Patriot Hills Base Camp

Location of Heritage Range in Western Antarctica
IATA: none – ICAO: SCPZ
Summary
Airport type Blue-ice runway
Operator Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions LLC
Serves Patriot Hills
Location Heritage Range, Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica
Elevation AMSL 2,900 ft / 884 m
Coordinates 80°19′06″S 81°18′29″W / 80.31833°S 81.30806°WCoordinates: 80°19′06″S 81°18′29″W / 80.31833°S 81.30806°W
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
24M 3,281 × 164 1,000 × 50 Ice
Patriot Hills Base Camp
Aerial view of base camp tents
Storage tunnels beneath the camp

Patriot Hills Base Camp (80°18′S 081°21′W / 80.300°S 81.350°W) was the only private seasonally occupied camp in Antarctica. It was located in the Heritage Range of the Ellsworth Mountains, next to the Patriot Hills that give it its name.

The camp was run by the private company Adventure Network International (now Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions LLC, known as ALE),[1] a company that provides expedition support and tours to the interior of Antarctica.[2] It was constructed in 1987[3] and used during the summer months of November to January.[4] Patriot Hills was for many adventurers and explorers a stop on the way from Chile's Punta Arenas into the interior of Antarctica. The flight time from Punta Arenas is about 4.5 hours.[3]

As of November 2010 ALE has moved operations. Union Glacier Camp is the new base of operations and Union Glacier Blue-Ice Runway SCGC is the new runway. Patriot Hills is being retained as a backup runway.[5]

In the summer months the temperature rises to −15 °C. The temperature in the winter months is estimated to be about −40 °C, but no one has yet overwintered in the Ellsworth Mountains.[3]

Amenities

The camp was built near one of the rare blue ice fields. A blue ice runway was used as the takeoff and landing strip for large intercontinental aircraft including, DC6, C130, and Ilyushin Il-76.[6]

The heart of the camp was the communal tent that serves as a common lounge and dining room. In the communications tent, using devices powered by solar power, high-frequency radio equipment maintained contact with Punta Arenas and the traveling expeditions. The residents of the camp were housed in two-person tents.[7]

History

In the Antarctic spring of 1998 Patriot Hills was the staging point for the first expedition from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole, led by Martyn Williams. This 50 day expedition opened up the doorway for South Pole overland journeys, and has become the classic route for most expeditions. [8] 1989, Patriot Hills was the staging point of the continental crossing by Reinhold Messner and Arved Fuchs that started at 82°S-72°W, crossed the South Pole to McMurdo Station. [9] It has also been the starting point for many expeditions to Mount Vinson, some 120 kilometers away.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Website der Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions LLC. Accessed on March 25, 2010
  2. ↑ Patriot Hills, Polar Conservation Organisation
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Adventure Network International: Patriot Hills. Accessed March 25, 2010.
  4. ↑ Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions News. Accessed March 25, 2010.
  5. ↑ Union Glacier, Polar Conservation Organisation
  6. ↑ National Science Foundation - Office of Polar Programs: Initial environmental evaluation – development of blue-ice and compacted-snow runways. 9. April 1993. Accessed March 25, 2010.
  7. ↑ Antarctic Ice Marathon: Accommodation Facilities in Antarctica. Accessed March 25, 2010.
  8. ↑ First NGA ski trip to Pole from Hercules Inlet: . Accessed April 4, 2015.
  9. ↑ Messner-Fuchs Antarctic Crossing: . Accessed April 4, 2015.

Further reading

Swithinbank, C.W.M. 1991. Potential airfield sites in Antarctica for wheeled aircraft. Hanover, USA, CRREL Report 91-24.

Murphy J. 1990. South to the Pole By Ski.