Today will be the last day on Antarctica (weather permitting and the weather always has the last word here). We are due to fly out on the Ilyushin this afternoon so the morning will be spent sorting out all the kit, making sure its packed in all the right boxes and that the batteries are also packed to meet the shipping regulations as I will only have a few hours in Punta Arenas to repack all the survey equipment in to the shipping boxes and pallet for the return trip to the UK.

I also need to pack up all my personal kit and deliver it to the “baggage handlers” for loading on to the sledge which is towed the 10k to the main ice runway.

I provided Seth with some of the survey data so he could load in to the camp GIS system but he was also out on the same flight out today so we didn’t have a lot of time to review. This will be a one of the off season tasks that need to be finalised. 

Topcon Bob gets about a bit. This is his 2nd visit to Antarctica so he wanted a farewell picture on the ice, although he decided to stay when he saw the ops office.

I decided to head off early with a small group to the runway to meet the incoming flight. It would mean a few hours waiting before we would be able to board for departure but we would get to see the Ilyushin landing and I’m used to waiting for aircraft departures.  I was joined by Ice maiden Sandy who volunteered to get the teams photos of the landing so I was in good company.

At the Union Glacier Ice runway with the Ilyushin coming in to land.

Ice Maiden Sandy happy to be heading home or just Happy to still be on the ice?

While the ALE staff unloaded all the cargo from the aircraft and transferred our baggage onboard we had a couple of hours in the departure lounge, which in true ALE style was equiped with hot drinks and snacks. No frequent flyer points needed here.

Some of the ALE mountain guides were also heading out on this flight. Seth who had taken care of us on our survey trip was also departing, but not heading home for a break as I would have expected, but off to Kilimanjaro for another guiding trip! When your work is this amazing why would you need a holiday?

The rest of the passengers arrived when the cargo was loaded and we boarded with a sad farewell to Antarctica. I am confident that most visitors who experience Antarctica close up want to return and I certainly do. It’s a place that I feel has much more to offer than my short experienced and much more for me to explore.  I can’t wait…….

 

It was much colder on our return to Union and there was a strong  wind gusting. Breakfast was notified to be 10am instead of the usual early time as many of the camp guests and staff had not gotten a lot of sleep for the previous 24 hours due to the conditions.

The last guests who were out in the field arrived back last night with a small group opting to make an impressive ski kiting return from a climbing expedition under their own power instead of taking the earlier Twin Otter flight as some of the their team had.

They were even feeling good for a bit of Rugby “France v England” knockabout. Bring on the 6 Nations…..

A lot of the guest tents had already been packed away when we arrived back and the camp staff were busy packing up all non essential items in preparation for the end of season. There was still some time for the “tourist” shots. Even if I did have to hold up the sign post in the wind as it was just about to be packed up…

I experienced first hand the power of the wind when returning to the shell tend and finding a lot of stuff on the floor and the table tipped up. Given the shape of these tents it was surprise to see that the wind had bowed the side of the tend so much to knock over the table.  I’m glad I wasn’t outside of camp with wind chill at -28 when the wind had dropped!

The Ice maidens were back at union glacier and I met up with these impressive ladies in the mess tent. The group from the British Army were the first all female team to cross Antarctica on skis from Leveret Glacier to  Hercules Inlet via the South Pole. You can read all about their journey here http://exicemaiden.com.  The BBC were present to film and interview them on their last day and they were busy with lots on interviews and will be visiting schools and presenting at events in the UK to share their adventure and inspire others. If you see one of their events advertised I would encourage you to go.

They were enjoying a well earned rest and it was good to hear about their expedition and some of the challenges faced and adventures along the way. Maybe the donated G+T with Antarctic ice of course helped their recovery.