With a top speed of 350 miles an hour, it takes a Hercules LC-130 aircraft a little over two hours to fly the 560-miles to the NGRIP site.

The plane touched down onto the Greenland Ice Sheet, a glacier about one-quarter the size of the continental U.S. and almost two miles thick. The NGRIP team took me to a black geodesic dome the size of a very small house. Lunch was inside: smoked salmon, fish salad in cream sauce, slice meats, cheese, rolls, and slices of a confection that looked like a brownie the size of a loaf of bread.

After lunch, I accompanied a small group to the drilling site -- a large room carved from the ice. Several cores were brought up from the hole during the 12 hours I stayed at the base.

The researchers hoped to reach the bottom of the ice sheet any day. Previously, they estimated the thickness of the glacier was about 3085 meters. The last core of the day was taken at 3083 meters. Spirits were high. We toasted the project with whiskey in glasses containing 1,000-year-old ice. The little pieces were crystal clear with tiny bubbles that made a popping sound like that of Rice Krispies in the drinks.

Flying out further confirmed the unpredictable nature of air travel in the Artic. With all the new snow that had fallen, the plane could not get up to speed for a takeoff. After taxing back and forth for about an hour, the crew pushed a pallet of cargo out the back hatch to lighten the load.

The plane began picking up speed for what was the last attempt to take off that night. There was a great whooshing sound and the plane began to lift off. Wisps of smoke began filling up the back of the plane. The LC-130 is equipped with little rockets, about the size of a trashcan, for giving the plane extra thrust if needed (used takeoff rockets can be seen at various places around town as doorstops). The smoke was exhaust from the propellant and soon dissipated.

	The Drill Site Pictures from the NGRIP drill site.

THE FLIGHT TO GREENLAND ARRIVAL ANTICIPATION THE DRILLING SITE STRIKING BOTTOM TASIILAQ - GREENLAND VILLAGE GREENLAND TO GREENLAND, VIA ICELAND SLEDGE PATROL NEW DIGS