Adventure Antarctica

On The Road

Steffen — Sat, 02 May 2009 18:38:42 +0000

Not much has happened here because I have been traveling since I left South Pole last November. After a bit of snowboarding in Canada, USA, Germany, Austria, Italy, Lebanon, and Iran I am now on a motorbike trip, roughly headed for Shiraz, Iran. I have finally managed to put a travelogue for my family and [...]

Davis Station Medevac Update

Steffen — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:39:28 +0000

The injured Davis Station chef was successfully airlifted to Hobart by a LC-130 aircraft. The crew at the station rushed to build a temporary 3000m sea ice runway. After flying from McMurdo the aircraft remained at Davis overnight before continuing on to Hobart. Read press release Similar Posts:Basler Crash Medevac from Norwegian Troll Station Rodney’s [...]

Flights!

Steffen — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:26:54 +0000

It is finally happening. We are getting flights! The very first LC-130 of the season just landed. It carried a bunch of firefighters and our ARFF vehicle, both now a requirement for any passenger flights. My toasty fellow winter-overs were supposed to leave on this flight but because of some minor mechanical problem they won’t [...]

Things are Looking Up

Steffen — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:16:01 +0000

Finally, things are looking up! Obama has won the election and we are getting flights in! Our satellite connection went down before the polls closed and we had to get the results via phone from McMurdo. They were put on the big displays in the galley during dinner time and people were positively cheerful. I [...]

Winter-over Ceremony

Steffen — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:01:51 +0000

A few days ago we had the traditional winter-over ceremony. Since only a couple of Basler flights had made it in we were basically congratulating ourselves in one of the lamest ceremonies in Antarctic history. To add insult to injury, we can’t even say anymore “I wintered at the South Pole and all I got [...]

Bye Bye MARISAT

Steffen — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:31:49 +0000

Yesterday morning we established our last communication link to MARISAT F-2. Today Intelsat initiated the de-orbit maneuver. The satellite was launched in October of 1976 and performed for 32 years. We have used MARISAT F-2 for number of years from the South Pole and it has been one of our most reliable links to the [...]

Open for Business

Steffen — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:43:49 +0000

After a few days of weather delays we received the first plane load of passengers. Most of them were seasoned veterans who, along with the FNGs, received the typical warm South Pole welcome right on the flight deck. It is quite common to play some sort of practical joke at Station opening and somebody put [...]

Freshies

Steffen — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:04:54 +0000

The crews of the Kenn Borek Basler and Twin Otter were nice enough to pick up some fresh fruit and vegetables in Chile. It was great to shock the system with some vitamins after eight months. We had grilled pineapple for dinner, with tomato and avocado salad and fresh oranges and apples for desert, washed [...]

First Aircraft Landing of the Season

Steffen — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:00:25 +0000

A few minutes ago a Basler made the first landing of the 2008/2009 season, bringing our winter officially to a close. The flight had been delayed by bad weather at Rothera Station. When the weather cleared up enough around 1am they decided to go for it. It is a beautiful day down here and the [...]

FAA Inspection Flight

Steffen — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:18:26 +0000

Yesterday afternoon an FAA Challenger jet came over from McMurdo for a skiway inspection. They buzzed us a few times and didn’t actually land. This was the first aircraft we have seen since February and it created enough excitement to draw some of the Station dweller out in the open to watch it. Heidi and [...]