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Dates:
Sunday 10th August - Sunday 31st August 2008

Team size:
Min: 3 Max: 6

Price:
£3042

Including:
- Flybus transfers in Iceland
- 2 nights' guesthouse accom. in Reykjavik (twin room, break incl.)
- 2 nights' sleeping bag accom. in East Greenland
- Expedition food packs
- High grade white gas (for use in stoves)
- Services of GES expedition leader a UIAGM Mountain Guide (incl. all fees & expenses)
- Navigation equipment & information
- Tent & stove kit hire

- Communications equipment & solar panel (personal calls, when possible, cost £2/min)
- Hire of dual frequency satellite beacons, flares & bear deterrents
- Pre-expedition consultancy & advice on preparation/training
- 24-hour GES Basecamp & staff services whilst on expedition (weather forecasts, logistical arrangements)
- Boat transport from/to basecamp/Kulusuk

Not including:
- Return flights between your home country and Keflavik, Iceland
- Personal travel & expedition insurance
- Personal equipment (we have a large selection of hire equipment)
- Excess baggage costs
- Meals in Iceland and whilst staying in Kulusuk village
- Any extra costs you may incur if the expedition runs overtime or your flights are delayed or cancelled*.
*NB. Please check that your travel insurance policy covers for such eventualities. 

For full info, please view GES Terms & Conditions, available before booking.

Experience required:
This expedition is open to experienced mountaineers who would like to undertake a full, expedition-style trip, where endurance and personal skills should be adequate for the objective described to the right.  Should you be unsure as to the suitability of this expedition, please do not hesitate to contact the office for advice.

 
 

Ultra Photo Gallery 2.5

Apusineq Exploratory Expedition

For much of the year, East Greenland's coast is completely cut off to boat access by an inpenetrable band of pack ice.  However, for a short window each summer, the fjords open sufficiently to access some of the many beautiful and remote mountain ranges that run the length of the coast.  This summer, a small, completely self-sufficient team will venture into the Apusineq Glacier region, looking for first ascents.
*this is a new expedition so we have no photos of the actual area.  Those displayed are of a similar area within the same range and represent the kind of terrain we expect to find.

Objective
The plan is to set up a basecamp on the shoreline a short distance from the point where Apusineq Glacier enters the fjord.  We will then look to access the many alpine-scale peaks in the region by ascending on to the glacier systems, sometimes for one day at a time, and others for multi-day trips.  The range is not well-known so an exploratory approach is definitely called for.  The guide will be on-hand to help with route-choice, but the group is likely to move on several ropes, offering the potential to attempt different ascents concurrently.  The mountains are particularly well suited to classic moderate alpine-style summer mountaineering.

Location, Terrain & Conditions
Located around 60km NE of the tiny Inuit settlement of Kulusuk, the jagged gneiss peaks of the range locally rise above the fjords to around 1500m.  Bearing in mind that ascents often start from near sea level, these are very much alpine-scale mountains.  The entire range is heavily glaciated, often to sea level, and the snow line is likely to be around 800m above sea level. 

The fjords will be free of winter ice but are likely to carry large numbers of icebergs (a good reason to establish our basecamp high above the shoreline - the waves produced by a collapsing 'berg can be BIG).

In August, the near 24 hour daylight of high summer very slowly recedes until there's just enough darkness at the end of the month to sometimes see the Aurora Borealis.  In practice, this means that it's light enough to climb around the clock.  Although there's always the potential for snow, temperatures in the day tend to be around 10 degrees Celsius, dropping to freezing point at night.

 
 
Itinerary

Please note that this is an example itinerary, and is dependent upon team ability and local ice conditions.

Day 1 
Arrive in Keflavik International Airport, Iceland.  Transfer to Reykjavik.  Overnight in guesthouse.

Day 2 
Fly Reykjavik to Kulusuk, East Greenland.  A short transfer from accommodation to the airport.  Flight by bi-prop Fokker 50 or Dash over the Denmark Strait.  Impressive views of the pack ice, 'bergs and mountains of East Greenland.  Land on the gravel strip at Kulusuk.  Meet expedition guide.  Walk to Kulusuk village.  Equipment check & safety briefing.

Day 3 
Early morning start towards Apusiajiik Island and the first of many tide-water glacier faces.  First camp with views of the western horizon (at this time of year, the sun only dips below the Icecap for a short while, making for 6 hour sunsets and rises).

Day 4 
Follow the shores of Apusiajiik north, skirting the open waters of Angmagssalik/Ammassalik fjord, before crossing 3 fjords to reach Eqi - a camp amongst Inuit tent circles, from which we've watched fin whales cruising up and down the sound a stone's throw from the shore.

Day 5
A start dictated by the tide; northwestwards into the sheltered Torssukatak fjord, passing the Inuit village of Kungmiut/Kummiut.  The key to the day is in reaching the head of the fjord at high tide, when a narrow channel is flooded, allowing access to the wide, shallow bay of Tuno.  The bay's shallow because of the alluvial outwash from an unnamed glacier that lies a little inland.  Following the braided char streams north, an hour's walk leads through the morraines to the terminus of the glacier amidst incredible mountain scenery. 

Day 6
Out of Tuno into Ikateq fjord.  Past a spectacular rock spire and the remains of a WWII US airstrip (complete with several thousand rusty barrels).  Into Sermiligaq fjord, we follow the coast northwards and inland.  In Sermiligap qingertiva, the Knud Rasmussen and Karale glaciers, together with a handful of smaller ice flows reach sea level in ice faces many kilometres long.  Camp by the calving face with the boats high-and-dry, to the gun-shot reports of the glacier producing icebergs.

Day 7
Follow the ice faces at a respectful distances back towards the open sea.  Cross the fjord (paying particular attention that we don't damage the boats on the sharp, freshly carved ice) and follow the eastern shore of Sermiligaq to make camp a little to the north of the remotest of the area's tiny villages, Sermiligaq, where we can perhaps make a visit in the evening.

Day 8
In the mouth of Sermiligaq fjord, 2 islands refer back to the first Europeans, the Norse or Vikings, that visited these shores.  Leif's and Erik the Red's Islands rise steeply out of the water and will be our target for the day.

Day 9
Depending on how everyone feels, we may take the day to explore these mysterious islands, searching for the obelisks that are marked on the map.  An ascent of one of the peaks will pay us with views of the fjord that we will attempt to cross each day - we can check ice conditions and watch tidal movements.

Day 10
A crossing of Sermiligaq fjord.  We need good conditions and will hop between the islands that span the fjord mouth.  From this day onwards, we will be traversing the shores exposed to the ocean. 

Day 11
Southwards through the complex of tiny islands that make up the western fringe of Sermiligaq fjord.  There are 2 small hunting cabins that we may overnight in.

Day 12
Enter the enclosed basin of Aqerta-tuluk and round the southern-most tip of Apusiajiik island, Kongartik, by way of a  narrow channel that is protected from the ocean swell by a series of skerries.  Camp in sight of Kulusuk island. 

Day 13
Through the grounded icebergs of Ikasartik until the village is in sight.  Return to the village.  Showers, a farewell meal together and a good night's sleep!

Day 14
Transfer through to the airstrip and leave East Greenland behind.  1.5 hours later, re-entry into a very different world in Reykjavik, Iceland.  Overnight in a guesthouse.

Day 15
Transfer through to Keflavik Airport.  End of expedition.

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