Let the 2013-2014 season begin!
The International Polar Foundation team arrived at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica station on the 14th of November 2013. They started the four-month BELARE scientific research season with the usual maintenance operations and snow clearing, making the station ready for scientists' arrival.
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Finally at Novolazarevskaya Station (Novo)! As you can see, the weather is still not very nice but, at least, we could get here after one week of delay caused by very poor weather conditions.
© International Polar Foundation
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Once the Ilyushin is unloaded, we make sure everything we need is there. Check-list time!
© International Polar Foundation
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The next step is to load everything into the much smaller Twin Otter that will get us from Novo to the Princess Elisabeth station.
© International Polar Foundation
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Arrival at the station. Pilots are refueling the plane while we load everything on sledges to bring the cargo to the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica.
© International Polar Foundation
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The plane is going back to Novo. All nearby mountains are covered with snow as the storm that delayed us caused heavy snowfall.
© International Polar Foundation
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The container park upon arrival. Everything looks fine!
© International Polar Foundation
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First meal in one of the living containers while we get the station ready.
© International Polar Foundation
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As usual, a lot of snow has accumulated in front of the garages. Our first task is to get rid of it so we can get the Prioths tractors out.
© International Polar Foundation
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The snow melter unit is one of the first things we cleared from snow and serviced. It will provide us with water throughout the whole season.
© International Polar Foundation
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Cleaning the station. We want to make sure everything is ready for when the scientists arrive.
© International Polar Foundation
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Kristof Soete, our chief-mechanic, is servicing all equipment to make sure everything is in good shape.
© International Polar Foundation
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Princess Elisabeth Antarctica in all its glory, with the garages completely free of snow. We still have a bit of work to do to clear the snow off all solar panels, but that should be quick.
© International Polar Foundation
