With some swift teamwork and a few cranks of the Tirfor handle (a sturdy mechanical cable winch from the WW2 era; heavy and slow but very robust), the Hägg came up over the rise, signaling the end of Hägg recovery training. As a requirement for being able to travel on sea ice, the station crew must first get up to speed on how to recover a Hägg should the worst-case scenario occur and it break through the ice. The day was well run by station mechanical supervisor Kingy and the equipment well prepared and laid out by dieso Jose.
We’d been waiting for a suitable window to conduct this training with the station experiencing two blizzards in the last couple of weeks, creating plenty of blizz tails to navigate. Even today there was still a brisk 25 knot wind with -14°C, so everyone got actively involved in the training to stay warm. Participants now have a good understanding of what is required should a vehicle end up in the drink, and how much they don’t want that to happen!
There's also only a matter of days left until we lose the sun for six weeks. It’s interesting how quickly the days shorten and you adjust to living in the dark, but it’s particularly special to experience brilliant auroras cruising across the sky while walking to work.
The weeks continue to fly along. We’ve been here for over three months now and it feels like five minutes: another day, another adventure! Actually living the dream!
Jono Tobey
Station mechanic
