road", if
challenging on occasions.

A minor mechanical problem with one tractor's fuel line rectified in a
short stop.

Traverse: Days 1-2. Bad light didn't stop play

We are now well into the traverse/raid and making good progress.

Day 1, yesterday 25th, started around the middle of the day. It took most
of the morning to get our frozen food out of storage at Cape Prud'homme and
double haul the last vans up the steepest part of the slope, with some last
minute mechanical repairs thrown in.

The weather was overcast with very poor surface definition, but we made it
to the 60km mark, where we had pre-deployed some sleds on Saturday. We
hitched it all up and fueled, ready for the routine early (scheduled 0800)
departure.

By nightfall there was a foreboding dark sky and the odd snowflake, so it
was not really a surprise to wake up to a good amount of fresh snow and
blizzard conditions. This was an interesting way to begin our first full
routine day of traverse.

For those who haven't experienced it, "whiteout" is a real experience of
visual sensory deprivation. The light is so diffused by cloud and reflected
from the snow that there are no shadows or anything at all to give away the
ups and downs in the surface. If you are walking, stumbling is unavoidable,
if you are driving, each bump and hole comes completely unexpected:
necessitating good hand-holds, or risking bumping head on roof, etc.

We had intended to follow the track of the traverse that left last week for
Concordia Station (Dome C), but the visibility was so poor that we gave up
after a while. The lead tractor has a bank of 4 impressive lights (2.5kW
each) to help with visibility in these conditions, but even they weren't
cutting it. So we bumped and chugged along at 6-7km/h most of the day,
hitting the occasional outstanding bump and passing the warning message
back down the traverse using our VHF radios. No such warning for the two of
us in the first tractor!

We had a small breakdown today - an electrical problem, which required a
slick installation of a spare and we were on our way. The traverse has
mechanics and a well stocked workshop.

Later in the day, conditions eased and we found the track reliably, were
able to put the Kassbohrer grooming tractor out the front to groom the
path, and ramped up to 9 km/hr.

All-in-all we have covered around 130km in the two atypical days (one late
start up hill, and one in bad weather), so this is pretty good progress. We
have about 1170km to go, so a couple of weeks more for the journey is
likely - all going well.

Life on traverse is efficient and comfortable. The long days require a fair
degree of cooperation and thinking about clothing, stowing gear, what you
want in the tractor with you etc. The routine at the end of the day is very
methodical - jobs divided up so that refuelling, snow shovelling (for fresh
water), cooking and vehicle maintenance all get done in about an hour. By
the time this is all done, and a meal had, it is approaching 11pm, leaving
just a bit of time for emails, ablutions and then time to hit the hay.

Which, I need to do right now!

Traverse ready to roll from Cape Prud'homme - le depart du raid

Tomorrow, Monday 25th, we depart on traverse ("raid" in French) for Aurora
Basin. We are enthusiastic about getting started, but have greatly
appreciated the support and hospitality of our French colleagues during
our time here at Cape Prud'homme.

It has been a fairly busy week with the French team making and checking
off a long list of tasks. As I look now, there is nothing that remains
undone - even the loading of 120 loaves of bread, which happened today.

Yesterday was a key day - we took a number of sleds, with fuel tanks and
containers "up the hill" 60km along the traverse to pre-deploy them. This
was a good familiarisation for those of us new to things ... getting the
feel for driving the tractors and getting used to the pace of things.
Pre-deployment is required because the steep terrain (we gained 1250m in
the 60km) limits the towing capacity. Indeed, for the initial stretch up
from the coast, we had extra tractors "double hauling" (assisting the tow
with ropes). After 10km or so, they uncoupled and returned, leaving us to
complete the pre-deployment.

For my Australian colleagues, Sharon and Noel, driving these vehicles is
not a novelty, but as a scientist, getting my induction/training and
driving a large Caterpiller Challenger 65C is not something I had ever
expected to do and makes for a nice new experience. Nobody is just a
passenger on traverse!

The traverse itself will consist of four prime movers (the Challengers)
and a Kassborer "groomer" which runs ahead of the traverse knocking off
bumps and generally smoothing the way. We will be pulling an assembled
cargo on (I think) 12 sleds. The traverse cargo totals around 90 tonnes,
and includes the 30 or so tonnes for Aurora Basin, plus vans for living
and generator, fuel, mechanical spares/support. Should you wish to see
something of the sort, you might search for pictures of the French
logistic traverses that operate to Concordia Station at Dome C.

The other day on predeployment we were able to make a speed around 11-13
km/hr. Our days will start with warm-up of machines at 8am, departure at
8.30, and stopping for the night at 8.30pm, with an hour lunch break. In
the 11 hours driving, we hope to cover around 100km per day, but this is
"good" progress, and will probably not be achieved every day. Weather and
visibility can slow the traverse, or even call a halt if bad enough. The
snow surface is also a potential impediment, especially in the second
stage of the traverse when we turn west toward ABN. For the first run,
several hundred km up to D85, we follow the known traverse route to Dome C
(which in fact has had a traverse over it in recent days).

The end of each day, from 8.30pm will have an hour or so for fueling,
servicing vehicles and any science tasks we undertake, with dinner at
9.30pm, before wind-down and sleep.

So that is a run down on what will be happening. There may be some blog
comment along the way, I hope, subject to how much time and energy remain
at the end of the day!

As a small side-story and postscript, last evening we went across the
sea-ice from Cape Prud'homme to Dumont D'Urville and enjoyed a barbecue
and convivial evening with the station population. Today, we went back
across to DDU for lunch and were treated to a tour of station, powerhouse
and a visit to an emperor penguin colony. The emperors were a special
treat - one came over to us within just several metres and was well
photographed. This was good for us - but the year has not been good to the
emperors, since the fast ice is unusually thick and extensive, reaching
still to 50km. This is a very long march for the penguins and has
prevented many from being able to return to support the chicks, with high
mortality as a result. To be hoped such an event is just an anomaly.