The End Of Isolation.

After enduring a cold and isolated winter, finally it came time to set up the ski landing area (SLA) in readiness for the first of our summer flights. As we are governed by the Australian version of the CAA the runway has to comply with their standards, and as such the process must be managed by qualified people. Two of our team had received training on the ins and outs of ski landing establishment earlier in the year so we were soon set to go.

The first glimpse as they fly over before landing.

Mid morning on Wednesday November 11 four of us set off for the SLA site in Kista Strait just to the west of station. I had volunteered for the role of SLA fireman, and as such I was included in the set up operation. Our part of it was a fairly simple job. All we had to do was mark a safe strip with flags at each end, set up the wind sock and ensure there were no wandering penguins on the landing area when the aeroplane arrived.

The way the system works is that we are required by law to be on the SLA an hour before the flight is due. Flight time from Davis Station is roughly two hours twenty minutes, and once they are past the Amery Ice Shelf they are at the point of no return (PNR). When they are roughly thirty miles out the pilot makes contact with our comm's on VHF, who in turn calls us at the SLA and notifies us of the imminent arrival. Soon enough the Twin Otter was above us as it approached. Right at the last minute I spotted an Adelie penguin scuttling down the runway so a call was relayed to the pilot to pull out of his approach and circle while we went out to divert the little feller from harms way.

Kilo Charlie Sierra taxiing in to greet us.

Penguin disaster narrowly avoided, the pilot made his approach again and within minutes stepped out of his machine with his co-pilot to greet us. Surprisingly the experience of seeing a strange face after nine months of isolation was not at all what I was expecting. I'm not really sure how I was expecting to feel, but for some reason I thought it would be a bit strange meeting someone new after such a long period of isolation. As it was, meeting Russ and Curtis was just like meeting new friends. As well as the two pilots, we were greeted by Jon, an AAD AGSO (aircraft ground support officer). Jon's job was to stay with us for  the week or so and set up the SLA properly with the correct orientation and flagging, and basically manage to ground op's for us.


Refuelling. Spot Fireman Fred.

With the plane secured on the ice we all drove back to station and hosted the pilots for an hour or so to enable them to have  look around and have a bite to eat. The two pilots are both Canadian, and fly the Twin Otter all the way from Canada to spend the southern summer working for the AAD in Antarctica. I spoke to them about their fascinating journey. They leave Calgary, Canada, fly down over the USA, then Central and South America, stopping several times along the way. Their next stop after leaving Chile is Rothera, which is a British station on the Antarctic Peninsula. Here they swap their wheel/ski combination for skis only. They then continue on to the American station at the South Pole, where they stayed for a couple of days before continuing on to Davis Station which is one of ours. This journey takes them approximately two weeks. Understandably the highlight of their trip was flying over the Andes. They depart Antarctica some time in February and head back home via the same route. I would just love to be able to go with them. It would be an incredible adventure.

The ground crew and pilots.

Soon enough it was time for the plane to leave and prepare for Thursdays two scheduled flights to deliver our new summer expeditioners. In exchange we were sending out our dieso' Rob "Angry" Cullen who was only with us for the winter. Angry has had a hard time here this year because lack of effort by his colleague so he was eager to leave. Once again the plane arrived, this time bringing six extra new faces, and we soon had their gear unloaded, the plane refuelled, and Angry on the plane with his gear and in the air. After fulfilling our obligation of remaining on the SLA until the plane had reached PNR we headed back to station for a break and a meal, and soon enough it was time to repeat the process and receive our final flight for the day carrying the final five of our summer crew. Unloaded and refuelled the pilots set off again.

Unloading cargo. Somewhere in there is fresh fruit and our mail!

Five more flights came and went over the next five days until all our summer cargo had been delivered. Each flight can carry approximately one tonne, and we had just under five tonnes to receive. The highlight of the whole event for me was the delivery of our mail! What a thrill it is to receive parcels and postcards from friends and family after so long. In addition to personal mail we also received boxes of fresh navel oranges and pears along with other food items. YUM!! You have no idea how good a navel orange tastes after such a long period without them.

A week after it all began the process was over and we sadly said farewell to Jon. He'd very quickly become a part of the Mawson family. The SLA was packed up and closed for 2015 and we all stood down. It has been good to have some new blood on station. They each bring their own influence, and I have enjoyed showing a few of the ins and outs of station life. Some of them even brought copies of movies released since we left Australia!!