North Slope news: 24 Dec. 2008

Talked to Cameron today around 4:00pm AST. He reports that they're pretty much fogged in today, with visibility at only about 100 meters. They boys plan to leave the Iko Bay hut on Friday (26 Dec.). They've noticed more cracks in the ice on Iko Bay, and Cameron reiterates that they'll be traversing the Bay during the day in order to see the cracks clearly. If there are too many cracks to travel safely, they will navigate around the southern shore of Iko Bay.

When they leave, they'll head to Mark Hoffman's hut, which is positioned near his radio transmitting antenna. On a clear day they can see the flashing light atop Mark's antenna from where they are at the hut on Iko Bay.

Cameron says that they've tried all manner of techniques to get the paraglider up in the air, including Forward zero-wind inflation, Reverse inflation, Hand-towing inflation, and Wing-control launches. None of these have worked because either the wind is too soft, too hard, or blowing in the wrong direction. They plan to try the paraglider some more on the outskirts of Barrow, and possibly near Mark Hoffman's hut.

Click photo below to enlarge. Photo courtesy of Mark Hoffman.

Cameron pulling the mighty Pulkayak: