Cap Prud'homme

The station was established in the early 1990’s on the Antarctic continent, close to the sea and at about 5 km far from Dumont d’Urville station. It is the point of departure of the traverses to Concordia station. There is no ice free area around the station. There is no protected area in the immediate vicinity.

The joint French-Italian station Cape Prud'homme forms an integral part of the Concordia project. It offers a gateway to Concordia for the transport of heavy tools and equipment, following delivery by the resupply vessel L’Astrolabe to Dumont d'Urville station. In this context, and because Dumont d’Urville station is not on the continent itself, Cap Prudhomme was established for the development and maintenance of the traverse equipment (tractors, trailers, accommodation caravans), its winter storage, and preparation of transport convoys. The site was selected because it was used from 1955 as Antarctica Gateway for French expeditions.

The station is built on a rock near the coast but its surroundings are entirely covered by ice or snow. There is no fauna or flora.

The station is open in summer only. The staff is mainly composed of technicians working on the maintenance of the traverse equipment, as well as drivers in charge of the 3 convoys per year.

Access to Cap Prudhomme station is mainly by ship (L’Astrolabe) via Dumont d’Urville Station. A runway on snow allows landing of small aircrafts (Twin Otter or Basler) for the links between Concordia and the Italian station Mario Zucchelli.