Please note that this is an example itinerary, and is dependent upon team ability, local conditions and infrastructure.
Day 1 Arrive in Keflavik International Airport, Iceland Having collected your baggage and made your way through customs, the airport shuttle bus is waiting to take you into Reykjavik, where you will be dropped off at your accommodation for the night. Here you will meet the rest of the team for the expedition. The Guide will go through the team's equipment. Time for one last visit to the bar! We will be staying in simple bunkhouse/sleeping bag accommodation whilst in Reykjavik.
Day 2 Fly Reykjavik to Kulusuk, East Greenland A short transfer from your accommodation to the airport. Flights are with Air Iceland. A spectacular flight over the icebergs of the Denmark Straits, and great views of Greenland’s coast and the pack ice as we get closer. Landing on the gravel strip in amongst the mountains is quite an experience. Your GES Expedition Guide will meet you in Arrivals and arrange for baggage to be transferred through to the village. The Guide will brief you on the expedition and make final equipment preparations. Sleeping bag accommodation in the village overnight.
Day 3 Boats through the Fjordlands to the Glacier Front An early start and the boats are loaded with all the equipment before the team leaves the village behind and travels through the spectacular Fjordlands, passing icebergs and sea-level glaciers. Entering a fjord that cuts deep inland, the boats will drop the team off on the morraines to the side of one of the massive glaciers that calve into the fjord. The frequent roar of ice falling into the water from the 4km-long face makes for quite a backdrop to the first night's camp.
Day 4-5 Load-carrying up the glacier The glacier is usually devoid of snow until around 800m above sea level. Over this rough surface, it is necessary to carry the equipment, often in 2 loads. Within the first day, the snow line is likely to be reached, allowing the use of skis and sleds. Depending on the chosen Basecamp, an overnight stop will be made.
Day 6 Basecamp Skiing up one of the offshoots of the main glacier, a Basecamp site will be established that offers a good starting point for all the members of the team. An afternoon's ski should give everyone a good chance to look more closely at the surrounding mountains.
Day 6-16 Mountains Time free to explore the Range, making ascents of the peaks, either with the Guide or alone.
Day 17 Return to the Fjord With everything packed up in the sleds and pulled until it is necessary to repack and continue with rucksacks, a long day should mean that the team gains the fjordhead and our pre-arranged pick-up point.
Day 18 Boat Pick-Up. Return to Kulusuk Traversing the Schweizerland Mountain Range by the huge glaciers that cover the area, we will undertake a beautiful route that passes some incredible mountain scenery. Linking the glaciers are a number of low passes over which we will pull the sleds. Reaching the Karale Glacier, we will follow it down to the point at which it enters Sermiligaq Fjord. On the rocky shore, right beside the calving ice face, our pick-up boats will meet us and carry the team back to Kulusuk for hot showers and meals.
Day 19 Fly Kulusuk to Reykjavik Return to civilisation... After transferring through to the airstrip, the team will fly back to Reykjavik, where taxis will be waiting to take us back to a comfortable guesthouse in the city centre. A final night's celebration before leaving for home the following day.
Day 20 Fly Iceland to Home Country Transferring to the International Airport, flights back home mark the end of the expedition.