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Old 03-04-2010, 11:20 AM
BlueGerbil BlueGerbil is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Germany
Posts: 89
Quote:
March 02, 2010: 137th short message (09:45 p.m. CET)

Bad, bad.
Last night, after we heard a clicking noise from the left rear, we noticed that four of five stud bolts had fallen off. On closer inspection we realized that the stud bolts on the right side were also loose, just like the ones on F2. All bolts became loose in the track extensions, they swerved. But we need them, because the manufacturer, the original company who did the modifications, drilled the holes for the beadlock?s tube in the wrong place of the rim. All of that, having to take the tires down and putting them back on in the snow, exchanging the spare wheel, etc. caused us 12 hours of work under hardest terms. At around 7 p.m. a blizzard started. Bad, bad, bad.
Additionally, a stench arose in F2, which smelt like rotten eggs. We cleared out the whole car (you cannot imagine how tough this is under these terms). There was snow in/under/above/on the car, in the clothes, in the equipment, everything covered in snow. Finally we noticed that the battery in the back on the right side had a short-circuit, was very hot and threatened to explode. Therefore we removed it.
I cannot write anymore at the moment. We?re wiped out now. The storm is blowing again but we?re ready to depart. Outside it?s hard to bear. Some of us were developing frostbites on their face and hands. We took care that there were no unprotected places and we wore all protective clothing we have.

We hope to continue. Snowdrifts within minutes. Crazy.

Quote:
March 03, 2010: 138th short message (06:26 a.m. CET)

11 a.m. Are driving for quite a while at 5-10 meters sight. Only the GPS navigates.
But we have to continue. The blizzard now is just the foretaste of the two low-pressure systems which are expected to be here no later than two days from now. We try to stay on an old Vestichot track. At the moment we have 1,300 l gasoline and food for 14 days with us. In terms of figures we could endure the storms for 14 days in the tundra with the engine running non-stop. Additionally four days worth of food for an emergency, excluding an indoor heater by Webasto. After that it will be very hard to continue, because the lows will bring snow.
The team is doing well and strong. No permanent damage due to frostbites. Everybody warmed up again and has their feeling back in the places where frostbites have been.

4 p.m. No chance to do anything right now. We can?t see anything. Tough blizzard. There is no possibility to continue. We have parked the cars next to each other and placed a tent over the front of the cars to protect the engines.
We are going to eat something now and then lay down. Hopefully the storm will slow down at night, then we?ll continue.

Right now we are about 60 kilometres from Lorino at N 65?09.595 / W 172?12.403.
The iridium works. We can be reached via telephone, fax and e-mail. Everything is fine. Hopefully we won?t be stuck here forever.



















Quote:
March 03, 2010: 139th short message (07:16 p.m. CET)

4 a.m. It is still storming madly. By now, the snowdrifts around us are like a sandcastle. Without taking the wind into consideration, it?s a severe cold of about -30?C. With this wind this could easily be -40?C or lower. We can only take the gloves off for a few seconds. Just now we had to - among other things - refuel and wrap the air intake socket with cloth. We had to cover it with cloth because otherwise snow would get in, and that wouldn?t be good for the engine heating system. This entire procedure is crazy under these conditions. Within seconds you are covered in swirling snow, icicles form on you eyelashes as if they wanted to grow all the way to your chin.
Right when we stepped out of the cars I noticed a burnt smell. Immediately we started to look for its source. I remembered this situation in Jakutsk where we were also in the middle of a blizzard. Back then, ice blocked the fan engines and they burned through. When we opened the hood of F2 we noticed that this was the case here as well. Once again, F2 causes us work before we can continue.
For now we carved the cars in snow, covered the entire lower part with snow. This will not be any fun when we have to get back out of it. Boy, oh boy!
Apart from that, the vehicles work, even though they are not completely air tight (in a snow storm like that, snow gets inside through every little gap/seal ? just like in the desert, the sand also gets everywhere).

Other than that, the team is doing well, all is okay.
Our position is still the same: N 65?09.549 / W 172?12.404
Quote:
March 04, 2010: 140th short message (08:31 a.m. CET)

Captured in the blizzard, we are sitting tight.
It?s not really that nice and takes a lot of nerves. The storm is pulling on the vehicles, the protection, the constructional systems. We hardly see anything, our clothes are wet, partly frosted, the feet are cold, the insides of the car where we change our heavy clothing is rather small. And whoever might think that we are lazily sitting in the car for 30 hours now, is badly mistaken.
First, the temperature of F2 rose. Currently F2 is without a fan because we were not able to repair it in this storm. Then, one after another, the indoor fans of both cars gave out. This was very aggravating because this was the last option to cool the engine of F2 down; and it was also starting to get damned cold in F1.
After removing the glove compartment, we noticed that the fans were completely covered with snow ? despite the fact that we completely sealed the air intakes with cloths. Ice and snow got into the fans and threatened to block them. In my head I already started to dislocate my joints in order to acrobatically climb from my driver?s seat over Victor, the passenger?s seat, between the computers, etc. And dive head-first into the foot space. Just like this and while the blood started to flood into my brain, I wanted to remove the fan. But Victor had a better idea.
In the meantime it had gotten really cold in the car (because the cooler for the engine was off), we had turned on the Webasto heaters. It was releasing roaring heat and it is so genius that we used two curing tube extensions (which I had brough to Egvekinot just in case) and Victors idea to divert the air jet right onto the heater unit inside the dashboard. This way, the ice melted within minutes and the fan was working again, just like the heater. After using the same method on the second vehicle, the temperature of F2?s engine can be regulated again.
By now, we also use the hot-air jet of the Webasto heater to heat our water. It won?t boil this way, but it gets really hot. Amazing.
Besides that there is always the anxiety that the next component won?t last. The snowdrifts pile up. We have to dig out F2 from the snow every other hour, because otherwise we wouldn?t be able to open the doors again. We scrape the ice and the snow off the insides of the doors; dislocate our feet in order to get closer to the upper air jet. The one down below is too weak, the foot space has about zero degrees. This is not for the faint-hearted.
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