Only Half a Day
Published on 17.04.2007 - The Arctic Arc
Stormy Weather - Copyright IPF
© International Polar Foundation
Contrarily to the expectations following a slight inching up of the barometer last evening, it dove to 972 hPa and the storm stuck around, giving the team a very windy night. The easterly winds, about 40Km/h on average, the heavy snow fall and the visibility being close to zero, Alain and Dixie had to stay put in the morning, waiting for the weather to clear up.
Finally, after a long half day of waiting, the conditions improved slightly, the wind tamped down and shifted to S-SE. They decided to move and started the day at 5pm to progress for six hours with a mix of strong progression and then difficulties due to many open water leads.
At some point, Alain jumped over a narrow lead where the ice thickness positioned him 2 meters above a transparent turquoise water stretch, allowing him to clearly see the ice underwater. Such a beautiful sight compensates for all the little miseries endured these past days. We just hope he took time for a picture shot to share this emotion with us, the back office and all followers around the world.
Now, what does the near future look like? Well, Barneo, the 89° Russian North Pole drifting station, forecasts 3 days of heavy storm. Stay posted!
