The second part of the BELARE 2011-12 Season has begun

26 pictures posted on the 31.12.2011

23 December 2011 : 9 Germans and 8 IPF team members are landing after a 4 days waiting in Cape Town.

23 December 2011 : 9 Germans and 8 IPF team members are landing after a 4 days waiting in Cape Town.

© International Polar Foundation - Alain Hubert

  • 23 December 2011 : 9 Germans and 8 IPF team members are landing after a 4 days waiting in Cape Town.
  • The all team is ready with sledges and skidoos to unload the cargo coming in from Novolazarevskaya.
  • Benoit Tyberghien, a field guide, in small reccy trip with AH and Gigi. They have to bore the ice to plant a bambou with flag in it.
  • The best way to recognize the old tracks is to plant bamboos along the way. They have to be sticked into the ice on a depth of 80 cm at least.
  • 25 December / What a moment : we stop at a place where the Belgians of the fomer King Baudoin base had a depot back in1959-60. Paper and matches are miraculously unbroken. Because the air there is so thin and dry.
  • Gigi is walking on the couloir where one finds the point of impact between the tectonic plates of Antarctica and Africa.
  • We are almost invisible on this ice and rocks immensity.
  • This is what remains of the measurements of the geodesic points made by the Japanese researchers in 1989, south of the Viking Hogda mountain.
  • These are another part of the remainings of the measurements of he geodesic points made by the Japanese researchers in 1989, south of the Viking Hogda.mountain.
  • These are another part of the remainings of the measurements of he geodesic points made by the Japanese researchers in 1989, south of the Viking Hogda.
  • Here is the blue ice : one finds the blue ice all over the Antartic. But even more in this region of the 6th Continent because of the heavy winds that blow in this specific area all year around..
  • 23 December 2011 : the amount of snow is so important this year that we can travel with the sidoos into the dry valleys located south of the base. Doing so, we can reach the Larsen mountains much quicker than before.
  • 24 December 2011 : because of the nice weather (that just came back since two days) we can go for a small reccy trip outside the buildings.
  • Reccy trip southwest of the Station ; the windscoop visible here has been created by the wind and the heat of the rock, and formed a small frozen lake too.
  • Here is the nunatak Yukotori ; it is quite similar with the one we have near the station. During winter, the snow petrels gather here for breeding.
  • Behind Alain Hubert, one sees the nunatak Yukotori ; it is quite similar with the one we have near the station. During winter, the snow petrels gather here for breeding.
  • Mr Motoyoshi San from NIPR (National Institute of Polar Reserach in Tokyo) and 2 aviation inspectors cameto visit the station as its unique approach of
  • To cook David Rigotti the prepare the stuffed turkey is an art even here in the Antarcrtica. In fact, David is preparing here the evening meal for our Christmas Eve.
  • It's not at all certain that our chef David will have plenty of free time with these 25 inhabitants of the station -that's true for the second part of the 2011-12 BELARE season.
  • IPF team members Johan Berte and Eric Verhagen explain to the Japanese officials how works the DPMS (water supply) at our station.
  • Here a view of one of the main room of the buildings.
  • Before starting the second part of the season, one has always to have different meetings among us to better organize the time and the teams (maintenance and scientific work).
  • It's so good to have a nice meal after the meetings. Thanks to David our chef coq.
  • Meeting of the medical team : it has to organize a hypothetical emergency pick up of a sick person by helicopter.
  • Test of one of the emergency exits of the station by one of the german scientists during the technical visit when arriving at PE.jpg
  • IPF team (which is composed by 14 people for the second part of the BELARE 2011-2012 season) has his first general meeting to see how to cope with the technical program and science support throughout the season..