Beautiful weather - let's get digging

Pistenbully: The pistenbully was busy today pushing snow.

While there were some clouds and wind in the morning, weather improved and the afternoon was beautiful. Everybody except our cook and the two CFA people were working outside all day.

What a difference a day makes. I am sitting in the top of the main dome and can see the results of our efforts today. The floor for the main entrance to the trenches is made, and tomorrow we hope to get the weatherport up to cover the entrance. The garages are slowly emerging from the snow piles. A couple of good weather days more will make a lot of difference.

I can also see that the nice smooth surface of the ice sheet has changed. The strong wind has created sastrugi (i.e. open land snowdrifts) so that the snow now looks like a white ocean where the waves are frozen.

What we have done today:

1. Removing snow around three garages with Pistenbully and two snowblowers.
2. Finished the floor for the white entrance weatherport.
3. Excavated fuel pallet.
4. One Flexmobil and Caterpillar tractor now running.
5. Established vehicle hot-line at workshop garage.
6. Setting up CFA.
7. Fixed problem with frozen drain under main dome.

Weather: Clear. Temp. - 12 °C to - 22 °C, 4-16 knots from SSW turning SE.
Visibility: Unrestricted.

FL, J.P. Steffensen