Off to Green Valley, From the Air, A Bird's Eye View Options

[John_Sode]

July 19,2005

The Arctic's fickle nature has become very apparent to all of us. Saturday night the winds were so severe that all flights were cancelled. Althought Sunday was a pretty good day, our planes and helicopters did not fly. This morning, Monday morning, appears to be excellent in terms of weather. The weather reports, however, do predict increasing winds and rain on Wednesday. Nevertheless, we are heading out to the Green Valley today. We are however, making preparations to weather a major storm while we are out in the field.

Before we could board the helicopters for our flight to Green Valley, we needed to pack, weight, and load our gear. In these pictures members of our group are weighting the gear and preparing to load the helicopter. (We need to keep track of our total weight because the helicopter can only carry a certain amount of weight-- passengers, crew, and cargo combined.)



After we loaded all of our gear onto the helicopter and secured the gear in place we were able to board and take our seats. Earplugs are standard gear due to the noise. These views show the pilot's view through the front window and the passenger compartment of our chopper.



Our team needed three separate flights to get all of our personal gear, camp gear, testing equipment, and supplies to base camp. Our total crew would reach 28 people later in the week. The views visible from the helicopter were absolutely outstanding. As we left Thule the high polar desert was clearly visible. The land around Thule is relatively barren. Sparse vegetation grows only in clearly defined stripes. Even along the rivers there is little sign of animal or plant life.




As we swung out over the bay and banked towards the East, Green Valley literally sprung into view. This high Arctic valley, unlike the one at South River near Thule, is lush and green. alive with the sights and sounds of plant and animal life. Vegetation clings to the slopes and rims much of the river. Green meadows spring to life on tiny flattened surfaces nestled throughout the valley.






The flight is over, we are hovering over base camp, slowly, steadily descending until we touch down. Now the work begins. See "Setting up camp," the next post in the Teacher's Journal.