Yesterday was a starkly contrasting day to Victory day. The Russian team arrived in a whirlwind of boats, engines and fuel cans. Not long had they arrived and Glenn was at work checking the engines over and assessing any repairs. Luckily these seem to be minimal after last season's high water.
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| Boat preparations |
Millie and I then prepared for a 3pm helicopter out to middle camp. We loaded our supplies into the helicopter, said our goodbyes and made our way to the village to collect staff and more supplies and luggage.
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| Glenn replacing starter rope |
Above the village, the narrow neck of the river was full of ice but I had a chat with Bill last night who said they were having a lot of ice flowing down the river past them so we can only assume that this has broken up.
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| Up to the village to collect supplies |
Arrival into middle was very easy as the young security guys had cleared off most of the walkways. I helped Yura and Vova to finish much of what they had started and then engines were loaded into boats and sledged to generator. Bear pool and the usual boat parking bay are essentially an ice jam. We will have to work with what we have for the first few days and above all, stay safe as there will be quite a bit of ice still along the banks and therefore coming down the river.
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| 2018's first Helicopter arriving at lower camp |
The good news is that there is more of the same weather today. Yesterday was warm and the sun did a great job of melting the snow. We had a slight frost over night but the sun is now back out doing it's work.
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| The river between Varzuga and Middle now open |
We are hoping to get all the water reconnected today. The generator is up and running and seems to be working fine. We have found all the things we need from last year's team and all the missing picnic equipment too.
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| Sun set over middle camp last night |
It's still a bit early to risk wetting a line but I can certainly say I'm eager to give it a go once the ice flow has lessened. For those travelling out today, safe travels. Pack for warmth and very early spring conditions.
Jack Selby (Operations Manager)
