There's even a large biplane. Not only can the ice weaken, but clouds and mist can make the visibility too poor for flying. Sometimes it breaks. So in about 36 hours they can just pick up the whole camp and move it somewhere else. The WomenQuest members weren't supposed to be at Borneo yet, but a flight was ready yesterday and the flying weather later in the week looked iffy, so off they flew from the Siberian mainland, Citizen reporter Alison Korn among them.
Visitors bring their own food and cooking stoves.
From the air, the little village looks like a slightly upscale bunch of ice fishermen who just happen to have their own runway. It's a pretty neat place. But it's more than good fun. Safety is a huge factor in the ice station's existence. Borneo means that help for an injured skier is less than an hour away by helicopter, whereas trekkers on the Canadian side of the ice cap may be a 12-hour Twin Otter flight from safety.