Reaching for the Sky
Building on site continues, no matter what the weather is like. When one activity slows down, another one picks up speed. There are always more than 20 people working up on the ridge and round abouts, and 6 who are out on a traverse between Utsteinen and Crown Bay. More than half the containers are now in Utsteinen.
The wooden scaffolding has now been finished, and the first upright beams put into place. For some reason, there is an enormous amount of wood left over. It will be put to good use in making other structures, such as the workshops and storage spaces in the hangar/garage. Extra rock has had to be broken at the base of the ridge to make room for the tower. The team has had to come up with more ingenious methods to remove a few cubic metres of solid granite.
The 44kVa generator has come into play and, since the 22kVa is no longer necessary on the construction site, it has been brought down to the base camp to heat water for the bathroom and power the cookers in the kitchen, the fridge container and the computers in the Command and Control Centre.
More medical supplies have arrived on site, allowing Dr. Jacques Richon to operate the medical centre like a hospital. He has already had to place a plaster cast on Gregory Diez's fractured wrist and remedy a few cuts and burns, and a painful lumbago.
Weather Information from Utsteinen
Date 16.01.2008
Time 09 00 UTC
- Wind Direction: 120°
- Wind Speed: 15 km/h/ Gust : 25 km/h
- Visibility: 2 km
- Cloud ceiling: 3000 feet
- Temperature: -9.8°C
- Pressure (QNH): 824 hPa
Picture: Medical Centre - Copyright: International Polar Foundation - © International Polar Foundation