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We had just over an hour to sort out those
items we would not need until we arrived on the ice from those we would
need in Punta Arenas. This was our first exercise in forecasting what
we absolutely had to keep and those things we could do without. This
exercise would repeat itself many times over the next twelve days. |
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Mark and Sue arrived in a big truck outside
our hotel, where they set up a scale to weigh our Ilyushin gear.
We were informed at that time that we would
receive a call from ALE at 4pm to confirm if our flight would leave that
evening.
Landing and taking off safely from the blue
ice running at Patriot Hills (our base camp located at 81°S) is the
determining factor for ALE operations. The Punta Arenas headquarters is
in constant contact with Patriot Hills - surveying the weather for
suitable conditions. As camp meteorologist Jaco said, “We do not
forecast here in Antarctica, we can only ‘now-cast’.” With limited
weather data and the unpredictability of the Katabatic winds, finding
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a safe 9-hour window (the time from
announcing the departure in Punta to the time the Ilyushin off-loads
supplies and travelers, and fills again with travelers leaving and used
supplies, and takes off from Patriot Hills back to Punta) is as much an
intuitive exercise as it is weather predicting. |
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| As
promised, that afternoon the flight status call
came. Crosswinds on the ice were above tolerable
thresholds and clouds were well below the 3000
ft. limit. We would have to wait another
four hours for another update. So began
the emotional rollercoaster as we anxiously
waited for the next call. With four hours
on our hands we all took a walk to Punta Arenas’
most famous cemetery located just six blocks
from our hotel. That evening, the call came confirming what we thought;
the flight would be postponed until 10am the following
day. We went to bed that evening wondering
if tomorrow would be the day. |
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The next day was another
filled with anticipation and waiting. Conditions in
Patriot Hills were again not suitable for landing, and
the four calls throughout the day and evening all
confirmed this. We were ready, but with no place to go. |
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The
next morning the call came – conditions at 9am were
good. Another call would come in 30 minutes to let us
know if we’d leave in another 30 minutes. The buzz in
the air was electric with excitement and trepidation.
As arranged, we would leave our Punta Arenas clothing at
our hotel to await our return. We each had daypacks
with toiletries, reading material and snacks.
The call came at 9:30am, “The flight is a ‘go’.
We will pick you up in 30 minutes.” As
anxious as we were, we were all down in the
lobby awaiting the bus in 15 minutes!
After
clearing immigration (we were, of course, leaving Chile)
we drove onto the tarmac to the Ilyushin
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Photo by David Bloomfield |
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