Isortoq - Ilulissat (GES guided)
24/04/07 Having started on 21st April, GES guide Matt Spenceley is currently making his way across the icecap from their sea-level drop off point near Isortoq on the east coast to Ilulissat in the west. He is travelling with fellow Brits Nick Anderson and James Alexander. Nick and James are based in London and this will be their second attempt at the crossing. A relatively seldom attempted route, and longer than the classic route to Kangerlussuaq, the team will use kites to assist their progress. They are currently doing well, and hope to reach the high point of the icecap in the next few days. Click here for live updates from the team !
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30/04/07 Despite the heavy snow and whiteout conditions, the team has kept up their excellent progress and has averaged more than 20 km per day. They are now within 80 km of the high point of their crossing, and are looking forward to pull down to the west coast.
04/05/07 Still keeping up excellent distances each day, clocking up to 28 km per day. The team passed the high point of their crossing a couple of days ago and are now, albeit imperceptibly, heading downhill towards the west coast. They hope to make Ilulissat in about 13 days! So far they have not had favourable conditions to fly their kites, but southerly winds in the forecast could provide a great opportunity and may reduce their ETA even more!
05/05/07 As predicted by the weather forecasts, favourable winds kicked in today meaning that the team could get their kites out. They covered a stunning 80 km today, and suddenly the west coast is getting much closer...
09/05/07 An exciting phone call from the team this morning. Conditions have been perfect for kiting, and they've make superb progress. As of this morning, they are just 15 km from the western edge of the Greenland Icecap, and hope to finish later today! However, descents off the icecap are often tricky, so we're holding our breath for more news.
10/05/07 EXPEDITION COMPLETE!! At 8:30 pm on 9th May 2007 the team reached the fjord ice and completed their expedition, covering 640 km in a superb 18 days. This morning they were picked up by dog sleds and are now making their way back to Ilulissat. Congratulations to the team for an impressive expedition!!
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Ski Greenland 2007 - Team Geared Up
24/04/07 Also dropped off at sea-level near Isortoq on 22nd April, Swiss-based Mustard Robley and Matt Franzke are currently progressing well towards their destination of Kangerlussuaq. They have now cleared the initial glacier ascent and are on the icecap proper. Both involved with the Scouts movement, Mustard and Matt's expedition celebrates 100 years of Scouting and hopes to raise funds for Scouts to rebuild Lebanon.Updates from the team here!
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30/04/07 Mustard and Matt have been sitting out the bad weather but are now on their way again, and sound pleased to be on the move! They report clear skies, no wind and good firm snow.
03/05/07 The guys are making good progress, and are now 90 km from the high point of their crossing.
09/05/07 Their solid progress continues, and on 7th May they passed over the high point of their route and have now begun their gradual decent towards Kangerlussuaq.
10/05/07 Skiing along nicely in improved weather. Yesterday evening Matt and Mustard were just 47 km from DYE2.
11/05/07 Only 20 km from DYE2 now, and the boys have it in sight! The first feature they've seen since leaving the mountains of the east coast. Although a war relic, it must be good to see...
14/05/07 As Matt and Mustard lose altitude, they are enjoying warmer temperatures and ice-free sleeping bags! 81 km to go.
17/05/07 As they set off this morning, they had just 15 km to go to the edge of the icecap and were negotiating the complex ice that exists in this area. Thankfully little meltwater though.
18/05/07 OFF THE ICECAP! Matt and Mustard stepped off the icecap yesterday evening, completing their crossing of the icecap in a highly respectable 26 days. They are now walking out the 40 km to the fjordhead in Kangerlussuaq to complete the crossing of Greenland.
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Bendigo Bank Greenland Expedition
24/04/07 A team of 3 Australians. Linda Beilharz is the first Australian woman to ski the complete distance from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole. Rob Rigato is an outdoor instructor of some considerable experience. Roger Chao has been voted the 2006 Australian Geographic Young Adventurer of the Year in recognition of his winter crossing of Tasmania. Together they aim to raise awareness of climate change and make a carbon neutral crossing. Delivered to their start point at sea-level near Isortoq on 12th April, the team made good progress before enduring ferocious a 60 hour Piteraq storm (powerful katabatic winds). This confined them to their tents and resulted in some nasty tent damage (fortunately repairable), but now the team is making steady progress towards their goal of Kangerlussuaq in West Greenland. Website and dispatches here.
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30/04/07 These guys are further west than the others, and seem to have escaped the worst of the snow. They seem to have been making steady progress but after their storm-frustrated start are keen to increase their daily mileage. They are halfway to the abandoned radar station of DYE2, and have met some wildlife - a small bird resembling an 'inflated sparrow'! Most likely a snow bunting that's been blown inland.
06/05/07 After several days of great mileage, the team arrived at the old radar station of DYE2 - a bizarre relic of the Cold War. They are now within reach of the west coast.
09/05/07 Linda, Rob and Roger reckon they are within 5 or 6 days of Point 660 - the place at which they will step off the icecap onto terra firma. However, the ice ahead of them is notoriously difficult to get through. it can be chaotic and heavily crevassed, and in the past meltwater has been a big problem here.
10/05/07 Progressing fine on good snow conditions. Also noting signs of summer with big V-shaped flocks of birds flying overhead. They can also hear aircraft frequently, probably flights coming in and out of Kangerlussuaq. Nearly there!
14/05/07 OFF THE ICECAP! We had a very pleased call from the team this morning to say that they stepped off the icecap very late last night, and are now on dry land! They experienced relatively few problems with meltwater and were in awe of the weird and wonderful ice formations that are found in this area. They will spend the next 2 days walking out to the fjord head, thus completing their crossing of Greenland.
15/05/07 EXPEDITION COMPLETE!! Linda, Rob and Roger made excellent progress down the river valley that leads to Kangerlussuaq, their senses enjoying all the sights and sounds that they'd missed on the icecap. When they reached the head of the fjord in Kangerlussuaq, they completed their coast to coast crossing of Greenland. It took them 35 days in all. Now all enjoying plenty of food and a good wash. Congratulations to the team from all at GES.
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Frozen Dreams
24/04/07 Paul Kamphuis and Jan Fokker Oosterhof from the Netherlands were dropped of at sea-level near Isortoq on 19th April and are now powering their way westwards towards Kangerlussuaq. They are doing well and reached the plateau a few days ago, pleased that the heavy pull up from sea-level was behind them. Paul and Jan are using the icecap crossing as a warm-up for their ultimate goal - the South Pole! Dispatches from the icecap here(mainly Dutch). |
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30/04/07 Paul and Jan seem to have been hit hard by the snow fall and report more than a metre of new snow around their tent! It's required a lot of digging. However, having enjoyed a rest day, they're back on the road now and claim that the soft new snow is starting to settle down into a more manageable skiing surface.
05/05/07 Today we received the sad news that Paul and Jan have decided to turn around and return to the east coast. Having been severely hampered by the heavy snow early on in their expedition, they feel that they no longer have the time or resources to safely complete the crossing.
11/05/07 Paul and Jan made good progress back to their starting point where they were picked up by helicopter in the afternoon. They are now back in Tasiilaq and will make their way back to The Netherlands over the next couple of days.
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Fedor Konyukhov Dog Sled Icecap Crossing
24/04/07 Renowned Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov is joining us for an icecap crossing with dog sleds from Isortoq to Ilulissat in West Greenland. Fedor is a man of some experience having summited the 7 Summits, skied to both Poles (North Pole 3 times, once solo!), and is a round-the-world yachtsman having competed in the famed Vendee Globe race. Our 2 dog teams driven by Dane Klaus Anderson and Greenlander Hans Aronsen arrived in Isortoq last night after 20 days on the icecap - right on schedule! They sounded very proud of their dogs! The teams will now rest in Isortoq before making their return journey to Ilulissat with Fedor! Fedor's website. |
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01/05/07 Having given the dogs a good rest and plenty of food, Fedor left Isortoq this morning and is now making his way onto the icecap. Best of luck to him. Fedor will drive his own dog team, and he is accompanied by Greenlander Hans Aronsen. Hans is one of Greenland's top dog sledders, and is a veteran of previous long dog sled expeditions including an impressive journey from Ilulissat to Qaanaaq in the far north of Greenland.
08/05/07 Fedor and Hans are making excellent progress, and so far have covered 220 km. They have about 420 km to go to reach Ilulissat.
10/05/07 Records from Fedor show that he passed though his high point a couple of days ago and is now well on his way to Ilulissat. Probably over halfway now.
11/05/07 Fedor has passed the halfway point, and is making great progress. The dog teams are averaging 55 km per day, and Fedor reports that he is feeling in good control of the dogs and is spending time as the lead dog. The team belongs to Klaus Anderson and Fedor wanted to thank him for a 'smart and strong team that is full of stamina'. Maybe only 7 days to Ilulissat now.
17/05/07 EXPEDITION COMPLETE!! Having made very impressive progress in the last days of the expedition, including daily distances of up to 82 km, Fedor and Hans came off the icecap on the 16th. The dogs must have smelt home! Their final challenge was to make it through the mountains to the east of Ilulissat, which they did without difficulty. They arrived in Ilulissat this morning to a great reception and a big party which had been laid on in celebration of this expedition. It's made big news in Greenland. Many congratulations to Fedor, to Hans who of course has completed a double crossing, and to Klaus Anderson for getting his team across. And we mustn't forget the dogs who just kept on going for 1300 km - real heroes!
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The GES Icecap Crossing
Our other guided icecap crossing is due to begin on 4th May. This is being led by our guide Charlie Paton, who in 2000 was a member of the first British team to ski unsupported to the North Pole. Their are making an attempt to reach Kangerlussuaq from a sea-level start near Isortoq.
04/05/07 Expedition Underway! After a slight delay due to fog in the Isortoq area, Charlie, Gonny and Bjorn flew into their start point and began their expedition.
07/05/07 The team called in from an altitude of about 500 m. The pull up towards the plateau is going well, but is tough with soft snow and glaring hot sun. Things are cooling off now though and all is otherwise well.
10/05/07 They have now reached the plateau and things have levelled off a little so from today they will start longer marches and get some good distance under their belts. Still feeling the heat though - even in the recent whiteout conditions they are getting some sunburn. Summer is arriving fast in Greenland.
14/05/07 Making good progress, and averaging about 20 km per day. They are now at an altitude of about 2000 m, so not too much more height gain before they reach their high point of the crossing. All is well.
17/05/07 Good mileages continue and Gonny, Bjorn and Charlie are now pretty much at the high point of their crossing. Like some of the other teams they have seen snow buntings far inland, but yesterday they saw the footprints of an Arctic Fox! Incredible to think what one of these could be doing so far from any source of food (unless it's tracking expedition teams...)
25/05/07 The team has been experiencing some rough weather lately, with strong winds and heavy snow. The winds are set to persist for a couple more days, but at least now it's coming from behind. Despite the tough conditions, they've kept up some excellent progress of around 30 km per day, and are now in sight of the old DYE2 radar station, currently 36 km from their camp. All being well, they hope to come off the ice in about 7 days.
30/05/07 Just 72 km from the western edge of the icecap now, and hoping to be off by Saturday...
02/06/07 EXPEDITION COMPLETE!! The final day was also the most challenging of the expedition, and the team had a tough time negotiating the rough hummocky ice that lies above Point 660, their destination and pick up point. Nonetheless they made it through, and are safely in Kangerlussuaq, waiting for flights home on Monday. It sounds like they were just in time - the lower parts of the icecap were just about to erupt with meltwater as they passed through, and the day after there were reports that their route off the ice had turned into a large lake! Many congratulations to the Charlie, Bjorn and Gonny on a successful crossing!
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