This season, we will be traveling to Antarctica in two groups: the first will head out to Camp Winter in the coming weeks to repair the vehicles and conduct some science, and the second will join us at South Pole in early December.  We will fill you in on all the details and our schedule in the coming days.

Einar and Tom were the first to arrive in Christchurch.  They have been busy the last three days compiling a master cargo list, with every box, barrel and crate listed with contents, weight and dimensions.  Our list has grown a bit in the last few weeks, but no that all the cargo is either here in Christchurch, at McMurdo, the south Pole, or en route between, we can accurately account for every piece.  This sort of list is invaluable to quickly determine if anything is missing and helps prevent confusion later.

Today, Einar and Tom went out to the U.S. Antarctic Center to visually inspect the cargo that has been arriving from Norway and Sweden in the last few weeks (see photo).  We are plased to report that everything was there, except for one box and a sled, which were shipped somewhat later.  Kjetil and Rune arrived in Christchurch today as well. Which was interesting, becuase they were traveling with Svein as well - where did he go? (We expect to lose a few things during the season, but hope we don't lose any people - certainly not in the first week!)  It turns out Svein was so impressed with Heathrow Airport he decided to stay an extra day.  We hope he will join us tomorrow.

That's all for today, tune in tomorrow for updates on our last shopping trip here in Christchurch.

Tom contemplates our logistics challenges.