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Life at Utsteinen

The Usteinen ridge stretches from North to South, with the base camp and Station garages to the west, and a container and vehicle park to the East.

The Usteinen ridge stretches from North to South, with the base camp and Station garages to the west, and a container and vehicle park to the East.

© International Polar Foundation / René Robert

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Full Gallery

  • In the upper right hand corner, you can see the Utsteinen Nunatak with, in the background, the Sør Rondane mountain range.
  • The Utsteinen ridge on which the Princess Elisabeth Station is being built lies just in front of the Utsteinen Nunatak. The air strip lies just before the base camp.
  • The Usteinen ridge stretches from North to South, with the base camp and Station garages to the west, and a container and vehicle park to the East.
  • The base camp up close to the West of the ridge. You can also see the area against the rock ridge which has been cleared of snow to be able to build the garages and Station tower.
  • Airplane flying in either from the Norwegian Troll Station or the Russian Novolazarevskaya Station. The airstrip lies to the West of the ridge, just before the base camp.
  • The skidoos are parked in front of the camp.
  • Close-up of the camping premises. Of the two long white tents in the background, the longest one is the mess tent while the shorter one is the headquarters and communications tent.
  • The flags of 13 different nations flap over Utsteinen, a sign of the international collaboration around the Princess Elisabeth project.
  • A sign with directions towards your favorite places in Belgium.
  • The biggest avenue in Utsteinen.
  • The anchoring team's main street.
  • Contrarily to what you may have expected, this is the home street of most of the civil members.
  • Last but not least, another one of Utsteinen's main streets.
  • Medical Center: Vaska, then Jacques Richon, were head of the Utsteinen hospital.
  • Chez Jules - W.C.
  • Free or Stop: a clever handle was invented to let people know before they enter the restrooms whether the place is free or whether you should stop
  • Shower: rudiments of a washing-up place, arranged in a corner of the office tent.
  • Washing Hair: some people prefer using the outside shower.
  • Trench: storing equipment outside.
  • Tent: everyone (or almost) has a personal tent to arrange in any which way he desires.
  • At the entrance of the tent, a deep hole is dug so as to be able to stand up in your tent and get dressed before you go out.
  • Instead of a tent, Guido has prefered sleeping in an igloo...brrrr!
  • No pool table or fitness room yet; the team members are having to come up with new games in order to occupy and entertain themselves.
  • A generator with its fuel tank on a sledge to be able to move it around easily.
  • Headquarters and Communications: the smaller of the two large white tents houses all the office utilities.
  • Communications: office essentials include laptops, internet satellite connexion, satellite telephones (Iridium), GPS, printer...
  • Station Directions: a map of the Station's orientation and the anchoring points calculations.
  • Cloakroom: in the mess tent, shoes are taken off to dry by the hot furnace.
  • Saint Nicolas treated the
  • Hundreds of kilos of snow have to be melted each day in the furnace for drinking, laundry, dishes, washing and cooking water.
  • Cooking pizza for dinner.
  • Circadian Rhythms: Marc wears electrodes for the Vrije Universiteit van Brussel's medical experiment on the effects of daylight on sleep patterns.
  • Building team hanging in the Station, against the East side modules

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