Journey through the ice

It's been nearly 20h that we went away from the bay with 3 convoys full of material. We should be at Utsteinen now, but we've only gone 70km so far. Five days that we cannot wash ouselves, 10 days we barely sleep, 20h I haven't eaten and the storm continues to rage. Until now, we've been progressing slowly, but at least we were. After tanking the tractors during 20 mins, the convoys are overwhelmed by snow. Conductors are forcing, make the machine turn from left to right, 30 tons of material are taken of the snow grip with difficulties then stop a few meters away. That's it ! This time it's over. Some among us are stuck in their machine, others, like me, are in a survival cabin. This time it will have to wait until the weather goes calmer, but for how long ? Shine on you crazy diamond Part 6 to 9 echoes in my ears. The introducing wind of the song is very familiar. Let's keep calm. Think objectively : where are we ? 15 hours sooner Alain fell in a crevasse with the snow motorcycle, the trailer he was carrying saved him... A rescue truck fell as well. A second one had to be sent and hopefully they all came back safe and sound. The snow moto is now on one of the trailers as it is far too dangerous now that the visibility is gone and that winds reach phenomenal speed.

Stuck at around 140km from Utsteinen, we're getting short on food (there's only 200 grams of pasta, some chocolate sticks, some crackers and a bit of Philadelphia) and water. My radio juste died, I have no more contact with others. One of the survival cabins has no heater anymore and the storm could easily last for three days... On top of this, I have to pee like a cow bu there's no way out: I may not find the convoy even if it's some meters aways from me. I'll have to find an empty bottle!
We all knew the journey was risky. Antarctica has always got some surprises and they're not always good. You can get stuck in a storm at any moment and we know this, but it only happen to others of course ! Apparently not always...

One desire: to get to the base camp, to eat, wash a bit and wear clean clothes. Until then we'll have to seriously get a grip, economize the food and water left ... and wait. Once the elements will calm down, we'll have to free the convoys which, after one hour only, are already stuck in the snow! Supertramp's Crime of the Century is now in my ear. It is 11 in the morning on this 23rd December 2007 and the next hours or days won't be funny. Well, I've got to find a bottle...

11h24
I took the risk to go out, I couldn't find any bottle . When I got out I struggled to keep the shelter's door opened, the wind rages at more than 110km/h. I've been behind a container to pee and it pulverized immediatly in the wind and the cold. I want to find the other convoy because it's there that they've got what's left of food, I'm hungry !!! I can't find it even if it shouldn't be more than 10 meters away from me. I decide to go speak to the conductors of my convoy ; I'm going step by step with the cold metal of the sledges in my hand, I can't see a thing ! I stumble and fall in the snow ; there're snow drifts of more than 1m high around us. In the deafening whistle of the wind, I vaguely hear the humming of a 450 hidle horsepower diesel engine : I'm going in the right direction. I got the the front of the vehicle and succeed with difficulty to open the passenger door, stuck by ice and snow. The conductors are trying to sleep after a white night... I shout "Where are the other convoys ?", answer: "No idea, we'll have radio contact by 12 o' clock and we'll see." I decide to go back quickly in my cabin ; the situation is getting worse then. Once inside, I put off my clothes, everything is wet , doesn't get dry and I don't have clothes to change. The atmosphere is insane and humid in this highly isolated place we can't open otherwise it gets quickly buried by snow. Well, I think there're some Mars left in my bagpack, it'll be better than nothing, my stomac is beginning to cry for food. One Mars, a few drop of water and the rest I keep it for later. The wind isn't calming down, on the contrary, the shelter is beginning to shake, so much that I have difficulties to write. I'll try to close my eyes a little, the time should go faster.

16h55
There's been a crisis meeting in one of the survival cabins of one of the 3 convoys which was, in facts, a hundred meters away from us. We spotted each others thanks to GPS. The other convoy is on our left side, at 8 meters... Those who had to attend the meeting went away with a rope attached to our truck. In these conditions you need an "Ariane wire". Alain, Philippe the commandant and Daniel the mountain guide are briefing the situation. Alain got short in his plans, he didn't imagine such situation to happen. He wants to stay here until the weather is getting calmer, but according to the new they could get, it won't calm down before three days. The state of the trucks is getting worse, one of the three shelters has been filled with snow. We are 13 and have nothing to eat. The commandant refuses then this idea, it would be too difficult for our moral, especially for Christmas ! He proposes then to let one of the convoy here, go with two convoy and three trucks. The one without trailer would be used to pull the others when a problem occur. Everyone agree. The mecanos start the engines in the raging storm and we're gone ! We're in the middle of a storm like few of them happen. This crossing'll be in the station's construction record, and I'm part of it !

22h21
We've been going regularly since we started again. Until now at least... as a few minutes sooner, the survival shelter has been shaken in all directions. The convoy stops. Daniel opens the door and ask if everything's ok, he explains we just passed on a 2m20 long crevasse, as theorically the machines only can passe on 2m maximum. Alain told us the crevasse zone was behind. Should we have derived from our initial route ? Certainly yes otherwise this crevasse would have been discovered sooner. I don't exaclty know what's going on... Alain and Daniel walk in front of us to detect other crevasses, don't they know where they are ?
I begin to be really exhausted, I need food. The only thing I could get my hand on in the last 30 hours is a piece of cheese, a few crackers, a bit of Philadelphia and my Mars of course. Also, in all my life I never felt so dirty, and that's enough !
We're going again, it shakes in all directions, no way to write, we must be on ice.

A bit later:
I'm in the rescue truck with Daniel. The visibility is getting better and the wind is calming down. We have to go out from time to time, fix the straps and pull another convoy stuck in the snow. Around 9 am on this 24 December, we hear vaguely on the radio "Base Camp calling, do you copy ?". We are there !!! 10 km left, one hour and we'll be there.
We arrived this morning around 10 am, after 42 hours of hell... I wrote these lines during the trip and write them down clearly now. Tonight we celebrate a hot Christmas in the magnificient base camp of Utsteinen.

The scenery is wonderful, the confort, even so poor, is astonishing regarding the place. I began eating of course, then pick a tent, arrange it, dig at the front so that I could get my clothes while standing in the front of the tent, and made some wooden stairs to get into this hole. Well I settled down. Then I washed myself and finally I write this email which I hope will be sent tonight. Listening to the people here, the environment is very good, the food excellent, but communication media are rare. We shall see.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas ! I'm sure mine will be, at last a minimum of confort.

See you all.