June 3, 2008 – Arrival at Summit
WE MADE IT TO THE SUMMIT OF GREENLAND'S ICE SHEET TODAY!
The New York Air National Guard flew picked us up this morning in Kanger and we took to the skies for a 2.5 hour flight to the top of the ice sheet. As we left Kanger and headed north, the ice edge slowly started to emerge in the distance. The place where solid ice meets the solid bedrock of Greenland and the melting ice pours water across the landscape.
The edge of the largest sheet of ice in the Northern Hemisphere looms in the distance and spills water toward the ocean as it slowly melts
We softly landed on the "ski way” (ice runway) at Summit Camp and were greeted by smiles and heavy equipment to unload our gear. Stepping off the plane was like entering a foreign world! Ice and snow as far as the eye could see. No grass, no trees, no critters. The camp has a few buildings, several tents, and many pieces of scientific equipment. The air was cool and crisp, as you can imagine, with only a slight breeze out of the south. It felt like a chilly day on the ski slopes back home in Montana, only without the mountain!
The NYANG 109th operates special C-130's with skis to land on the Greenland ice sheet
We made our way the Big House (appropriately named because it is larger than the other buildings) where we were briefed on the happenings around camp and given a general orientation. We moved our gear into our arctic tents (so named because they are double walled and "supposed” to keep us a little warmer than sleeping outdoors), and immediately began collecting and moving the research gear.
The Big House contains the galley (kitchen) a large room for dining and is a place where people can go to relax. Atop the roof is a satellite dome that helps provide internet in this remote area of the world (not visible in picture).
For lunch: Chili and jalepeno corn bread with salad!
For dinner: Salad, veggies, halibut with a creamy horseradish sauce with carrot cake for dessert!
Tonight I will try my first night of sleep on the ice. The temperature as I write this is -8 F (-20 C) and I anticipate it to get much colder as the night wears on; even though the sun is up 24 hours a day!
Stay Warm!!