Yesterday morning the ACT-15 team had to deal with gale force winds described by Mike as “the worst storm yet”. Snow was blowing directly into the torn latrine tent and no one dared to venture out to the privy…for a while anyway. At least they enjoyed a hearty musk ox goulash for dinner. All the… Read More
Yesterday at DYE 2, bad whiteout winds kept the team pretty much hunkered down. They did however, manage to set up the latrine tent during the storm, but the strong winds ripped the tent door open. Visiting the latrine is now a “spin-drifty experience” as described by Mike. Better weather was had today and was… Read More
Today’s snowmobile traverse to DYE 2 was rather uneventful at the start, but about 35 km/22 mi in, the team was faced with strong head winds and blowing snow which produced full on whiteout conditions with temperatures hovering around -30˚F. With no visibility of the horizon line for the remaining 60 km/37 mi, they exclusively depended on their GPS… Read More
The ACT-15 science team is packing up camp and traversing to DYE 2 today. Although there is still blowing wind and snow, overall the weather has much improved since yesterday’s whiteout storm. Click on the image below to track the team’s position in real time! … Read More
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… Read More
Another storm with wind speeds at 30 knots is keeping the ACT-15 team held back at Saddle Camp for today and possibly tomorrow as well. Snow drifts keep the team busy shoveling snow off of the tents and entrances. Thankfully they brought more than enough food, so they’re eating quite well. This morning they had a… Read More
Despite a slew of technical difficulties, the science team completed all tasks in one day at Saddle Camp and if weather cooperates, they will traverse back to DYE2 tomorrow! However, Mike said, another round of harsh weather is expected to move in to the area. The good news is, the team is still ahead of schedule.… Read More
News from the Greenland Ice Sheet reveals that the storm has cleared overnight and after about 12″ of fresh snow, the camp is buried in 3′-4′ snow drifts. Once they dig themselves out, the ACT-15 team is traversing to Saddle Camp today after having to wait out the storm for the past two days at… Read More
A text message from Mike this morning informed me that the team is held back yet another day as weather has deteriorated into whiteout conditions. However, winds are expected to calm down later in the day. If weather improves as projected, the team will begin traversing to Saddle Camp tomorrow. Considering that the team has been… Read More
Strong winds have picked up and gusts are expected to reach up to 40-50 knots later this evening. Mike has decided to sit tight at the NASA-SE camp today rather than attempt a traverse that could very quickly turn into a perilous situation for his team. The decision to traverse to Saddle will be reevaluated based on… Read More
