TRANSPOLAR SKITREK PROGRESS REPORT #12: April 15, 1988 Prepared by Rich Ensign, N8IWJ, AMSAT Science Education Advisor For Use With The AMSAT Teachers Guide "Exploring The High Arctic From Your Classroom" This past week the Amateur Radio supported Transpolar Skitrek Expedition rested following their third air drop of supplies on April 13th. As it dropped its load of food, fresh batteries and other items, the plane's inertial guidance registered a position of 88 degrees 11.5 minutes North and 97 degrees 7.0 minutes East. By Friday, April 15th the floe on which the skiers were camped had drifted westward to 91 degrees 41.2 minutes East. This was not a great distance, however, as longitude lines get closer together as the group approaches the Pole. The trek got underway again on April 16th. The skiers remain in good health and excellent spirits as they approach the half-way point in their journey. The solitude of the last month-and-a-half on the ice will be broken about April 25th when they reach the North Pole and are greeted by 100 dignitaries and members of the press, flown in to an unprecedented press conference at the top of the world. Ice Island North Pole 28, itself less than 100 miles from the Pole, is serving as a logistics base for this event. Also joining the skiers at the Pole will be 4K0DX/VE3CDX, Barry Garratt and EK0CR/UA3CR, Leonid Labutin, key amateur radio operators involved in expedition communications operations. Several schools following the trek have asked about the clothing the skiers are wearing. They put on 3 pairs of socks each day, made of first a synthetic fiber, then wool, then another synthetic outer pair. They wear thermal long underwear and special fiber-filled snow suits. Parkas with hoods, gloves, special ski boots, face masks and goggles complete their outfits. Even with all this protection the skiers faces have scabs formed over frostbitten skin. They will not be a particularly pretty sight to the press, seeing a polar expedition in progress for the first time. The injured skin will soon return to normal when they complete their trek. Soon after the polar meeting, the skiers will press on towards Ellesmere Island, which they hope to reach by June 1st. For those wishing to place North Pole 28 on their maps, its position on April 12 was 89 degrees 7 minutes North and 180 degrees E. The Transpolar Skitrek Expedition is described in a display at the Ontario Science Center in Toronto. The display features photos of previous Soviet Expeditions on loan from Expedition Leader Dr. Dimitri Shparo. Expedition activities portrayed include, scaling a pressure ridge, crossing leads in rubber boats piled high with skis and people, preparing a meal and position finding by "shooting the Sun". Exhibit visitors can listen to the Digitalker relate the skiers latest position via a handset and see the position marked on a handsome polar projection map. A well mounted turnstile reflector antenna on the roof of the Science Center is used for UO-11 reception. Michael Meerman of the UoSAT Control Center reports that he receives daily positions for the skiers from EX0CR via packet or voice around 1200 UTC and that he then programs the UO-11 Digitalker around 1800 UTC each day as it passes over Surrey. Position reports that originate around 1000 UTC have allowed earlier programming, however, so trek followers are advised to listen to both morning and evening passes to catch the latest position updates. The beacon frequency of UoSAT is 145.825 MHz. Special thanks to Michael Meerman, G0/PA3BHF, Garth Hamilton, VE3HO, and Ralph Wallio, W0RPK, for help in preparing this report. * * * * * * * * * A continuing series of Progress Reports like this one may be accessed via packet BBS, AMSAT Nets and the main educator source, the W0RPK AMSAT Bulletin Board on 515-961-3325. Progress Report #13 will be issued on April 23, 1988. TRANSPOLAR SKITREK / PROJECT NORDSKI COMM - SKI TEAM POSITION LOG ----------------------------------------------------------------- Daily reports are made by the team to communications support stations on Sredniy Island, USSR, Russian ice station North Pole 28 and Resolute Bay, Canada via amateur radio. These reports are relayed south at 1500z in the 20m amateur radio band on 14.121mHz USB. Reports are automatically taped at W0RPK and reduced to daily information notes for continuing logs. DAY/TIM UTC LATITUDE LONGITUDE REMARKS ----------- --------- --------- -------------------------------------------- 17Apr 11:00 88d20.3mN 91d28.9mE -32dC 185km to pole 25km 16Apr 10:30 88d08.9mN 90d44.6mE Movement due only to ice drift 15Apr 10:35 88d10.7mN 91d48.2mE Movement due only to ice drift 14Apr 11:45 88d11.4mN 95d09.9mE Movement due only to ice drift 13Apr 88d11.4mN 97d07.0mE Air drop coordinates 13Apr 10:42 88d10.4mN 96d45.2mE Start of trek before air drop 15km 12Apr 10:49 88d02.7mN 95d34.9mE -30dC 235km to pole 37km 11Apr 12:06 87d42.4mN 94d55.7mE -30dC Estimating pole April 24-26 18km 10Apr 11:37 87d32.6mN 93d29.5mE -30dC 272km to the pole everything ok 34km 09Apr 10:38 87d14.2mN 91d48.4mE 08Apr 11:55 87d00.2mN 91d03.5mE -28dC Best single day progress 37km 07Apr 10:08 86d40.6mN 92d38.6mE -28dC 600km total 369km to the pole 26km 06Apr 10:57 86d26.3mN 93d18.3mE -40dC Lots of ice everybody ok 27km 05Apr 11:01 86d12.4mN 92d07.2mE 421km to go to the pole 22km 04Apr 10:39 86d00.7mN 91d44.5mE -37dC 22km 03Apr 11:49 85d48.8mN 92d20.5mE -36dC Everybody ok 02Apr No position report 01Apr 11:12 85d23.2mN 93d40.0mE -37dC Slept in before starting 8km 31Mar No change 30Mar No change 29Mar 11:38 85d18.9mN 94d55.3mE -35dC 2nd air drop a success - stopped 24km 28Mar 10:26 85d07.1mN 95d17.4mE -38dC Open water a problem 12km 27Mar 10:48 85d00.1mN 95d31.5mE -45dC clear wind light good ice 31km 26Mar 12:15 84d43.1mN 95d50.5mE -42dC Clear wind NW 2-3mps 2days prog32.4km 25Mar No position report 24Mar 13:00 84d25.6mN 95d58.2mE -37dC wind 40km/hr snowstorm 0km 23Mar 13:00 84d28.9mN 96d12.4mE -33dC Strong head winds 20-40km/hr 15km 22Mar 13:02 84d19.0mN 97d02.9mE Everything good ice, temp, progress 28km 21Mar 13:00 84d03.5mN 97d40.4mE -39dC ice excellent few leads&hummocks 21km 20Mar 11:40 83d51.8mN 97d27.4mE -36dC wind 1-2mps good ice & spirits 26km 18Mar 13:00 83d37.9mN 97d21.7mE -31dC no wind or open water good cond 22km 17Mar 13:00 83d11.7mN 97d26.6mE -35dC SE wind 3-5meters/sec 24km 16Mar <1st air drop successful on 14MAR > 15Mar 13:00 82d58.7mN 97d28.9mE 14Mar <17Mar for R&R and experiments > 13Mar 11:16 82d52.2mN 97d19.8mE -42dC wind 3-4meters/sec 24km 12Mar No position report 25km 11Mar 11:36 82d28.8mN 97d13.0mE 10MAR 11:58 82d16.9mN 97d24.6mE -45dC 20km 09Mar 12:30 82d09.3mN 97d47.0mE -30dC 12km 08Mar No position report 20km 07Mar 12:23 81d56.6mN 97d15.1mE 17km 06Mar No significant progress - Open water - Very windy - camped early 0km 05Mar 12:44 81d35.8mN 96d52.4mE -21dC Snow wind 33meters/sec 14km 04Mar 11:13 81d32.3mN 97d 0.0mE -28dC 20km 03Mar 11:24 81d21.2mN 96d12.8mE 7km 03Mar 07:31 81d15.0mN 95d50.0mE Starting point on Cape Arktichesky