The Convoys

The most challenging task that awaits any Indian Antarctic Expedition has finally started- The Convoys. The ship carrying our supplies and rations for the whole year drops them off on the ice shelf about 90 km from here. The winter team runs convoys to fetch them. The convoys usually start in mid March after the summer team leaves and continue till mid May when it gets too cold and windy to work in the open. But this year, due to excessive ice melting and lack of adequate fresh snow deposition even till mid April, the route was unsuitable and convoys had to be postponed. Maitri is located in a rocky area surrounded all around by the continental ice cap. The vehicles used for convoys are the Pisten Bullys. These are tracked vehicles meant for running on snow. In the initial 5 km of the route when the convoy is leaving Schirmacher, the glacier is not very thick. Poor ice conditions have caused the underlying ground to become exposed at places, making the route uneven and nonnegotiable. Our rations were getting exhausted and delaying the convoy any more was not possible. So the logistics staff undertook a daunting task of constructing a 5 km kutcha road by clearing the rocks and boulders. This work was done in temperatures well below freezing point with 30 knots wind worsening the situation. After the road was constructed, the next task was to see if the trailers could be taken out without overturning. This was also achieved and 4 trailers were dropped off at Sankalp Point. There are 3 trailers already present on the ice shelf, taking the total number to seven. A full convoy was now possible. The generator named Jeevan Jyoti for the living module named Banjara had still to be moved out. This was the most crucial task because the generator for heating and electricity in Banjara, without which life would be really unpleasant with temperatures on the ice shelf being 10° less than at Schirmacher (remember my experience on the glacier). The loaded trailer might still topple over. This task was also achieved. The convoy has finally left today, 15th April at 5AM with 6 Pisten Bully’s carrying 9 people including one doctor. The entire station was up all night to prepare for the convoy. Rations were loaded, meals for the journey were prepared, vehicles were started early to enable them to warm up, aarti was performed before departure. The convoy is expected to return in 3 days if weather permits.