ALE’s advance team have arrived at Union Glacier, Antarctica. The ski aircraft arrived safely last night with our team on board, after a two-stage flight from Punta Arenas. They report that the camp caches have over-wintered well and look in good shape. The blue-ice runway has little snow coverage and the snow surface around camp is very hard. Weather is sunny and cold, with a 10 knot wind.
The advance team will now knuckle down to the big job of opening camp. First task is to prepare our skiway for our ski aircraft then they will clear and mark our blue-ice runway ready for the first Ilyushin flight. In the meantime the weather satellite image gathering and observations will start. It’s tough going, with just a handful of workers, extreme conditions, and basic facilities. They will work in shifts, round the clock, taking advantage of the 24 hour daylight to get camp up and running ready for our first guests.
And so, another ALE season begins…