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  • Belgian Antarctic Station: The Ivan Papanin sailed from Cape Town to Antarctica

    27.11.2006

    Cargo operations around and on the Ivan Papanin went ahead without any trouble. All cargo scheduled to be placed onboard sailed with the vessel as it left Cape Town harbour. The ship first anchored in the bay while the crew lashed the cargo down securely. Once the captain was satisfied, the vessel sailed from Table Bay and headed down South.

  • IPF To Participate In Shanghai Expo 2010

    06.07.2009

    The International Polar Foundation will partake in the Shanghai World Expo 2010 as part of the Belgian and European pavilion. With this year's theme being "Better Cities, Better Lives", the space allocated to the IPF will exhibit Belgium's and Europe's involvement in finding solutions to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

  • BELARE Field Course in Svalbard

    06.10.2007

    On request from the IPF, the Norwegian Polar Institute office in Longyearbyen kindly organised a field training course for some of the BELARE 2007-2008 team at the beginning of October 2007.

  • Belgian Minister in Antarctica

    04.11.2004

    In November 2004, the New Zealand government hosted the Belgian Federal Minister for Science Policy, Mr Marc Verwilghen at the Antarctic Research station, Scott Base, in McMurdo Sound. Alain Hubert of the IPF accompanied Mr Verwilghen on this trip, and was impressed by the efficient running of NZ Antarctic operations.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: The Team Earns a Sleep In for Fast Progress

    21.01.2008

    The building team spent just 5 days building the station's floor. That's roughly 500 m² of pine wood resting upon the metal struts. This rigid progress puts the building team a few days ahead of schedule! Progress has been such that the building team earned a day's rest over the week-end.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: The Ivan Papanin Ship Leaves Cape Town

    04.12.2007

    At the end of November, the Ivan Papanin arrived in Cape Town for a last stop-over before leaving for Antarctica. The ice-class cargo ship filled up on fuel and food supplies for the crew and loaded the last containers full of frozen goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, gas for the vehicles at Utsteinen, wood and other small elements of use on the building site. The Ivan Papanin left South Africa on 1 December.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: The Floor Goes In

    18.01.2008

    It is snowing lightly, the sky is overcast, but the sun still pierces through the clouds. A fresh breeze rises now and then upon the Utsteinen ridge, cooling any extremity that has not been covered. It is -12°C, but who knows what the wind chill is.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Summary of Activities

    15.11.2007

    In our last report, it was mentioned that all the containers had been recovered from Breid Bay and that the camp site was slowly filling up with equipment. The building team is preparing the Utsteinen Ridge for the station's anchoring points and making progress on constructing the wind turbines.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Stormy Weather Hits East Antarctica

    24.12.2007

    The second convoy reached Utsteinen on December 21st (7 30 pm), carrying part of the crane and frozen food to last through mid-March 2008. Strong winds and heavy snow falls are coming down on the Eastern region of Antarctica, announcing a white Christmas for the BELARE 2007-2008 team.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Securing the 5th Traverse

    28.12.2007

    Seven people left the base camp on December 27th to start the 5th traverse. Meanwhile, the rest of team is working on re-assembling the cranes and finishing the garages and the station's foundations.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Reaching for the Sky

    16.01.2008

    Building on site continues, no matter what the weather is like. When one activity slows down, another one picks up speed. There are always more than 20 people working up on the ridge and round abouts, and 6 who are out on a traverse between Utsteinen and Crown Bay. More than half the containers are now in Utsteinen.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Mounting the Metal Structure

    09.01.2008

    Seven people have left on another traverse. The rest of the team is either working on the ridge, filming those working on the ridge, building new bathroom facilities or cooking away to feed the team.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Merry Christmas

    26.12.2007

    Christmas was celebrated on the night of December 24th, close to the way it is feasted in Belgium. The coast team made it back to the base camp on time, after several hours of severe weather.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Last Module Goes In

    12.02.2008

    We just lived a historical moment here in Brussels, as we received a phone call from Utsteinen base camp. Alain Hubert phoned to say that the last exterior module was mounted on the Station this afternoon.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Ivan Papanin Soon to Reach Breid Bay

    12.12.2007

    The Ivan Papanin ice-class cargo ship carrying aboard the 120 containers of the Princess Elisabeth Station reached 5° East on December 11th. She is progressing smoothly towards the South and is expected to come into Breid Bay around December 14th.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Interview with Stéphan Dubois, Back from Utsteinen

    02.01.2008

    Stéphane Dubois, building coordinator for the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Station, returned to Belgium earlier than foreseen. Mr. Dubois, an inhabitant of the Rochefort region, was supposed to stay in Antarctica until March 9, 2008. The atmospheric conditions, particularly the extreme dryness, forced him to return prematurely: he was back in Brussels on December 21, after having spent 52 days on the white continent.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Flooring Goes On

    21.01.2008

    The building team spent just 5 days building the station's floor. That's roughly 500 m² of pine wood resting upon the metal struts. This rigid progress puts the building team a few days ahead of schedule! Progress has been such that the building team earned a day's rest over the week-end.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: First Progress in Utsteinen

    12.11.2007

    A first report was received from Alain Hubert and the building team in Antarctica. Twenty-one people are now on site, working away on the wind turbines and getting started on the station's anchoring points.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: First Convoy Reaches Utsteinen

    20.12.2007

    The first convoy of containers reached the base camp in Utsteinen today (December 19) at 5 pm. The most needed equipment was brought first, comprising of the remaining wood to complete the garage construction.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Exploring, Measuring and Drilling around Utsteinen

    06.12.2007

    Alain and Dieter have been measuring geodetic points for the National Geographic Institute of Belgium, and are happy with their results to date. Geodesy is the study of the size and shape of the Earth, its field of gravity, and such varying phenomena as the motion of the magnetic poles and the tides. Apart from having measured existing points that were left by the Japanese expedition of 1985, they have also installed new measuring points for a satellite survey.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Daily Life at Usteinen

    29.11.2007

    Another day in Utsteinen, another day of work. Greeted by the sunlight early in the morning, the working men climb out of their tents as early as 6 am.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Containers Parked up on the Ice Shelf

    21.12.2007

    The coast team has now finished unloading all the containers and machines from the Ivan Papanin. Everything has been neatly arranged in rows up on the ice shelf. The ship is due to leave Crown Bay today, Friday December 21.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Cold Winds, Chilly Tents

    14.01.2008

    Since the metal struts have been mounted on the Utsteinen ridge, work on the station has been advancing fast. Neither the weather nor the hard physical work has slowed the workmen down.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: Christmas Menu

    27.12.2007

    The party began with, in stead of the usual hot chocolate that is served on the working grounds, warm wine from "Château Migraine" vintage.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: A Visit to Asuka Station

    23.11.2007

    The building team has been working away securing the anchoring points of the station and making headway on constructing the garage. Alain Hubert and a few other team members have retrieved some useful material from the abandoned Japanese station, Asuka. The Ivan papanin should arrive at Breid Bay in less than a month.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: A Trip through the Mountains

    20.11.2007

    With a work schedule ranging from 7 am to noon and 1 pm to 7 pm, work is progressing at a fine pace in Antarctica. Sunday, however, is a day for relaxation, laundry and travel.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: A Sixth Traverse for the New Year

    02.01.2008

    This Ivan Papanin arrived in Cape Town during the night of December 28. Unloading operations lasted through December 29. Several waste containers and a few heavy drilling pieces were brought back to Cape Town to be disposed of or stored.

  • BELARE 2007-2008: a “Comfortable” Base Camp

    19.11.2007

    Four new team members have reached Utsteinen Base Camp: Gaëlle, Toto, Daniel and Francis. Twenty-four people are now on site, bringing the team to a fully operational number to complete the first phase of the expedition.

  • BELARE 2007-2008 Take Off

    18.11.2007

    On October 15th, the new BELARE (Belgian Antarctic Expedition) team gathered in Brussels for an informative meeting at the Belgian Military Hospital. BELARE 2007-2008 will build the new Belgian research station in Antarctica: Princess Elisabeth Antarctica.

  • BELARE 2007-2008 : Expedition Program

    29.11.2007

    Scheduled over 4.5 months, the BELARE 2007-2008 expedition aims to build the Princess Elisabeth Station's outer shell and set up the seven remaining wind turbines.

  • BELARE 2007 2008: Ivan Papanin Has Made it to Breid Bay

    17.12.2007

    The Ivan Papanin cargo ship started making its way through the sea ice on Friday December 14. She was anchored to the sea ice near Breid Bay around 7 pm that night. The exact location has been named Crown Bay (70°S 23°E), because of the shape of a nearby iceberg.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - Windy days at Novo

    09.01.2007

    The outlook is grim. The wind has steadily picked up during the night, and the weather has sharply deteriorated. We will use the time to re-assemble the two skidoos that were waiting at Novo for us since last season. We also use the occasion to set up the iridium data connection (which allows us to send this e-mail). The Immarsat satellite link is proving difficult to set up, but today we finally got a GPS fix on it, which we have been trying to do for days in Cape Town without success. With a little bit of luck it should be up and running soon, and then we might be able to send pictures.  

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - Waiting for the coast party at Utsteinen

    20.01.2007

    The days are beginning to stretch out but are so full of unusual events that it is difficult to say whether one day has passed or one week. We are waiting for the coast party to arrive, and Vaska has planned a nice warm dinner for them as they will surely be frozen, particularly Alain and Benjamin who are on the skidoo in the -18°C windchill. I made a small miscalculation. Since they are making good time they will arrive tonight at Utsteinen. Yesterday they managed to cover 70kms in 5hrs because of the good conditions on the route. Tonight we will have a lot of good stories.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - Troll station

    09.07.2006

    Morning broke early in the Southern Hemisphere for our sleep deprived group. The cockpit lay open at the front of the plane, and as the cargo was loaded mainly in the back, there were no restrictions to moving forward to visit the pilots, which at first we did a little uncertainly, unused to such familiarity, and such a departure from 21st century norms. Truly, we had left the World of the digital passport, and hand baggage restrictions and entered an earlier more innocent age, when sitting with the pilots to admire the sunrise was as normal as watching endless videos on the in-flight entertainment. As we raced over the icy ocean towards the fast approaching Antarctic coast with the Orvin Mountains standing like a blue tear on the milky horizon, we felt the first tightening in the stomach, in apprehension at the challenging days ahead. Alain becomes thoughtful as he looks out at the mountains of the Dronning Maud Land. He has climbed many of their jagged peaks: the Holtanna, the Ulvetanna, and their sisters.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - The tension is mounting

    12.01.2007

    The Coast party too has a sleepless night. They land towards the west end of Breid Bay, where the ship is anchored offshore, around 2.30 in the morning. At 5.30 am Alain calls from Breid Bay to give the position of the Coast Camp. He has been scouting around and there are numerous ice cliffs on which the ship could eventually unload. He will go and survey them and check height and access conditions from the sea.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - The Ivan Papanin is now closer

    13.01.2007

    The Ivan Papanin is now closer to the coast. The distance across the ice is only 100m. Finally, it looks like the unloading can begin, and the Coast party, 34km away, will be collected by Alain.  

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - The Expedition finally arrived at Utsteinen

    11.01.2007

    The BELARE Expedition finally arrived at Utsteinen. The buzz of excitement mounted as the plane overflew the landing site twice to gauge the ground conditions and test the wind, and then we came in to land, shuddering as the plane threw its engines into reverse. The first view of Utsteinen is always breathtaking - the nunatak, the blue wind scoop, the fine curve of the ridge.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - The coast party as arrived: first traverse completed!

    21.01.2007

    For two days the brooding sense of ominous change was carried to us by the evershifting inconsistent winds, while we sat and waited for the calls from the traverse. Gradually the convoy coming from the sneaked closer. Finally, the call arrives, and I throw the Iridium to Jos to talk as my voice is still not back. Apparently they are one and a half hours from arriving. We nonchalantly finish our meal, pretending that we aren't excited.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - Presentation of the team (part 1)

    19.01.2007

    By now, you must be getting a little curious about the people on this crazy expedition, who they are what drives them, why are they taking so much punishment? Hobby or passion? Insanity or masochism? So dear reader, to abate your unhealthy curiousity, I have compiled a short introduction to the protagonists in the Utsteinen Saga, with more to follow from the Coast Expeditionary Party, when they get here.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - Preparing the traverse

    18.01.2007

    Fortune continues to favour the braves. The crevasse zone was crossed yesterday from the landing site of the "breaking ice" (Alain's Ramp) with much trepidation. The Prinoth encountered several ice bridges and Alain had to go ahead on foot to sound out the thickness with a long stick. Sometimes low tech is the best solution. At one point the ground gave way underfoot and he fell, dropping the only GPS that was at hand into the crevasse. The only solution was to go in with ropes to try to retrieve it, which lost them some precious time. The crevasses were on average between 20 and 40m deep, and next year would require filling in to secure the traverse route.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - Getting started

    08.01.2007

    The Expedition with ten members (Alain Hubert, Johan Berte, Gigi Amin, (IPF), Jos Van Hemelryck, Joris Wouters, Dieter de Decker (VRT) Benjamin Luypaert (RTBF), Bernard Bleeckx,Vincent Piret (Aeriane) and Damien Ertz (UGhent) left Brussels on the evening of the 5th of January 2007. A number of family, friends, and well wishers were at hand to see them off.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - Flights in and flights out

    15.01.2007

    The brilliant sunshine on Utsteinen today sent our thermometer soaring to 18°C, boys and girls. We were as amazed as you. The day began with the confirmation from Brian that the Basler flight would take place as had been foreseen for the 15th. The runway team (Jos, Dieter and Damien) heads off to clean up the black bags lining the runway while we tidy up camp and send a few e-mails. We take the opportunity to test the Garmin Rhino radios with silly banter - "Over and out, Roger". Around two in the afternoon, we hear the drone of an aircraft and in no time the Basler is circling the camp.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - Flight briefing before a cold night

    08.01.2007

    We spent the morning at the ALCI pre-flight briefing and talking with the pilots about our plans for the coming days. The call finally came at 18.00H – the flight would depart as planned at 23.00H tonight. We were collected at the Lady Hamilton hotel and arrived at the airport for the passport and immigration controls. Heavily laden with our cameras, Leica, inmarsat and other electronics, we sweated profusely in our warm clothing as Bernard Gaum ushered us through the airport to the aircraft waiting on the tarmac. No time for a little last minute duty frees.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - First wind turbine erected on the Utsteinen nunatak

    01.02.2007

    For two days, harsh wind conditions were slowing down work on the wind turbines. Yesterday, good news came from the front: the BELARE team probably had the best weather of the whole expedition with clear skies and no wind. Vincent, Bernard and Johan worked hard and were able to erect the first wind turbine late in the afternoon.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - Everything has been brought ashore and secured

    17.01.2007

    Today, the Gods have smiled down on us. After a grasse matinée soaking up the sun, I am aroused by the Iridium beeping discreetly in my ear. Alain is calling from the unloading point. The ship is 800m off the ice cliff, and moving in to make the last attempt. The two Prinoths are off the ship, but there are still several containers and sledges waiting on board. He has to go back to where the Hammar equipped sledge (The Sledge Hammar as Johan calls it) is waiting to be collected. We wait by the phone with bated breath. A few hours later Alain calls again. The miracle which we had stopped hoping for has happened. It is done. In two hours everything has been brought ashore and secured. The Ivan Papaninn is free to go home to Murmansk, on the other side of the World.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - Another lesson from Antarctica

    15.01.2007

    The ship is in the new position off Breid Bay. Brian and the Basler are on stand-by waiting to see whether he should go to collect Philippe Herman and Dieter Callaert from the Coast camp in order to ferry them to Utsteinen and Troll (with the group of Japanese visitors from Syowa, and S17 airbase).

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - An Utsteinen Summer

    27.01.2007

    It's been six days since the second traverse party set out for the coast landing site, and things have been less than easy for them. As expected the Prinoths had to cross the crevasse zone on the way to the coast camp, and then again on the way out, but the passage of the machines has caused a lot of deterioration to the route used and so alternatives had to be found.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - A 3 days expedition to the NIPR depot (part 3)

    01.02.2007

    Everything looked much better on the first of February. The sun was back, and the mountains looked fresh and inviting in the cold, clear, air. The morning passed quickly, unloading some drums onto the rock, so they wouldn't sink into the ice, and moving the sledge into an equally good position. Then we took pictures of the depot to send to Tokyo, and packed up camp to drive back to Utsteinen via Dalton's Nunatak (which actually looks like a seal's head) and the North tip of Smalegga, (Dragons Tail), where the Belgian's had a summer camp decades ago. Leaving the blue ice was not much joy either, as it was riven with all kinds of cracks and dents, sand cracks, temperature cracks, honest to goodness crevasses.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - A 3 days expedition to the NIPR depot (part 2)

    31.01.2007

    On the 31st of Januray we learned that it was Philippe's 40th birthday ! The morning quickly passed fixing the vehicles onto the Lehmann sledges, moving the fuel onto the NIPR sledges, and preparing the fuel that we had to drop at the Bratnipene depot for the Japanese traverse of the next season, as instructed by Prof. Kazuyuki Shiraishi of the Japanese National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR). We dug out the sledges as Frank and Phil worked on the heavy machinery, and then the fuel drum transfer was made. It was only about 4 in the afternoon that the first Prinoth was ready to leave with its cargo on the two Lehmanns. They set off at about 9 km/h for the 6 hour journey back to Camp.

  • BELARE 2006/2007 - A 3 days expedition to the NIPR depot (part 1)

    30.01.2007

    The traverse arrived in the evening bringing the desperately awaited containers with the wind turbine tower and sails. As it has already been reported, the wind turbine is up now and functioning, although the electrical circuitry has still to be completed, and has already fallen once on Bernard's foot. Vincent has promised our first cup of tea on clean energy today. We are eager for this, as the realities of operating in this environment without this source of enegy is that survival depends on fuel, fuel and fuel: diesel, avgas, benzine, petrol, white gas, LPG whatever you call it.

  • BELARE 2004 : Station site chosen

    29.08.2004

    On Monday 29 November 2004, the Belare 2004 team located the optimal site for the new Antarctic summer station in the Sör Røndane Mountains, 200 metres north of the Usteinen Nunatak. The geographical coordinates are: S.71°56'47" and E.23°20'44", altitude: 1368m.

  • BELARE 2004 : Antarctic site survey team on the way to Sor Rondane Mountains

    25.11.2004

    The IPF will participate in the building of a new Antarctic summer station in the foothills of the Sor Rondane Mountains, where Belgium has a historical presence, with the previous base, the Roi Baudouin. On February 6th 2004, the Belgian Council of Ministers confided to Alain Hubert (IPF) the planning, conception and financing of the project.

  • Before the BELARE 2005 expedition

    08.12.2005

    Somehow surprisingly the Belare 2005 Logistic Survey expedition kicked-off in warm Cape Town South Africa with Johan Berte attending the Dromlan meeting. In this pre-Antarctic season meeting last arrangements are made for air-support and other logistics in the Droning Maudland area of East Antarctica. Traditionally Cape Town is also the last chance to acquire supplies for the different expeditions.

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