Itinerary
Please note that this is an example itinerary, and is dependent upon team ability, local conditions and infrastructure.
Day 1
Fly Copenhagen - Iceland. Arrive in Keflavik, 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 snow/gravel strip at Kulusuk. Meet guide.
Spring Expedition Transfer by helicopter to Tasiilaq. Settle into hotel.
Day 3
One full day will be spent checking and preparing our equipment and going over safety with the team's guide.
Day 4
An early start and all the equipment is loaded into the helicopter, before making the spectacular short journey SW to the frozen fjord that lies directly in front of the point we'll ascend onto the Icecap. The Ice meets the frozen sea in a series of vertical cliffs, and crucially for us, a low angled smooth 'ramp'. Begin the ascent of the glacier.
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August Expedition With our baggage in a 4WD, we'll make the short walk into the Inuit village of Kulusuk and settle into our hostel.
Day 3
One full day will be spent checking and preparing our equipment and going over safety with the team's guide.
Day 4
Transferring our baggage to the edge of the fjord, we will be met by our boat. We will then make the spectacular journey to a remote fjord near Isortoq where the Icecap meets the sea in a gently angled slope. Upon arriving (time very much dependent upon ice conditions), we will prepare our equipment before beginning the actual Crossing.
NB. From here on, our itinerary is going to be very variable, depending on snow and ice conditions, fitness of the team, weather etc. The day breakdown given below is meant to give you some idea of how the Crossing could go.
Day 5
With the pulks at their heaviest, the ice surface rough and the ground sloping relatively steeply up the initial 20km, the first days will be taken slowly and steadily, as we become accustomed to the systems we will be using every day of the expedition. At the end of the day, camp will be established. As well as getting much needed rest, time in the tents is occupied with melting snow to rehydrate after the day's exertions, and in eating plenty. The views back to the coast are simply breath-taking; a 220 degree panorama of mountains, vast glacier & iceberg-studded fjords.
Day 6
Polar expeditions are all about breaking down seemingly huge distances into 'bite-size' pieces, establishing routines or rhythms that increase efficiency and 'eat into' the mileage. Each skiing day is broken down into short segments, between which we take 10 minute breaks. In these early days, particular care will be taken to avoid any potential crevasse danger. At the end of the day, camp is established. We will generally sleep 2-3 to a tent, each pair preparing their own meals and water.
Day 7
As we leave the coast behind, the potential for crevasses lessens and the going gets less steep. Our daily distance covered and final position, plotted each night, will increase as the expedition progresses.
Day 8-20
As the team becomes used to daily expedition life, we will gradually increase our hours of travel. Although we will be skiing over the middle of an Icecap that stretches hundreds and even thousands of kilometres in every direction, the continually changing light as sunsets roll into sun rises, and differing levels of cloud cover changes snow contrast, make for a hauntingly beautiful icescape.
Day 21
After days of pulling gradually uphill, at around 2500m we will reach the Icecap's summit. At this elevation, temperatures can drop to the expedition's lowest.
Day 22-29
Having passed the summit, the ice starts, at first imperceptably, to drop towards the west coast. With increasingly light pulks and easier pulling, our daily distances are likely to greatly increase.
Day 30-31
The first distant sighting of the hills of the West Coast act as a signal that we will be entering the bare, 'bumpy' and sometimes rough ice of the last section of the icecap. Methodically working through the humps and melt water channels of the area, we'll steadily approach land.
Day 32
Dry land! Stones, soil and plants after weeks of snow and ice... We leave the Ice behind and prepare our equipment for the walk out to the coast. Sleds, skis and other equipment no longer of use are collected by 4-wheel-drive and taken to Kangerlussuaq. We begin our walk through the tundra landscape of low vegetation, streams and small lakes. It's amazing how lush such a landscape looks after the Ice of the Interior. When Nansen and his team reached the West Coast after their epic first crossing of Greenland, they spent hours lying on the sort ground and eating the berries that grew everywhere. Travelling towards Kangerlussuaq, it's possible we may see herds of muskoxen; a member of the goat family, they live year-round in this stark landscape.
Day 33
After another day of trekking through the tundra and hills surrounding Kangerlussuaq, we complete our Crossing of Greenland by reaching the shores of the fjord. Next, the chance to take a shower, eat a hot meal and sleep in a bed for the first time in awhile. A night of celebration!
Day 34
Kangerlussuaq - Contingency Day
Day 35
In less than 2 hours, we fly back across the Icecap that we've spent the last weeks crossing. The plane continues towards Europe and a rather big culture shock after the peace of the Icecap. End of expedition.