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April 26, 2010
Today is a day for completing programs. The skiers who had set off from the Canadian coast reached the North Pole. The American scientists bade farewell to the Twin-Otter with their research results. At noon an An-74 flight arrived to take everyone back. The last living modules are packed and the flags are down. It's time to go home!
At 1 pm the An-74 took off from the Barneo ice airfield for Longyearbyen. In 30 minutes there was no one left at the base: the Taimyr helicopters left for Sredny Island.
THE BARNEO-2010 SEASON IS OVER
Barneo-2010 |
Till a next season! |
April 24, 2010
Coordinates: 88° 59' N, 62° 52' E
Air temperature: -15 °C. Wind speed: 5-8 m/sec (West). Atmospheric pressure: 761mm
The weather keeps changing; the temperature is rising, the pressure is dropping and meteorologists are saying that a cyclone will hit Barneo.
The second mess tent, two living modules and the diesel room have been dispatched to Longyearbyen on today's flight. The tractor drivers are preparing to take away the tractor. Most of the Barneo crew has left the base. Only a few people are still here, waiting for the two groups of skiers heading from the Canadian coast to the North Pole: ski expedition coordinator Viktor Boyarsky, cook Denis Romanov, and the technical team of Oleg Gordichuk, Alexei Korostelyuk, Konstantin Timakov and Sergei Orlov. The American scientists and their fellow Twin Otter pilots are finishing up the last hours of their stay. The last to leave the ice once the base closes will be two helicopters from Taimyr Airline.
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The expedition coordinator - Viktor Boyarsky |
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April 23, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 02' N, 62° 22' E
Air temperature: -21 °C. Wind speed: 5 m/sec (North-Northeast). Atmospheric pressure: 701mm; visibility: 10,000 meters, clear skies.
One An-74 flight arrived today, bringing the last necessary shipment of fuel. The skiers who had reached the North Pole took the airplane back to Longyearbyen. The base is finishing up work and there will be no more tourists arriving from Longyearbyen; therefore part of the crew and the equipment that is no longer needed has left Barneo. The only people still at the camp are a Canadian tourist who will complete his stay on April 25, and the American research group (3 scientists and 4 Twin-Otter crew members). In addition, two teams of skiers who are trekking from Canada are supposed to reach the North Pole tomorrow or the day after.
This season we on the Barneo team are working without our friend Sasha Pakalyuk. For eight years he had been with us each April, but a disease took his life. In his memory his friends dropped a capsule to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean from the Barneo base that he loved so dearly. Sasha, we remember you!
Alexander Pakalyuk |
April 22, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 04' N, 68° 43' E
Air temperature: -23 °C. Wind speed: 7-8 m/sec (West). Atmospheric pressure: 766mm
The Canadian Twin-Otter completed the first planned flight today, to 85° N, 90° E in order to place one of the 11 hydrological stations, which operates at a depth of up to 1,000 meters. J. Morrison took Kelly Falkner with him on the trip. Kelly had only made it to the base the day before; she had to take multiple trains from Amsterdam to Tromso, Norway, because air traffic in Central Europe was suspended due to the activity of the Icelandic volcanoes.
The annual “Ski to the North Pole” youth expedition completed their trip today under the direction of Matvei Shparo and Boris Smolin. Seven young men and women, aged 16-18, who had passed a rigorous selection process to join the group, reached the top of the world, overcoming drifting ice, hummocks and open water. They are:
Eldar Kashayev (Kuznetsk, Penza Oblast)
Ilya Knyazev (Bazelino, Udmurtia)
Ilya Blyum (Cherepovets, Vologda Oblast)
Maya Nizamutdinova (Komsomolsk-on-Amur)
Svetlana Upyrina (Moscow)
Anna Karpova (Novocheboksarsk, Chuvashia)
Oksana Platonova (Duminichi, Kaluga Oblast)
Following a festive lunch at the mess tent, the group flew home on the An-72 airplane provided by the FSB aviation service.
In Longyearbyen, Dmitry Korostelyuk celebrated his birthday. He and his wife Rita Tertitskaya organized a real party: they prepared shish-kabobs, ratatouille and home-made pickles. Dmitry and Rita live in Longyearbyen throughout the year and they organize flights to Barneo.
Matvei Shparo and Boris Smolin |
Participants of “Ski to the North Pole” |
Dmitry Korostelyuk and Rita Tertitskaya |
April 21, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 03' N, 71° 55' E
Air temperature: -25 °C. Wind speed: 5 m/sec (Northeast). Atmospheric pressure: 757mm
The Barneo team congratulates Sergei Pisarev on his birthday wishes him strong ice, major scientific breakthroughs and overflowing health!
Two An-74 flights arrived today. One flight with skiers and "express tour" guests (visiting Barneo between the two flights), who were held up due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland, and a second flight with fuel.
Vadim Prudnikov showed the base to the "express" guests and told them about the specifics of its operations. Then the visitors were greeted by our incomparable Galina Paramonova, who had prepared a traditional Russian treat for them: crepes with caviar and sour cream, accompanied by some ice-cold "Stolichnaya" vodka.
The groups led by Eric Phillips and Borge Ousland returned from their expedition. After lunch Eric Phillips and Yuri Sergeev sang several soulful ballads. Each sang in his own language, but about the same thing – love, home, luck... Six foreign scientists left the base today, along with Norwegian operator Peter Nyquist and the skiers guided by Eric Phillips and Borge Ousland.
Galina Paramonova |
Sergej Pisarev celebrating his Birthday |
Yury Sergeev (Petrovich) |
April 20, 2010
Coordinates: 89°06' N, 75°15' E
Air temperature: -22°C. Wind speed: 5 m/sec (North). Atmospheric pressure: 762mm
Barneo team members Dmitry Mamadaliev and Alexander Pilipenko decided to spend the night in an igloo that they built themselves. Unfortunately, the temperature started dropping. However, despite the fact that they got a little cold, the guys did not return to the camp until the morning, courageously braving the elements for the entire night.
Today two tourist modules have been disassembled and packed up – there will no longer be that many guests.
Alexander Pilipenko |
Igloo built by
Alexander Pilipenko and Dmitry Mamadaliev |
Dmitry Mamadaliev |
During the day the helicopters made trips with the American scientists (led by researcher J. Morrison. A Canadian Twin Otter landed on Barneo for their further work. After dinner the three crew members relaxed in an empty tourist tent.
Jimmy Morrison – American scientist |
Twin-Otter |
April 19, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 06' N, 77° 38' E
Air temperature: -16°C. Wind speed: 5-8 m/sec (Northwest). Atmospheric pressure: 757mm
There are no An-74 flights today and no tourists at the base – everyone is out on their routes. In a week the Barneo season ends, so everyone is packing up the things they will no longer need. The crew is starting to utilize trash and waste.
April 18, 2010
Coordinates: N 89° 11' and E 83° 06'.
Temperature -17°Ñ. A wind northeast, 5 m/s. Atmospheric pressure of 760 mm hg
Today, early in the morning, at 5 am to be precise, a group of Russian tourists arrived at Barneo camp. This unique program under which these tourists are travelling is called « Express 1 day North Pole Tour ». As the name of the program suggests, in a short time, 24 hours, tourists will have to see and experience quite a bit. Upon arrival, the lucky group was greeted by an amazingly beautiful morning sun, perfect tranquility and magic vastness. Coming into such an environment from busy, fast paced Moscow, everyone wanted to savor the moments of majestic silence and serenity. People reluctantly made their way to the helicopter, as everyone was trying to take in the beauty of the North Pole and perhaps take that last picture before boarding the helicopters to leave behind this amazing place.
Alexander Talanov – expedition leader |
After returning from the North Pole, the tourists have familiarized themselves with the camp, played hockey (for this purpose specifically the ice platform was prepared in advance). Afterwards, the camp’s chefs greeted the group by their signature “borshch - Barneo». After an exchange of souvenirs visitors prepared for a departure.
By the scheduled evening flight of ÀN-74 , upon the completion of the North Pole mission, ski teams of Douglas Stoup and Dirk Jensen returned to the base. Likewise, Rafael, who made the journey to the North Pole with a dog sled, has returned to the Barneo camp. This was his second mission and he found it to be more challenging than the first one, due to numerous ice ridges and water clearings. After the groups have taken off for Longyearbyen, the camp became unusually empty and quiet
April 17, 2010
Coordinates: N 89° 14' and E 85° 57'.
Temperature -17°Ñ. A wind northern, 4ì/sec. Atmospheric pressure of 758 mm hg
With today's flight to Barneo camp of ÀN-74, fuel that is essential to the camp’s operation, has been delivered. With the return flight to Longyearbyen five tourists have left the camp. At the same time, the scientific equipment that has already fulfilled its purpose and was no longer needed at the camp was boarded on the AN-74 flight as well. Today, the scientists were taken by a helicopter to the location in which a device for the pressure measurement has been set up earlier, but things didn’t go according to plan – the device did not respond to the signal and did not rise from the ocean’s bottom. However, scientists still managed to collect and read the information recorded on the devise over the span of two years. On the return flight, the helicopters picked up the group of Inge Solheim who has reached this location from the North Pole.
April 16, 2010
Coordinates: N 89°16 ' and E 87°26 '.
Temperature -17°Ñ. A wind northern, 4-6 km/s. Atmospheric pressure of 750 mm hg
Today, with the morning flight of ÀN-74 new groups of ski teams arrived at the base. The groups are as follows: Rick Sweitzer (6 people), Dirk Jensen (9 people), Eric Phillips (4 people) and Miroslav Jakes (2 people). Immediately upon arrival at the base the ski teams started out on their missions.
On its flight back to Longyearbyen ÀN-74 has transported a group of Chinese tourists led by David Hempleman-Adams who have already finished their program. As of yesterday due to the volcano’s eruption in Iceland, planes from Longyearbyen no longer fly to the main land, and therefore all the tourists who left Barneo camp hoping to return home are stranded at the hotels. As for the base itself, everything is going according to schedule– helicopters are delivering the ski teams that are about to start their missions and picking up those who are already done with theirs.
Polar Venice |
The ice field is broken |
Fuel floating away |
Hey there, on the other bank! |
Today, at the North Pole, the helicopters discovered a water clearing, and were forced to land towards 90 degrees. The American scientist, J. Morrison, who has worked at the lower base, has been taken by the helicopters to another location where he needed to check on the equipment which has been placed there earlier and collect all the information. The Japanese science in the face of Takashi Kikuchi has successfully established the Radio Beacon for measurement of conductivity and temperature of water in various depths.
April 15, 2010
Coordinates: N 89° 19 ' and E 99° 47 '.
Temperature -19°Ñ. A wind northeast, 6-9 km/s.
At last, today the weather has improved – the pressure has risen, it’s fairly cold, the wind has ceased and there is sun. This means that the flights will resume.
Early in the morning a helicopter flight transported more tourists to the North Pole. There, Elena Romanova and Igor Palamarchuk (Russia) announced their engagement. After a long kiss the happy couple received their first joint document confirming that on April, 15th, 2010 in the North Pole, Igor and Elena have been declared the groom and the bride. The «Certificate of Engagement» includes Barneo camp’s seal and a its director’s signature. In honor of such an event there was a celebratory shot from a flare gun and everyone has lifted a glass of champagne for the newly engaged couple.
Today Barneo camp has welcomed three flights, two ÀN-74’s and one ÀN-72 which transported the annual youth expedition led by Matvey Shparo and Boris Smolin «The Shparo Adventure Club kids». Almost immediately upon arrival they began to check their equipment and prepar for their mission. Due to the challenging weather conditions and an adverse drift, each minute is precious.
Towards the middle of the season the route between Barneo and the North Pole has become very lively – some are just starting out on the missions, others are half way to their destination, while some have already reached the North Pole. Today a group of four skiers led by Richard Weber, who had set out on their mission 41 days ago from the northern coast of Canada and were the first to reach their destination, were transported by the helicopters back to the camp. The American scientists continue their work on the lower base near Barneo. They have already recovered about a half of a four-kilometer cable to which their equipment is attached
Today a group of Japanese scientists (project JAMSTEC) arrived at the base. This project, JAMSTEC, is a close collaboration of Japanese and Russian scientists (Sergey Pisarev).
Vladimir Obukhovsky -
flight engineer of An-74 |
Ceremony of engagement
in the North Pole |
An-74 Captain
Andrey Klimov |
April 14, 2010
Coordinates: N 89° 19 ' and E 110° 39 '.
Temperature -17°Ñ. A wind northeast, 12-15 km/s.
Alas, the weather conditions continue to deteriorate, the atmospheric pressure is falling, and has already reached a minimum of 743 mm hg. There is heavy fog.
Yesterday, after a day of hard work, the team that oversees the base has been invited to celebrate the birthday of Vasily Vedjanin, one of tractor operators. In the tents, a celebratory banquet was organized in the honor of Vasily Vedjanin.
Vasily Vedyanin celebrating his Birthday |
April 13, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 17' N, 125° 14' E
Air temperature: -18 °C. Wind speed: 12-15 m/sec with gusts of up to 20 m/sec (Northeast).
The weather has once again interfered with the work of the base. Overnight the atmospheric pressure sharply dropped to 747mm. A powerful cyclone arrived at Barneo: the temperature rose, the wind increased and visibility deteriorated. The planned An-74 flights were canceled due to the weather. In view of past experience, all tents were secured with parachute rigging lines.
The party celebrating the 30th birthday of Cecily Ferriz of Mexico was the bright spot of this gloomy day. Cecily was one of the scientists on Andy Heiberg's team. She received a commemorative card with greetings from most of the tourists and the entire Barneo staff. In addition, she received a gift certificate for the polar sauna. After returning from the sauna, Cecily was greeted with applause and a round of “Happy Birthday to Óou!” The culmination of the party was a giant birthday cake with candles.
Due to the poor weather conditions, the tourists spent most of their time in the mess tent, sharing photos and videos, playing chess and dominoes, and just talking and drinking tea/coffee while the blizzard was roaring outside.
Expedition leader Vadim Prudnikov spoke about the work of the first North Pole-1 drifting station. The foreign scientists, who know how difficult it is to do research in the Arctic even today, not to mention so many years ago, were most impressed with his talk.
After Vadim's lecture, Andy Heiberg showed a documentary film about the work of the American Alpha drifting station in 1957-8.
Unfortunately the weather forecast for tomorrow is not encouraging.
April 12, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 15' N, 129° 26' E
Air temperature: -21 °C. Wind speed: 5-9 m/sec (Northeast), clear skies.
The entire infrastructure of the base was restored by this morning. We have to point out that despite the many hours of emergency work evacuating the camp, none of the Barneo staff caught as much as a common cold.
In addition to all the work on the camp, the important task of delivering aviation fuel to the expedition of American scientists was carried out. On the previous day, Andy Heiberg's fuel store ended up on a small island as a result of the ice breaking. There was a chance that it would float out into the open ocean, which would make carrying out the planned program much more difficult.
Andy Heiberg |
Helicopter flights for research within the framework of the North Pole Environmental Observatory (NPEO) project began today. Two Russian scientists, S. Pisarev and A. Gubin participated in the flights in order to support cooperation among the American team, the crew and the base.
The main objective of today's expedition was finding the oceanographic buoy station that was set up near the Barneo base back in 2008. The station was located quickly and signaled to rise. Tents were set up at the site for further work. Over the next 4-5 days all instruments will be brought up and two years of information will be gathered on the characteristics of the water of the polar region of the Central Arctic Basin.
Getting ready for submersion |
Russian scientists at Barneo |
The scientists also checked the condition of the oceanographic station, set up about 40 kilometers away from Barneo 5 years ago in order to measure seawater pressure. The check showed that this station was also successfully continuing to gather information. The scientists downloaded data for the last two years using a special hydro-acoustic channel and left the station under the ice so that it could continue work.
At the camp the tourists finished up their breakfast and followed expedition leader Alexander Talanov into the ice hummocks for a photo session. After lunch everyone gathered in the mess tent to share their impressions from the walk – as well as photographic and video results. After dinner there was a showing of a film that Norwegian operator Petter Nyquist recorded about the events of the previous day. The audience had to admit that it was much more fun to watch the evacuation as observers and the recent adventures were viewed with smiles.
Renowned photojournalist V. Vasilevsky then showed his photos from sailing trips around the world. His personal photo exhibit about these trips had actually opened on April 8 at the Museum of the World Ocean in Kaliningrad.
April 11, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 14' N, 131° 42' E
Air temperature: -18 °C. Wind speed: 6 m/sec (West).
Sunday was a hard day for all of the Barneo staff. Overnight the crack on the old runway spread and the ice floe broke. The base lost the original landing strip.
A little later, at 6:30am, the night shift woke everyone up with the words: “Warning! Everyone Up! Ice Floe Breaking!” A new crevasse ran through the camp. The staff did not panic, got dressed and began to evacuate tourists, getting them out of their tents and directing them to the pilots' quarters, where everyone got a warm welcome and some hot tea.
Some tourists helped out with the emergency work, since it was necessary to free up and move two mess tents, the kitchen, four living modules and the generator tent. As a result of the break in the ice, these structures ended up on an “island.” A small block of ice that had luckily floated right up to the evacuation site was used to “ferry” the tents from the “island” to the “mainland.”
Break in the ice-field |
The crack |
Emergency efforts took about three hours. The weather was kind to us, with moderate temperatures and no wind.
After all the stuff was moved to a new location, the tents had to be reassembled. Slowly the camp came back into rhythm. The heat guns began working, the cooks prepared lunch and the tourists returned to their tents. The camp is now operating as usual.
April 10, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 10' N, 131° 42' E
Air temperature: -18 °C. Wind speed: 6 m/sec (West).
Two more An-74 flights came today: “express” tourists, skiers, and American scientists led by Andy Heiberg. The skiers who came back from the route to the North Pole took the return flight to Longyear.
Helicopters brought the “express” tourists to the North Pole, where they played a traditional soccer match, drank 5 liters of mulled wine and took lots of wonderful photos – the weather was sunny and windless, though a bit chilly.
We would like to make a special mention of the work carried out by the tractor drivers. Today they built a second runway at an angle of 20 degrees to the original landing strip. Now all flights to Barneo will land (or rather “ice”) on the new strip.
April 9, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 11' N, 131° 15' E
Air temperature: -15 °C. Wind speed: 5-8 m/sec (Northwest).
The weather improved today and Barneo returned to its usual schedule. In the morning an An-74 flight brought fuel for the American scientists, who will soon begin their work at Barneo.
The marathon runners, who wanted to get on the return A-74 flight to Longyear and make the daytime flight to Oslo, had to wake up very early, since they still planned to take a helicopter trip to the North Pole.
Inge Solheim's ski group and some Russian divers arrived on the second An-74 flight. Inge Solheim took his team to the North Pole straight from Barneo. The divers spent the day checking their equipment under the guidance of Mikhail Safonov.
Raphael, who wanted to give his dogs a chance to get in shape, decided to organize sled rides around the camp for “special achievers” on the Barneo team. The “special achievers” had a blast and everyone else is now trying to “achieve” through extra hard work to get a chance to take the reins of the dog sled.
April 8, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 18' N, 126° 13' E
Air temperature: -3 °C. Wind speed: 8-12 m/sec, blizzard.
The bad weather continues, although at some points during the day the blizzard died down. At one of the quieter moments, the Chinese skiers guided by Mikhail Lamakin and Viktor Simonov were brought over to the route. Meanwhile, two members of the group led by Thomas Ulrich took advantage of this opportunity to come back, voluntarily deciding not to complete their participation in the expedition to the North Pole. The Ulrich group had set out from the camp on April 4.
Due to the poor weather conditions and the cracks along the landing strip, the two An-74 flights that were scheduled for today have been postponed until tomorrow (in the hopes that the weather will improve and the cracks will freeze over). Scientists took core samples of the ice at the site of the cracks and discovered that they are not very deep, which gives us reason to hope that they will not split further apart.
Prior to lunch two lectures were presented in the mess tent: expedition leader Vadim Prudnikov spoke about the first drifting station, North Pole-1 and dog sled driver Raphael spoke about his expeditions on Spitsbergen.
After lunch a soccer match was held between a team of marathoners and a team of the Barneo crew. The Barneo team won the game -- two rounds of 20 minutes each – with a score of 4:2, thanks to the practice of playing daily matches together.
In the evening, everyone gathered to celebrate the birthday of Russian scientist Sergei Polyakov, who received congratulations in every language.
Sergey Polyakov celebrating his Birthday |
After analyzing the weather forecast and the state of the cracks across the runway, the Barneo team decided to build a backup landing strip, a location for which has already been selected. With three tractor operators using two tractors and working around the clock, this should not take very long.
April 7, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 23' N, 127° 24' E
Air temperature: -4°C. Wind speed: 9 m/sec with gusts of 12 m/sec (Northwest). Visibility: about 400 meters, blizzard.
Distance from the North Pole: 74 km. The ice floe drifted about 15 kilometers in 24 hours
At about 3am the entire Barneo team was woken up for a storm alarm. Within minutes the wind sped up to 15-20 m/sec. There was a risk that the gusts would blow away the mess tent, which has the largest area affected by the wind. Standard tent fixtures are not sufficient and need to be reinforced. Since the Barneo staff already has experience in such operations (a similar situation occurred in 2007) the team worked smoothly and quickly, installing additional rebars under the guidance of Eduard Orlov.
Alas, the blizzard prevented the helicopters from taking the ski groups to the starting points of their routes, so they continued prep work at the camp. As usually happens during bad weather, Victor Boyarsky told the story about the international Trans-Arctic ski expedition of 1989, in which he participated. The talk, held at the mess tent, was accompanied by the unique slides from the trip.
The BBC film group worked at the pilots' camp all day, and then at the scientists' camp.
Because of the storm, the dog team driver, Raphael, brought the old lead dog, whose black fur is turning gray with age, to one of the staff sleeping tents. Everyone was so happy to have him that some suspect that the dog might not be brought back to his usual habitat even after the weather gets better.
By lunchtime the blizzard started calming down and at 4pm the marathon began. Two Barneo team members who weren't on duty, Alexander Pilipenko and Dmitry Mamadaliev, decided to join the runners. Almost the entire Barneo crew worked to ensure safety along the route. In addition, Raphael's dogsled and a snowmobile with Konstantin Timakov as the driver were standing by in case anyone needed emergency care.
The marathon was very difficult, with a blizzard and wind speeds of 45 km/hr. However, despite the difficult weather conditions, no one left the race. The winner among the men in the marathon was Joep Rozendal of Holland. The first woman to reach the finish line was Emer Dooley of Ireland. Paddy Clark of Great Britain was the oldest runner at 65. Another achiever was Jaime Cuthbertson, a visually impaired marathoner, who ran in tandem with an assistant.
Base captain Mikhail Shumavtsov was the first to spot a snow bunting, an arctic song bird, during the race.
Unfortunately there was also an emergency situation today. Two cracks opened through the territory of the base and across the landing strip. A “Night Watch” was organized to observe ice conditions and included Pavel Ivanushkin, Sergei Pisarev, Yuri Sergeev and Alexander Pilipenko.
April 6, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 28' N, 107° 30' E
Air temperature: -8°C. Wind speed: 8-12 m/sec (West).
Distance from the North Pole: 61 km.
The weather started changing in the morning. It got warmer and the wind picked up, with gusts of over 12 m/sec.
Two An-74 flights arrived within 3 hours. Conditions for the second landing were quite challenging due to the strong wind and poor visibility.
The first flight brought 28 marathon runners, headed by Richard Donovan. They will begin their program tomorrow. Today is reserved for acclimatization. On the second flight were two groups of skiers: 8 from China (guided by Mikhail Lamakin and Viktor Simonov) and a six-person international team (Rune Gjeldnes).
In addition, a BBC television group arrived, headed by legendary documentary filmmaker David Attenborough. They will shoot a film about the daily grind at Barneo.
All new arrivals familiarized themselves with the rules of conduct at the polar base and settled in to their tents. After lunch the tourists began their own tasks. Donovan and expedition leader Vadim Prudnikov started marking the marathon route (which was quite difficult since the snow had almost entirely blown away). Ski team guides Lamakin and Simonov held a training session next to the camp, teaching the Chinese skiers to assemble tents. The BBC film crew reconnoitered the area, prepared their equipment for shooting in the tricky arctic conditions, and discussed and edited the script.
Vadim Prudnikov –
expedition leader |
Yury Evdokimov –
oceanologist
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Professor Igor Melnikov
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Alexander Talanov –
expedition leader |
During the submersion (a picture from the monitor)
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Work at the research camp is also underway. Igor Melnikov, Yuri Yevdokimov and Yulia Savenko made a dive under the ice.
After everyone was done for the day, a traditional evening soccer match was held.
April 5, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 29' N, 100° 58' E
Air temperature: -17° C. Wind speed: 8-10 m/sec with gusts of up to 12 m/sec.
Distance from the North Pole: 57 km.
This was a quiet working day. The construction of the sauna was completed to everyone's joy and a celebratory “bath” took place in the evening.
Russian scientists made an interesting discovery. Ostracods* were found at a depth of 150-300 meters for the first time ever.
Nikita Rybin -
mechanical engineer |
Sergey Orlov –
assistant to chief of the camp
|
Denis Romanov – cook |
Igor Timofeev – head of flights |
Eduard Orlov
on his way to sauna
|
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*Ostracods (Ostracoda) are a subclass of invertebrate crustaceans. Their bodies (about 0.2mm to 23mm in length) are enclosed in calcareous bivalve shells . Ostracods are the prey of certain commercially harvested fish and their habitats are a major factor in the exploration of oil and gas deposits.
April 3, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 28' N, 88° 51' E
Air temperature: -26° C. Wind speed: 2 m/sec (Southeast). Sunny.
Distance from the North Pole: About 60 km.
The first real polar toilet was set up today. Not the comfortable white and blue cabin that was used in the first few days, but rather one made out of snow. This is a toilet for true polar explorers, who are not afraid of the cold or the wind.
The scientists achieved a lot. They took probes of water layers at 0-1500 meters, which allowed them to determine with precision the power of the warm Atlantic current at 150-770 meters. According to experts, the temperature at the core of these waters is close to 1.5°C. The top 50 meters are shifted by vertical winter circulation and make up a homogenous layer with a temperature of -1.8°C.”
Glaciologists took several core samples in order to study ice properties and made two cuts to measure ice thickness. Their research had a victim: the drill bit broke and got stuck in the ice.
In the evening, once all the work was done, the first soccer match of the season was held at the Barneo ice field. The first team included Matvei Shparo (captain), Mikhail Shumavtsov, Vadim Prudnikov, Igor Timofeev, Galina Paramonova, Masao Egi and Kotaro Kogi. Their opponents were Oleg Sidorov (captain), Vasily Vedyanin, Vladimir Bulatnikov, Dmitry Kozlov, Vadim Rubin and Tatyana Yakovleva, with Konstantin Timakov as goalkeeper. The game was opened with a rainbow shimmering over the stadium.
Galina Paramonova made the first goal with Matvei Shparo's assist. Then, Sidorov's team broke ahead, but in the end Shparo's international team won with a score of 4:3. One of the winning goals was kicked by 71-year-old Japanese businessman Kotaro Kogi.
Galina (chef of Barneo) –
author of the first goal |
Two captains fighting for the ball
|
Doctor Stas Boyarsky |
Unfortunately the match was interrupted by a telephone call from Dixie Dansercoer, the guide from one of the teams that was still en route. Dixie said that they had an emergency situation – one of the skiers got severe frostbite on his hand and needed urgent medical assistance. A helicopter with doctor Stanislav Boyarsky took off immediately. Boyarsky provided first aid at the site, after which the injured skier was delivered back to Barneo for further treatment.
April 2, 2010
Coordinates: 89° 27' N, 89° 22' E
Air temperature: -28° C. Wind speed: 2-3 m/sec.
Distance from the North Pole: Just over 60 km.
This was a hard day for the Barneo staff. Two An-74 flights arrived within 30 minutes. The mood in the camp immediately livened up, since the airplanes brought 46 tourists! On the return trip the An-74s took back the landing team. Thanks to them for the great job they did getting everything ready for Barneo to get going!
The expedition guides originally wanted to take their groups out right after the luggage was unloaded. However, upon catching the scent of borscht soup emanating from the kitchen they changed their plans and happily stayed for lunch.
After the meal, helicopters ferried over six expedition groups to the starting points of their routes:
– The group led by Victor Boyarsky (12 people),
– Dixie Dansercoer (13 people),
– Eric Phillips (2 people),
– Marcus Cornelissen (8 people),
– Douglas Stoup (2 people),
– Miroslav Jakes (6 people).
Only Egi Masao and Kogi Kotaro of Japan, who aren't here for the “athletic challenge” remained at the base under the watchful eye of guide Tatyana Yakovleva.
The staff of the Barneo camp is thrilled to wish mechanic Alexei Korostelyuk “Happy Birthday!”, the first he will celebrate on an ice floe. Due to Alexei's busy schedule, the barbeque will be held tomorrow. We will try to post photos from the party.
April 1, 2010
Coordinates: N 89° 27 ' and E 89° 05'.
The air temperature: -30°C. Southern wind, 7m/sec (South). Visibility is over 10 000 m, clear and sunny. Distance from the North Pole is about 60 km.
In the morning, after a hearty breakfast (cottage cheese pancakes and porridge) Russian tourists Alexei Solovyev and Vasily Kolesnikov began their trip, accompanied by guide Raphael and 12 huskies.
On the way... |
Guide and dogteam driver Raphael
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North Pole |
A team of Russian scientists set up tents for hydrological observations and cut a hole in the ice that would be used by scuba divers for taking probe measurements.
Russian scientists making a lane |
The lane is ready
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Zhaliuzi-2 point (from helicopter)
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Constraction of the mess-room
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The members of a landing team that had stayed behind at Zhalyuzi-2 were brought over to Barneo along with the fuel they were guarding. Tomorrow Bakalov's crew will leave the camp, having done a stellar job with their difficult tasks. Today they already took a swim in the “polar pool”, a tradition that is observed faithfully every year before the guys head back to “civilization.”
March 30-31, 2010
At noon on March 30, 2010 the crew consisting of aircraft commanders Andrey Klimov and Andrey Volkov, navigator Oleg Muntyan, co-pilot Vladimir Aslamov, flight engineer Vladimir Obukhovsky and operator Alexander Oleynikov accomplished the first technical flight of An-74 to the ice aerodrome. Thus Barneo ice camp has started. Its coordinates on March 30: N 89° 28' è E 084° 42'. The runway, 1500 meters long, is in perfect condition. The weather is fine (-27° C, sunny and calm).
First landing of AN-74 on ice (March 30, 2010)
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The ice base 31.03.10 morning
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On the day there were 2 flights with the personnel and the cargo for the camp. Right on their arrival the technical team started to tent. Members of Bakalov’s landing party together with pilots bring the fuel by helicopters from Zhaliuzi-2 point to the base. By the evening there stood the two mess-rooms, the kitchen and several tents to live in – the base is ready to welcome first guests.
Next day, March 31, the guests arrived: Russian scientists directed by professor Melnikov (they have already started their work) and 2 dog teams. The dogsled program starts on April 2, and for now the animals have to acclimatize themselves after the flight.
Barneo ice camp operates in normal mode.
March 27 – 29, 2010
As of Saturday March 27th, point Zhaluzi-1 no longer exists - both helicopters set out for
the North Pole. Once the refueling was done at the point Zhaluzi-2, and after a short rest,
Plenkin team began the search for an appropriate ice area that can be deemed suitable for
setting up camp. Plenkin team was fortunate, and it wasn’t long before they have found a
promising, oval ice formation. It’s likely that the shape of the ice is due to the ice shifting and
water coming through, as a result of the shifting ice, the water then freezes again, and
becomes a perfect place for building an airstrip on which planes can land and take off. This
ice formation is 2 kilometers and the width of the ice is 1.6 meters. There are icebergs on all
sides of the formation and that should secure the area and keep it in tact, should the ice shift
again.
In the early morning on March 28th, Il-76 flew out from Murmansk and dropped off two
tractors needed for the clearing of the space and building a landing strip for the aircraft.
Tractor driver - Vasily Vedyanin, jumped with a parachute along with Yury Zharkov, so that
they can start the work immediately. Two tractors which were dropped off will be used
throughout the 24 hours and three tractor drivers will work in turn. The pilots are putting up
tents, and arranging all the living accommodations. After all, this is a place where they would
have to live for more than a month.
Vladimir Kruglov - flight dispatcher |
The helicopter |
Nikolay Vedyanin - tractor driver |
Yury Zharkov and Vasiliy Vedyanin - tractor driver |
On March 29th AN-74 set out from Moscow to Longyearbyen. On board were the remaining
members of the expedition, as well as, the Russian scientists that will begin their work
immediately upon arrival in Barneo camp. Everything is ready for the first technical flight-we
are awaiting the information from Vladimir Kruglov, the person in charge of all the flights
taking place, as to when the newly built airport on ice is ready to take in the first incoming
flight and the work in the Barneo camp can begin in full swing.
March 24 - 26, 2010
A commission supposed to determine the extent
of the damage made to the crashed helicopter has arrived at Zhaliuzi-1 point (85° 45' N and 89° 56' E).
After they do the job Plenkin’s party will leave Zhaliuzi-1 for Bakalov’s location to refuel helicopters and let the crews have rest before starting their search for
an ice-field for Barneo.
The group of Bakalov at Zhaliuzi-2 waste no time - the guys have been
exploring the neighborhood to judge on the condition of the ice – if it is good enough for the camp construction. Unfortunately they observe only
active hummocking around them which means that Plenkin will need to look for an ice floe
somewhere far off from the Zhaliuzi-2 point (which is now at 89° 44’ N and 85° 43’ E). The temperature is -27° C, clear.
Meanwhile in Longyearbyen a meeting was held on the interaction concerning Barneo between the Russian side (represented by the leaders of the expedition) and the Norwegian (in the person of the head of the Longyear airport security service).
Airport manager
Ole Rambech |
Alexander Orlov |
Deputy airport manager |
The technical team of the expedition under direction of the chief engineer
Vladimir Bulatnikov have been busy at the storehouse all these days – sorting the cargo and preparing it for shipment to the base.
A mechanic engineer Constantin Timakov could not acclimatize himself easily - right after his arrival from Moscow he caught
a viral infection. All our efforts and medicines were thrown to the rescue of our comrade. The result was not long in coming - despite the prescription to stay in bed
Konstantin was found at his worksite after two days -
cheerful and healthy.
The entire expedition team congratulates our system administrator
TERTITSKAYA Margarita on her Happy Birthday! In view of that a
celebratory pizza is ordered for today.
Lady of the day -
Margarita Tertitskaya |
Zhdanov Alexey |
March 16-23, 2010
Yearly arctic Barneo-2010 expedition has officially began
On March 16th, the first group represented by the parachute jumpers, began their journey to the North Pole from Murmansk. Once in Murmansk, there is a lot of work to be done: meeting the delivery with all the necessary equipment brought from Moscow, as well as the fuel modification which will allow for the fuel to be dropped off on the ice. These necessary preparations take several days and are the reason why parachute jumpers must be the first ones to arrive in Murmansk. In charge of the equipment/gear classification and organization in Murmasnk are: Dmitri Glagolev, Boris Privalov, Boris Komratov, Mikhail Osipov, Nikolay Vlasenko, Oleg Sobolev, Yuri Zharkov, Sergey Keilin (who is also a doctor) and Alexander Zemlemerov.
Two days later, on March 18th, from Norilsk, (via both Dikson and isl. Sredniy) to the location at the so called Zhaliuzi-1 point (86 N) two MI-8 helicopters have departed with the technical crew “Taimyr” and the tractor drivers on board..
However, on the approach to isl. Sredniy it has become clear that the weather conditions would not allow for the flight continuation. Only two days later, on March 21, the helicopters were able to carry on with their mission and safely arrived at their destination, point Zhaliuzi-1, for refueling. After identifying the most appropriate area on the ice that will become the designated fuel drop off point, its exact position was communicated to Murmansk. Having done their work and now awaiting for the plain with fuel to arrive, pilots could relax and catch a breath.
After the designated fuel drop off position and the weather information was received in Murmansk, the airplane was ready to depart. Iliushin 76 under the command of its pilots, Gennadi Grebenschikov and Alexander Kuzmenkov, dropped off the fuel to Plenkin’s team and took direction to the North Pole where the next refuel stop for the helicopters will be at point Zhaliuzi-2. To prevent the loss of the fuel in the endless Arctic a group headed by Evgeny Bakalov has landed together with it – they will aim the helicopters on the Zhaluzi-2 point.
The team includes: Vladimir Pligin, Alexey Budnitskiy, Alexander Gusarov, Yuri Vavulov (doctor) and Roman Dementiev.
At this time an accident happened at the point Zhaliuzi-1. One of the two helicopters caught a ridge with its tail and was forced to make an emergency landing. It landed on its side but fortunately no one has suffered any injuries. This unforeseen event has altered our plans as we must now wait for another helicopter to arrive from Norilsk.
As of March 23 Zhaliuzi-1 point is located at 86°40’ 700 N and 092°20’ 600’’ E and point Zhaliuzi-2 (Bakalov’s group) at 89°44’ 421’’ N and 102°51’ 163’’ E.
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