Communications from Mike this morning initially indicated that winds in the area were moderate and that a traverse to DYE 2 was yet undecided. Four hours later, I learned that weather had worsened significantly and that most of Greenland was shut down to all flights. Winds had picked up speed with near zero visibility. Dangerous whiteout conditions required the implementation of camp safety protocols: all team members must carry a GPS unit in their pocket with tent waypoints at all times and are only allowed to walk in straight flagged paths between the tents. In these dangerous conditions, one can easily walk right into or trip over a massive snow drift and/or become disoriented very quickly.
On a lighter note, the toilet paper in the latrine tent had completely unrolled onto a pile on the ground because of the constant force of the wind hitting against the tent wall. Mike said, “What a mess! It looked like a cat had gotten a hold of the TP!”
Take a look at this video clip taken during a snowstorm on the Greenland Ice Sheet from the field campaign dubbed “SPLAZ 2012”:
Video taken by Mike MacFerrin, 2012.
(Note: If you are unable to view the video, make sure you have Adobe Flash Player installed)
