First Convoy Reaches Utsteinen
The first convoy of containers reached the base camp in Utsteinen today (December 19) at 5 pm. The most needed equipment was brought first, comprising of the remaining wood to complete the garage construction.
Since Saturday morning, the coast team and ship crew members have been busy non-stop unloading the Ivan Papanin ship. They have been working 18 hour shifts, sleeping very little but progressing at a good pace. As of Wednesday December 19th, there were only 6 containers left to unload.
The first traverse team, comprising of two military officers (topographer Dieter Callaert and sergeant-mayor Vercouillie) and two civilians (Birty and Laurent) arrived back to the base camp today. In theory, a conventional one-way trip to Utsteinen is about a 20-hour drive from the coast. After having calculated the various variables to take into account, Alain has hinted there would not be a single day's rest until the entire load has reached Utsteinen base camp... tight schedule ...
Picture: Prinoth Tractor Convoy - Copyright: International Polar Foundation - © International Polar Foundation