16th March- we flew to Copenhagen. Unfortunately it wasn't a very eventful stopover - we stayed at a hotel right next to the airport and did some work. Here's an amusing picture of Rachel with an enormous bag though:
17th March- We had to get up horrendously early to catch our flight to Kangerlussuaq. The flight was good though, and there was one particular highlight from the in-flight magazine:
Great stuff! Can't wait. We also got some great views as we passed over the eastern coast of Greenland:"During a dog sled trip the dogs defecate and the farting, pooping stench in the slipstream curls your nose hairs."
And from there it was only a short while till we arrived in Kangerlussuaq:
It was a bit of a shock stepping off the plane into -22C but it's a gorgeous sunny day otherwise. Kangerlussuaq is an interesting little place - used to be a military air field so there's not much of a town or anything: there's a handy shop to buy some dinner and we picked up a compass at an outdoors shop. We're staying at Kangerlussuaq International Science Support (KISS) which is a permanent field station that provides support and accommodation to scientists working in Greenland.
We've spent a couple of hours this afternoon familiarising ourselves with all our (incredibly good) polar clothing, figuring out what it all does, what works, what doesn't work. Also, trying out some of the equipment (GPS, satellite phones) with varying numbers of gloves on. I think we've established the tricky part is going to be keeping the face/nose warm, whilst not steaming (and freezing) up the sun glasses. More to follow.
Anyway, this is the first time Rachel and myself have been inside the Arctic circle (north of 66.56) and here's a picture of the GPS co-ordinates to commemorate (67.009N, 50.687W):
Rachel and Tom. I'll be waving out the window when I fly over the ice camp in the Twin Otter!
ReplyDeleteStay safe on the ice and come back with ten fingers and toes.
Mark (@kryosat)