Last Thursday, seizing a weather window of relatively calm conditions, a team lead by Dennis B (senior dieso) and including Mark M (dieso), Scott W (chippy), Chris G (chippy), Aaron C (sparky), Rowdy (trades), James M (station leader) and Alex R (BOM) departed Davis for Woop Woop early in the morning with the aim of retrieving a range of vehicles and equipment left from the summer season’s aviation support operations.
Upon arriving at Woop Woop the team found the vehicles considerably beset by snow drifts. While a refuge was being prepared in one of the accommodation modules, the diesos set about conducting vehicle checks and heating the engine bays of the two groomers using Herman-Nelson heaters. Meanwhile, the remaining team members set to the task of excavating the blue Hägglunds oversnow vehicle, both groomers and the skid-steer with shovels. Alex (BOM) activated the WWP automatic weather station and serviced BOM equipment before assisting with vehicle recovery. The field team remained in regular radio contact with Davis station. By late afternoon, under the guidance of Dennis, the team had all vehicles up and running and were ready to return to Davis en convoy, proceeding at a steady pace of 12km/ph.
Conditions had remained mostly calm throughout the day with winds building in the evening, subsiding once off the plateau. On both the outward and return journeys the team were treated to the surreal experience of winding their way across the sea ice, through fields of large icebergs, their distant white sheer walls caught in the headlights of the passing vehicles.
With all AAD/BOM objectives completed for the day, the trip was a great success with thanks to all of the crew for their efforts.