Patriot Hills Base Camp
Coordinates: 80 ° 19 ′ S , 81 ° 16 ′ W
The Patriot Hills Base Camp was a tent camp in Ellsworthland in western Antarctica . It was at the southern end of the Ellsworth Mountains directly north of the eponymous Patriot Hills , a snow-covered range of hills. The warehouse was operated by the private company Adventure Network International (now owned by Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions LLC), making it the only privately operated warehouse on the Antarctic continent. In 2010 it was replaced by the newly built Union Glacier Camp .
The Patriot Hills Base Camp was established in 1987 and was only used in the summer months from November to January. For many adventurers and researchers it was a stopover on the way from the Chilean Punta Arenas to the interior of the Antarctic. The flight time from Punta Arenas is approximately 4.5 hours.
The camp was built near one of the rare blue ice fields that serves as a runway for smaller aircraft.
The heart of the camp was the community tent, which served as a common lounge and dining area. In the communication tent, whose devices were powered by solar power, there were high-frequency radio devices that were used to maintain contact with Punta Arenas and the expeditions traveling through the eternal ice. The residents of the camp were housed in two-person tents.
In the summer months the temperature rises to −15 ° C. The temperature in the winter months is estimated to be around −40 ° C, but so far no one has wintered in the Ellsworth Mountains.
The camp was the starting point for many expeditions to Mount Vinson, just under 120 kilometers away . In the Antarctic spring of 1989 it was the starting point for Reinhold Messner and Arved Fuchs ' crossing of the continent , which led across the South Pole to the McMurdo station .
The camp was closed in 2010, and Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions LLC has been using the newly built Union Glacier Camp since then. The reason for the relocation was the weather conditions. The nearby Patriot Hills often caused violent gusts of wind that were unpredictable and severely disrupted flight operations. With the increasing number of tourists visiting Antarctica and the resulting increase in flights to and from the camp, the company decided to relocate its operations. The blue ice runway at the Patriot Hills will continue to be used as an alternative runway.
Web links
- All-round view of the warehouse (Flash required)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Our History. Adventure Network International, accessed February 2, 2016 .
- ↑ a b Goodbye to Patriot Hills - Welcome to Union Glacier. In: ExploraPoles. International Polar Foundation , November 18, 2010, accessed February 2, 2016 .
- ↑ a b c Patriot Hills. Adventure Network International, archived from the original on June 5, 2009 ; accessed on February 2, 2016 .
- ↑ Antarctic Logistic Support for the 2003/2004 Season. Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions, archived from the original on April 12, 2010 ; accessed on February 2, 2016 .
- ^ Initial environmental evaluation - development of blue-ice and compacted-snow runways. National Science Foundation , Office of Polar Programs, April 9, 1993, accessed February 2, 2016 .
- ^ Accommodation Facilities in Antarctica. In: Antarctic Ice Marathon. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010 ; accessed on February 2, 2016 .