23 June 2008

Today we finished excavating the science trench - now we need to put a roof on

Evening chat

Gaël and Bruce in a chat in white on white. Where is the horizon?.

Today was the day when Gaël finally finished his job of excavation, and tomorrow he is scheduled to leave. He has shown great persistence, and as he says, quoting Napoleon Bonaparte: “Impossible is not a word in the French language”. The science trench is ready to get a roof on. As weather forecasts are good, we should have time to cover it without the almost panic situation we had when we covered the drill trench. On the main dome, we finished mounting the bottom row of panels, now only the cupola needs panelling. We mounted the first window today, so soon the dome will be tight and ready for interior work. The first plane this week is expected tomorrow, and five persons are scheduled to leave camp. This has influence on the evening conversation, as quite a few are exchanging photographs and talking about their time together here. Sverrir had to give up completing the hill for garage 2, as a leak in the hydraulic system on the Pistenbully developed again. The plane tomorrow should bring the necessary spare parts.

What we have done today:

  1. Completing excavation of the science trench.
  2. Mounting all panels on main dome in lower level. Now only the cupola needs to be panelled. One window mounted.
  3. Snow hill for Garage 2 is half done.

Weather: overcast, - 9 to -5 C, 5-9 knots from W. poor contrast. Visibility: 3 miles, snow.

FL, J.P. Steffensen

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