Crossing the Drake

[altiplano]

Love these stories JC - looks like an amazing trip to the bottom of the planet.

I liked this part... too funny, and likely very true...

Changing them means an engineer has to have the help of his pilots. Which means twice as much work for the engineers as working alone.

[xsbank]

In those ski photos, the pilot is the guy standing there.

[oldtimer]

Why not get together wit a good writer and write a book about your experiences. The pictures are just great. Something to tell your grandkids about.

[xsbank]

It must be difficult to type upside down.

It boggles to think its going into summer down there....

[goldeneagle]

I think I finally figgered it out. Jc spends the summer up in the land of the midnite sun. Now winter is coming, and he heads off to the other land of the midnite sun. This pattern has apparently been going on for a considerable number of years.

JC is skeered of the dark.....

Humor aside, would love to hear about this year's version of 'crossing the drake'.

[just curious]

Not being smart enough to leave well enough alone, we crossed it again. A day of waiting for the 65 knot headwinds, and heavey icing to abate, we launched. That first sight of ice and glacier stivking up through clouds ahead is actually very relaxing. A fair chunk of the trip across we could see the Drake. Lively seas, since we could see the rollers from 13000 (actually flipping over small icebergs)

Landing at Rothera, the weather was benign, the temperatures warm, the scenery was breathtaking. The cook is English.

We're leaving.

[nimbostratus]

Not being smart enough to leave well enough alone, we crossed it again. A day of waiting for the 65 knot headwinds, and heavey icing to abate, we launched. That first sight of ice and glacier stivking up through clouds ahead is actually very relaxing. A fair chunk of the trip across we could see the Drake. Lively seas, since we could see the rollers from 13000 (actually flipping over small icebergs)

Landing at Rothera, the weather was benign, the temperatures warm, the scenery was breathtaking. The cook is English.

We're leaving.

In Heaven:

The cooks are French,
The policemen are English,
The mechanics are German,
The lovers are Italian,
The bankers are Swiss.


In Hell:

The cooks are English,
The policemen are German,
The mechanics are French,
The lovers are Swiss,
The bankers are Italian.

[just curious]

Should have read the fine print I suppose. We're alternating beween a base with the appropriate bankers and engineers. At least it's a dry cold.

[whisair]

In 2003 the Basler DC3 was damaged in a wind storm at Patriot Hills right at the start of Adventure International Networks season. When they couldn't find a twin otter they called us. We flew our single turbine otter down to the south end of Chile in November and then waited for several days to cross the Drake. The day we left we had a 30 knot headwind but no ice issues. It took us seven hours to get to King George Island and then another 3 days waiting for the weather to get to Rothera.
We spent two and a half months and over 200 hours of flying to the pole and back for them. When the season came to an end the twin otter and our single otter were the last to leave (in case the Illyusin had to turn back). The cross winds at Patriot Hills prevented the IL76 from landing for over two weeks to evacuate the camp. Then we were advised that we could not fly to Rothera but had to make the 1200 mile shot direct to King George Island (because of private/government issues I still don't understand). As we did not enough fuel to make that jump we had to position fuel at at spike camp called sky blue. The crew spent five nights hunkered down at sky blue waiting for weather while surviving in tents.
We got the otter back to Canada in March and I thank my lucky stars every time I think of Antarctica.

[xsbank]

And here I was thinking "Crossing the Drake" meant flying from Montreal to Newfoundland. Well, I never.....

[just curious]

We crossed it again. Four machines.

[Rowdy]

How many machines will be on the 'ice' this year? I heard somewhere north of 12?

Stay safe my friend!

[just curious]

18 or so.At this rate we'll need a kingair here as well.

[3juggs]

Maybe they can weld the gear down in RKB and put some skis on! I shouldn't of said that too loud!

[LEAFS SUCK]

Call me a pussy, but you couldn't pay me enough to fly there.

Why not go someplace warm, where the sun is shining and there are bars on the sandy beach serving drinks with crushed ice, and Jimmy Buffett is playing on the sound system, and there are hordes of horny women tourists looking to get laid?

There must be something wrong with me, I guess.

Pussy. You said it. Jimmy Buffet sucks.

[Brantford Beech Boy]

...At this rate we'll need a kingair here as well....

not even for an in-house brewery!

BBB

[Big Pistons Forever]

Call me a pussy, but you couldn't pay me enough to fly there.

Why not go someplace warm, where the sun is shining and there are bars on the sandy beach serving drinks with crushed ice, and Jimmy Buffett is playing on the sound system, and there are hordes of horny women tourists looking to get laid?

There must be something wrong with me, I guess.

Me too. I am sitting in front of the computer in my Jammies with a fresh cup of 115/145 and the pictures sent a chill down my spine as I imagined that horrible cold, cold wind cutting through my parka.......