This was a unique opportunity for me, and a rare one for any member of any expedition, including the convoy team. As is the norm, a joint convoy was planned with the convoy team members of the new team to acquaint them with the work during the convoy, as well as to hand over the equipment at the Indian Shore camp. Additional purpose was to tow the backloading containers to the shelf for the ship to take them back to India. But while this was being planned, we were told that we have to do a joint convoy with the Russians as well to the Russian Shelf (or the barrier as they call it and which I feel is more appropriate) to bring fuel for the ALCI flights. The Russians have been contracted for this job but they were unable to bring the entire quota required by ALCI during their convoys in the winters. Hence India has been approached to assist. This convoy was to be a joint convoy in a true sense of the word- the convoy team consisted of the old and new Indian convoy teams as well as the Russians. We were to go to our shelf as well as the Russian barrier. The entire operation was expected to take 4 days.
6 people from the old team and 4 people from the new team were to go with the convoy. There was no vacancy for me. Hence our leader tied up with the Russians for sleeping arrangements for 2 in their living module as there were sleeping arrangements for only 10 people in the Banjara. The Russians agreed and so another person from the new team was accommodated.
The plan was that we would leave Maitri at 5 AM on 13 Nov 08 and the Russians would leave at 8:30 AM as their vehicles were faster than ours. We would head for the Indian Shelf and meet the Russians enroute. We left the station as per schedule. Initially I was a co driver with Jamwal as usual, but later I was requested to give GPS training to Mr Bishnoi of the new team. Therefore, for the rest of the convoy period, I was with Mr Bishnoi and explained him the basics of navigation using the GPS. The weather was exceptionally warm this time around. The sun was uncomfortably bright. It was not possible to travel without sunglasses. The reflection from the ice made things worse. It was also very warm. We would not have been in much discomfort had we been wearing t-shirts and shorts instead of all the polar paraphernalia that we are now accustomed to. This, inspite of the air temperature of -10ºC. A few of us even lowered our dangris. This was in stark contrast to our plight when we had come to Antarctica late last summer, though at that time the temperatures were on the positive side of zero. We were all shivering down to our bones. This is the extent to which the human body can adapt.
We were all in a relaxed, happy mood. The convoy proceeded uneventfully to the Indian shelf. We finally reached the shelf at 6 PM. As soon as we reached the shelf, we noticed the Russian vehicle approaching us. They reached the Indian shelf by 6:30 PM. Since there was no period of darkness now, it was decided that we would finish unloading of backloading containers and loading of empty fuel tankers at night and leave for the Russian barrier the next day.
The Russian convoy consisted of just one vehicle, which was really huge and powerful. It was a modified T- 72 tank that is also used by the Indian Army. It was in a ramshackle condition and appeared to be on the verge of breakdown. It was tugging their living module as well as an empty container for fuel barrels. Their convoy team consisted of just 4 members, including Dr Benjamin, who has been assisting ALCI in preparing the runway during the winters for use in the summers. Dr Benjamin was fluent in English. The rest could only communicate using sign language. Alexander Sasha could also speak broken English. Most of our communication was restricted to these 2 members.
Dr Benjamin and Sasha have wintered over at various Russian Antarctic stations 3 times. Dr Benjamin, though a surgeon by profession, has switched over to the logistics branch of the Russian Arctic and Antarctic service. The Russian convoy chief has wintered over about 7 times and is the most experienced convoy team member that Russia has. He has been involved in running convoys from Russia’s Mirnyi station to Vostok about 1500 km away from the shores. This convoy takes 2 months to cover this distance, encountering temperatures in the region of -50ºC throughout. He lost 2 of his fingers due to frostbite during one such convoy. He is a very tough but jovial person, as most Russians are.
The Russian vehicles are of Soviet vintage and hence very old. They are capable of pulling 2 to 3 times more load as compared to our pisten bullys but they also require a lot of maintenance. This is evident in the poor shape of the Russian vehicles. They did most of their convoys with just 2 vehicles. The others were unserviceable. One of their vehicles is lying on our convoy route for the last 6 months. This is the reason why they were not able to bring the complete quota of fuel for ALCI. This threatens to stop the flights due to lack of fuel. Hence India was approached for help.
When they reached Indian shelf, after exchanging greetings, we told them about our plan to finish our work on the shelf at night and leave early morning the next day. Thereafter, Sasha expressed his desire to see the Indian shelf. I gladly obliged him and took him around. He was amazed by the cleanliness of our shore camp as compared to the Russian barrier. He did a lot of photography and then we returned to our vehicles. I went with Sasha to the Russian living module. It was massive. But on entering, I found it to be a dingy pigeon hole. It was very congested with poor lighting. It had accommodation for 6 people and was not very well maintained unlike our Banjara. I was told that this living module has been with Novo since 1971. I had some black coffee and snacks with the Russians and chatted up with them. I returned to Banjara with Sasha. He was interested in having tea. I served him some, but he then told me that he does not have milk or sugar. But he had the tea nonetheless and left. When our convoy team returned late at night after work, we invited the Russians over for drinks. They came over, but they are not allowed to have liquor during the convoy, especially the driver. So only Sasha had drinks. This was surprising since Russians are infamous for their voracious capacity for alcohol. We had a lovely evening with them and then they left. We had our dinner, and then I went over to the Russian living module for sleep. Sasha was put on duty to look after me, which he did well. There was a crisp, new bed linen waiting for me. I went off to sleep immediately. The rest of the Russians were already asleep. So there was no chatting. I was told that I would be woken up at 6:30 AM since the Russians were going to leave for the Russian Barrier at 7.
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