The crew began digging into the permafrost with pick and shovel, unable to put their cable tool rig into operation until they had cleared away the mixture of frozen mud and ice. At about the  level they encountered their first oil show.
The crew started excavating into the permafrost with a pickaxe and shovel, unable to deploy their cable tool rig until they had removed the combination of frozen mud and ice. At around the same level, they encountered their first oil seep.