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.
A team began excavating in the permafrost using hand tools, but couldn't start using their cable tool equipment until they cleared away a mixture of frozen soil and ice. As they reached a similar depth, they stumbled upon their first oil gush.