The Anatomy of an Antarctic Convoy-IV (Work on the Ice Shelf)

During winters it was dark by the time we arrived. We parked our vehicles after choosing a camping site, alongside each other & along the wind direction (which was almost always south- south east).
The Banjara & Jeevan Jyoti were parked next to each other. Camping stores were shifted to the Banjara. The Jeevan Jyoti was started & connected to Banjara after it was sufficiently warm, which usually took half an hour. The Banjara blower was tuned on as soon as the electricity connection was given. In about an hour, the temperature inside rose to 30°C, in contrast to -30 outside. The vehicles were switched off for the night.
Now was the time to open the bubbly, some heart warming conversation & piping hot food, prepared by a few brave souls in the Banjara kitchen. Some of us went out to get sacks full of snow to prepare water. We were all in our night suits by now. It was already 10 PM by the time we finished gorging & already dozing off well before the last person was done. Sleep in the Banjara was instant & fitful. The best sleep I have ever experienced has been in the Banjara.
Activity started again at 5 AM. A few early birds began the day’s proceedings by preparing tea & going out to check on the vehicles after dressing up again. The rest woke up one by one, the last one by 7 AM. I was usually the last one because I did not have a well defined job during the normal day’s proceedings. I used to help the team by doing odd jobs, like preparing meals and looking after the Banjara. The day’s activities varied according to the task assigned to the convoy. This included loading of containers on the trailers, decanting fuel from the oil tankers at the camp into the empty oil tankers on the trailers. Repairing of faulty vehicles, shifting empty tankers and containers on account of excessive snow deposition. These were easy tasks. But not so in the frigid conditions of Antarctica, where we to work in temperatures as low as -35°C as a matter of routine. Simple tasks like opening & tightening of screws assume gargantuan proportions. Vehicles break down, men buckle down, work proceeds at a snails pace. At such low temperatures, metal too tends to break. We all took frequent breaks in the Banjara to warm up & have cups of tea & water. The target was to wind up work as early as possible & leave for Maitri. This usually took 1-2 days. But sometimes it stretched on longer due to the nature of the task assigned to the convoy and weather conditions. Assorted equipment belonging to Maitri on the shelf too required servicing from time to time. At the end of the day, it was again time to relax. Since now we usually had plenty of time to unwind, sometimes a movie was played in the Banjara. Drinks were accompanied by freshly fried snacks. These included French fries, mushrooms, sausages, papads etc. Haldiram’s namkeens were also well sought after. This was also the time to have piping hot food prepared by the enterprising cooks of our team. I often tried my hand at cooking, with mixed results. Every effort was made to the food as oily, greasy & spicy as possible. Non veg food was also prepared. Sometimes we preferred the DFRL food, consisting of biryani, daal, vegetable, chappatis etc, which just needed to be heated before consuming. Banjara food, although far from a gourmet’s delight, tasted heavenly.

Anatomy of an Antarctic Convoy- III (The Journey on the Ice Shelf)

Also read: A Trip into Antarctica Wilderness-II

A Trip into Antarctica Wilderness- III

The Convoy Route

The convoy route was marked after extensive airborne recce during the 1980s and runs along the Russian convoy route for the most part. It was initially marked using oil barrels placed every kilometre or so. But as technology developed, the route was tracked using the GPS. The barrels were named as A1, A2 and so one. The A series started after we crossed the Russian junction, where our route met the Russian convoy route (the Russian Antarctic Station, Novolazarevskaya was 3-4 km away from Maitri). After reaching A6 or A7, we began a gradual descent down to the ice cap onto the ice shelf, the continuation of the continental ice cap onto the ocean. We crossed a number of nunataks (rocky mountain peaks poking out of the ice cap) on the way. This is where we hit the vast, featureless ice shelf- a never ending field of ice stretching out in all directions, interspersed by numerous crevasses lurking beneath thin sheets of snow waiting to gobble up men & machine.

A Nunatak at Barrel Point A5

This is isolation at its best- or worst. Getting stranded here implies a 0% chance of survival.
The shelf was also riddled with numerous lakes, formed by collection of ice melt water in low lying areas. These lakes could not be differentiated from ice because of similar colour of the two. One could drive into these lakes unknowingly. The only way to make out the presence of these lakes was from air. The lakes are not a problem during the winters, when they melt during the summers, they make convoy operations unsafe. There were two such lakes at barrel points A20, after which there was a gradual ascent. This ascent was an uneven, crevasse ridden area. This was the bumpiest ride of the trip. At B7 lay a battered Basler aircraft that had slid off the Russian trailer while it was being towed from the Novo runway to the Russian Barrier. There was also an assortment of Russian vehicles that had broken down on the way. They provided welcome relief from the monotony of the whiteness all around.

The Indian Convoy on the Ice Shelf

As the convoy rumbled on in frigid conditions, we reached point C7. This was where the Indian & Russian convoy routes separated again. This was also where one could find snow accumulated on the ice. We were close to the coast now. Progress was slow because of the snow. The barrels were now placed further and further apart, often as much as 5km. but the route was dead straight. This was monotonous landscape and monotonous driving at its best.

The Ruined Basler Aircraft at B7

The snow accumulation increased as we neared the coast. No ice could be seen anywhere, unlike the more inland regions. Finally, after a minimum of 15 hours journey from Maitri, we reached the Indian Coastal Camp at the edge of the ice shelf, covering a distance of 120 km. it was usually 8 PM by the time we arrived.