How do you run a base camp at the end of the world?

25/07/2024

UKAHT’s field operations manager Andrew ‘AJ’ Jones answers questions on the challenges of overseeing a conservation field team in Antarctica.

Andrew ‘AJ’ Jones spent 10 years as an officer in the Royal Marines where he lived and worked in some incredible places, including the jungles of Sierra Leone, the deserts of North Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan, and the US and the Arctic Circle. 

After the Marines, AJ pursued a personal goal and studied Human, Social and Political Sciences, before joining an early-stage Artificial Intelligence startup, in London, to build their operations from the ground up into four multi-disciplinary teams. 

AJ delivers UKAHT's field operations in Antarctica (Credit: UKAHT/Lesley Johnston)

This was AJ’s first season as field operations manager for UKAHT. He spent almost two months away from home overseeing the conservation work at Base W, Detaille Island. Below, he talks to us about how the logistics of running one of the world’s most remote base camps.

How do you get to Detaille Island?

Getting to anywhere in Antarctica is challenging. This year, the team and I flew from the UK to Chile, where we overnighted, before taking a flight to the Falkland Islands to meet a Royal Navy icebreaker, HMS Protector. After 10 days in the Falklands Islands due to delays, we sailed for two days across the Drake Passage to enter Antarctic waters and then sailed a further two days down the Peninsula to Detaille Island. Overall, it took us just over two weeks from leaving the UK to arriving in the vicinity of Detaille.

About to board the HMS Protector in the Falkland Islands (Credit: UKAHT/Lesley Johnston)

Detaille Island sits within the Antarctic Circle, in a place called Crystal Sound, and where the Lallemand Fjord and Isacke Passage meet. This location makes it extremely challenging to access because large amounts of ice often build up making much of the land around the Arrowsmith Peninsula and Loubet Coast inaccessible. 

AJ and Ruth prepare on HMS Protector (Credit: UKAHT/Lesley Johnston)

Additionally, strong katabatic winds from the mainland make ship operations almost impossible. When we arrived at Detaille, our ship had to anchor two miles away due to ice floes, large icebergs and a strong sea state. From there I went in a small boat with some Royal Marines to recce the island, where we navigated through the ice and pushed as much of it out of the way as possible with our paddles and oars. Overall it took us two hours to get there and back which meant we averaged one mile per hour!

How do you set up base camp?

It’s very important to have a clear vision and plan for the field camp, and a clear definition of success informed by the recce before beginning any cargo operations. Everyone involved must be briefed on this plan so they know why it’s so important, where they need to be and why, what they need to do and why, and what the risks are. 

Establishing a field camp at Detaille is heavily dependent on sea, ice and weather conditions, which can change hourly. Our team of seven were supported by a team of around 30 Royal Navy and Royal Marines who helped offload all our stores, move them into location on the island and set up the camp infrastructure. Overall we had around four tonnes of field stores to move across dangerous, open water, which we did in six waves of two boats. Despite sleet, rain, snow, thick clouds, and wind, on the first day, we managed to move all stores from HMS Protector onto Detaille and get four of our nine tents pitched. By 1900 hrs, however, we had all been out in the elements for around 12 hours without a break and needed to rest, so returned to the ship. 

Setting up camp on Detaille Island (Credit: UKAHT/Lesley Johnston)

On day two, the sea state worsened and prevented us from continuing the setup, however, on day three, we were able to return by ourselves and get the camp in a position where I was comfortable relieving HMS Protector of its supporting duties so it could continue onto Rothera. But as a team, we still had work to do preparing camp for daily life which would enable the project to work. Overall it took us around five days to get the camp set.

How many tents are there to pitch? Does everyone get their own?

We had a total of nine tents: one base tent large enough to facilitate all our eating and cooking; seven personal tents (everyone had their own tent); and one toilet tent. These all needed to be dug into the snow and ice, the flooring built and laid, and the tents erected. In total, we spent approximately 20 hours just building tents, so physical and mental robustness is vital.

Everyone gets their own tent (Credit: UKAHT/Lesley Johnston)

Why can’t you sleep in the huts?

The huts at Detaille are designated as historical monuments and sites, which means they represent an important part of the UK’s history and therefore we can’t risk damaging them by using them to live in. Also, some of the buildings require assessing and work to make them safe to use and we didn’t know how safe they were until we arrived at Detaille and carried out an assessment.

What does an average day look like at base camp?

Everyone wakes up and carries out their own personal and tent admin, then has breakfast, consisting of coffee and cereal, which is when a rough plan is made for the day based on weather and everyone’s energy levels. 

Work then starts until lunch, which is when everyone comes back, but usually at different times because everyone’s working on something different. Lunch consists of soup or noodles. 

The team relaxes between shifts (Credit: UKAHT/Lesley Johnston)

After lunch, it’s another period of focused work before the evening meal. This is the highlight of the day because it’s the only cooked meal we’ll have. After dinner, it's everyone’s chance to relax and unwind before personal admin, tent admin and bed.

What specialist gear/clothing do you need?

Detaille can be very cold, very warm and very wet. This means we needed the best clothing to keep us fit and healthy for a month. We used specialised steel toe-capped boots from Xtratuf, base layers which consisted of thermal leggings and Merino tops from Paramo, fleeces and insulated layers, mid layers and waterproof Gore-Tex outer layers supplied by Ship to Shore. On top of this, we had Gore-Tex gloves and workwear trousers, beanie hats and buffs, and polarised ski goggles for windy/sunny days.

We used sleeping bags from Snugpak and a layered system featuring a roll mat, an inflatable pad, a sheepskin and a sleeping bag to help keep us insulated from the icy ground. 

Specialist gear is essential (Credit: UKAHT/Lesley Johnston) 

Did you take it in turns to cook?

An important part of camp life is a fair and equitable rota system for the efficient completion of camp-related tasks. This meant everyone took it in turns to cook as either the ‘cook’ or the ‘assistant cook’. Meals and recipes were prepared well in advance of our deployment and were based on a seven-day rolling period. We worked on those recipes which gave some variety and enjoyment.

Lesley and Ruth tuck in (Credit: UKAHT/Lesley Johnston)

What’s it like sleeping on snow for a month?

It’s a great experience. Living on the ice puts you at the mercy of Antarctica and its weather, and you develop a unique appreciation for it. The nights are without fail cold, and often windy, but the personal tents are excellent and we all felt remarkably comfortable in them.

That said, it is challenging. Due to the weather, I’d spend around two hours a day just doing tent admin (digging in, maintaining each tent’s integrity etc), and with 24 hours of sunlight, it can make sleeping difficult unless you have a mask.

How often did cruise ships visit the site? Do you know when they’re coming?

Ships plan months in advance of when they intend to visit, so we have an idea. But because the ice and weather in and around Detaille can be challenging there’s no guarantee they’ll land. During our 31 days at Detaille, we were expecting 22 ships to visit, but due to ice build-up and strong winds only 10 managed to get to us, so a ~45% success rate. 

Detaille receives around 5,000 visitors a year (Credit: UKAHT/Lesley Johnston)

How did you stay in contact with people back home?

Our primary voice comms to the UK was an Iridium satellite phone with airtime sponsored by Iridium. Because we were so far south we never experienced any issues with dropping satellites and the free usage meant we weren’t restricted to 30 minutes a week which was the norm. 

Our primary data comms was a BGAN Cobham Explorer 510, which allowed us to email anyone in the UK, but this was a public setup so we couldn’t send private/personal emails without someone else in the team reading them. Our backup data comms was an Iridium Go! and this was private so many of us used this to email loved ones.

Comms are an essential part of fieldwork in Antarctica (Credit: UKAHT/Lesley Johnston)

What happens if there’s a medical emergency?

We develop a robust medical evacuation plan with a specialist medical provider prior to deployment. This provides us with emergency medical expertise over the phone in an emergency, and they’ll coordinate an evacuation to Argentina with the nearest vessel if needed. 

But as Detaille has shown, that vessel might have been a) far away, or b) unable to reach us, which meant that in a medical emergency, we could face the prospect of being on our own for several days. To mitigate this, we all went through a high-level remote field medical care course before deploying, up to and including things like administering subcutaneous injections, and took a significant amount of medical supplies. This gave us all confidence in being able to keep a casualty alive for several days should the worst happen.

Evac plans are in place for such a remote location (Credit: UKAHT/Lesley Johnston)

What was the hardest thing about your time at Detaille?

Definitely predicting the weather. We were hit almost constantly by two strong and opposing wind directions: the NE prevailing wind and the southern katabatic winds. These winds would last for several days, often bring sleet and snow and shift hourly without warning, putting a huge strain on our camp infrastructure. At one point we were expecting 100mph katabatic winds rolling in from the mainland and I was planning how to safely evacuate us in time knowing that the campsite would take at least two days to strike safely. However, in the end, the winds dropped to 45mph – it did get higher, but at this point, my handheld anemometer broke from snow and ice build-up so I couldn't take any more readings.

Predicting the weather is the hardest part of AJ's job (Credit: Lesley Johnston)

– Andrew ‘AJ’ Jones, Field Operations Manager, UKAHT