Gearing up…
With our departure for the North Slope of Alaska only a day and a half away, things are getting real very quickly. Seeing the temperatures (currently -18 F, up from a much more intimidating -31 F earlier this morning) and winds (10–20 mph) makes me appreciate the “cold” 40 degree weather we’re experiencing here in Boulder. We spent a bit of time today going over our cold-weather gear, making sure that everyone is prepared for Arctic conditions. Fortunately, things are expected to warm up a bit next week (there are positive numbers in the forecast!), and I’m optimistic that weather will not be a major factor the first few days of our campaign.
The final two days before departure are always challenging, as I do my best to tie up any remaining loose ends at work, at home, and for the campaign itself. Typically, this means lots of meetings with students and colleagues in the office to set up work efforts for the next few weeks while I’m up north, random errands to check off items on the packing list, picking up some last minute parts, equipment, etc., and trying my best to spend quality time with my family. Thanks to help from a lot of people, I think we’ve got most things under control and now it’s time to pack and head north.
On another positive note, the Pilatus UAS (the larger of the two planes that we’re taking up with us) has already arrived at Oliktok Point. It, along with our battery shipment, managed to hitch a ride from Deadhorse to Oliktok with the DOE ARM mobile facility operators and US Air Force contractors. Additionally, one crate of our instruments has made it up to Deadhorse, and the second instrument crate and DataHawk UAS crate have made it to Anchorage and are expected in Deadhorse between now and the time we arrive on Saturday morning. After landing in Deadhorse, we will pick up our rental truck, get the rest of our shipments and make the 2+ hour drive to Oliktok Point. It is great to know that, despite hand-offs between cargo companies and flight disruptions due to erupting volcanoes, our equipment seems to have shipped successfully. This is in large part due to the efforts of Valerie Sparks at Sandia National Laboratories who has significant experience with shipping to Oliktok and always helps us navigate the challenges.
Finally, a bit about the team… I am traveling along with Doug Weibel (mission pilot), Tevis Nichols (CU graduate student and ground station operator) and Phillip D’Amore (CU graduate student and instrument specialist). We depart Denver on Friday (4/1) and will overnight in Anchorage before heading up to Oliktok on Saturday morning. Al Bendure (Sandia National Laboratories) will meet us at Oliktok and act as our safety officer, bear guard, and FAA coordinator. This will be my third campaign working with Al and he always helps to make things easy for us — it will be good to see him again.
The next updates will be from the road — I’m looking forward to getting started!
