The flight was carried out by the South African carrier Safair, using a C-130, and included seven tons of scientific equipment and provisions for the traverse.

Image: The Safair C-130 and crew after their successful first landing at Troll Airfield on October 18. (Click to enlarge.) Photo: Stein Tronstad.

During the flight, weather conditions at Troll deteriorated. The plane broke through the clouds at about 4000 feet, and came in perfectly aligned for a perfect landing. Wind conditions en route were very favorable, and we were able to take all our cargo leaving a plenty of space for the second flight to bring in the rest of the expedition crew and supplies in a few days.

Since arriving at Troll, the weather has been brilliant and the forecast is looking good for most of next week. At the moment we're having a balmy -18 °C, light winds from SW, brilliant sun with scattered clouds and unlimited visibility; typical Troll weather. We are well underway on our task list, and enjoying Troll's new asset at nighttime: A large, wooden hot tub. Sheer bliss! A dip in the tub was particularly welcome after the flight from Cape Town; the cargo hold of the C-130 was less than tropical, so the next group needs to have their woollies handy when boarding to keep from freezing on the flight down!

Today, Helgard arrived in Cape Town from Tromsø, Norway, and the five Americans on the traverse, Mary, Lou, Tom, Atsu, and Glen, were up at approximately 3:00 am, in their respective cities and towns, to head to Cape Town to meet up with the rest of the Norwegian team.

- Glen