The Arctic Arc: First resupply
Overflying the camp
© International Polar Foundation
Alain Hubert and Dixie Dansercoer are still progressing at a good pace towards the North Pole. Sunday evening, 8th of April, after 39 days on ice, a helicopter met up with them with the resupply goods nessary for the two men's survival.
Most expeditions aiming to cross the Arctic leave from Siberia and end in Ellesmer Island, a journey of approximatly 1700 kilometers. The expedition undertaken by Alain and Dixie is far more ambitious: their goal is to go to the southernmost tip of Greenland, some 4300 kilometers away from the starting point, after approximatly 4 months of adventure.
For such a long journey, resupplies are compulsory. These are organised by the team following the expedition, and in particular by Viktor Boyarsky who's in charge of the logistics: he is the one who plans and organises everything (purchases, transport, etc.) so that the explorers will receive all they need in due time.
This first resupply went perfectly well: it was beautiful weather; the ice upon which Alain and Dixie had travelled during the day was thick, allowing the MI8 helicopter to land without danger. On board was all the material they needed and... 9 people ! Both Alain and Dixie's wives, Boyarski, one of Gigi's daughters and the five pilots for the MI8 all disembarked onto the ice. All the equipment was dropped off next to the camp. While the two men unpacked everything and ticked the items off the checklist, Hubert's wife downloaded the 700 photos taken by the expedition so far, and which had not been sent by satellite on account of battery problems.
"We also took the time to drink a bottle of wine together," Alain went on. "It was the first time for me to receive fresh supplies in this way in mid-expedition and I found the whole operation rather surreal. We spent two-and-a-half hours together and it was a great moment I must say. I had the impression that it wasn't them coming to us, but rather that it was us who had suddenly been transported over to another world..."
Note : An MI 8 helicopter needs five pilots to fly :
- Two pilots are at the controls, just as in any aircraft
- A cartographer handles the navigation
- An operator is responsible for the radio
- The last one is the " cargo handler ": he unloads the equipment and is the one who goes out immediately after landing in order to check that the ice is strong enough for the helicopter to stay at the chosen location.
Resupply details
Here are a few elements of the equipment dropped off on Sunday April 8th in the evening.
- 3 packages of bandages
- 2 bottles of transcutaneous hexomedine
- 1 set of batteries
- 2 new solar panels
- 1 sleeping bag
- 1 pair of Hagloff trousers
- 1 box of Q-tips
- 1 thermos
- 1 ice brush
- 1 compass
- 4 waterproof Hagloff bags
- 10 plastic bags
- 1 alarm gun
- 10 litres of fuel
- 21 kilos of diced cheese (Comté cheese)
- 500 g of salt
- 10 bars of chocolate
- 1 kilo of Nescafé
- 1 kilo of coffee
- 40 packets of Japanese soup
- 320 sugar cubes
- Etc...
