Day 27 - Back to Chile

I wake up early and have a bit of a walk - it generally seems to be pretty warm first thing out here and it is great to be about when everyone else is in bed.



The mess tents with the US polar station in the background

The weather looks pretty good here which relieves my concerns and the good weather here breaking and so us getting stuck for longer. The news coming out of UG is encouraging in that the bad weather there is lifting faster than had been predicted so we are probably going to be flying shortly after lunch.

Then news comes out that we might be going all the way back to Punta tonight as they are trying to catch up on the Ilyshin schedule; but this may mean a flight at about 3 or 4 am getting in to Punta at 7 or 8 am and so missing most of the night's sleep. But at least once back there I can have a proper shower and shave, start contacting people and changing my flights. 

Loading the plane

Loading the plane

Team on the plane

We take off a bit after three but need to stop off to pick up some Brazilian scientists on the way back. Unfortunately, despite the fact that they have know about this for a couple of days, they are largely unprepared for our arrival. So whilst I and a couple of others help the crew load the plane with all their equipment and rubbish, the scientists head off to pack their bags and take down their tents. It doesn't appear that any of them have done this before, let alone in polar conditions, so it is both time consuming and amusing to watch. But eventually the plane is loaded and we head on to UG.

Picking up the Brazilians and their rubbish!

Back there we unload the plane before having out celebratory dinner which is a very nice touch - and very good food.

After that we repack and then convene at 23:30 for a 3am flight back to Punta.



Chilean bound Ilushin
 

Much like Vinson, the ski to the pole is really not that challenging at all presuming that you have the right gear and techniques to deal with the cold. The weather is the big unknown which can suddenly make things very difficult - especially if the wind really picks up. In general we had reasonable weather and so the expedition was slightly flat in that whilst it is a beautiful and exhilarating place I have not really had the adventure that I was looking forward to.
However, next up is Everest and if anywhere that should give me something to write home (or a blog) about!!