X’GREENLAND FALL
FOLLOW Brian, Erwin-Andreas, David, Akshay, Simon, Bjarke and Morten
day 32 - Land!
Yesterday, we did a good distance again, though we ran into rough ice by the end. This morning, it looked impossible with crazily sculptured ice with crevasses mixed into it.
Finally, we had no other option but to take on the fight. It turned into a very, very slow slug. But inching towards land, we finally hit a smoother patch and got the job done!
It was a real victory.
Then it was a final carry over the moraine terrain up to the point where a car came at 18:00 to take us out to Kangerlussuaq for a beer – and a shower.
Day 30
This was one of those hard-fought days that game a much better distance than anticipated. The terrain below Dogcamp in the western icefall is really demanding. It is a struggle to get the sled over the bumps and keep a good rhythm and speed for progress.
But even though the snow was very slow, there were quite a few ups:
• We actually still have snow under our skis! • The weather was still cold (corolates with the trend this year, it has been a lot colder than normal). • Our feet and boots are still dry!!! (first time at this stage in a very long time) • Passed a big lake today and it was totally frozen! (also unique) • It was a lot of sum liting up this incredible icefall, with just some clouds rolling in late afternoon.
Tomorrow will be another brutal day. But if we can keep this progress up, we stand the chance of stepping off the ice sometime late Friday.
day 28 - monday
Third day in a row with great distance. We have even started to descend a bit and homing in on the icefall
The sun was out today, and with a gentle push from east-south-east, it was a great day on the ice. Went down 200 metres. But the best part is that we still have good snow and have seen no melt water other than lakes yet. The very cold period we have had has definitely worked in our favor - so far.
Fingers crossed for the real icefall
day 26
The team is now getting it together and focused on the task ahead. The last two days have combined given ok mileage, even if the weather conditions have not been optimal. With low visibility, heavy snow, and wind fluctuating, it has not been easy.
Friday we knew it would be borderline due to heavy headwind and -16°. But we gave it a go. But after 6,5km, we set camp again. It was another day with high risk, low reward. But proud we tried.
Saturday was much better and sent us 25,5km west. Tomorrow we should reach the very upper part of the icefall and the first indications of how the conditions may be further down!
day 22 & 23
Two hard but great days. We are doing 11 stints and distances are now between 24 and 25km! Very satisfying.
The weather had min a glorious mix of everything. But all in all, the temperature has been stable -6 to -8°, with light snow now and then, low visibility but no 100% whiteout, wind varying but at least not straight at us, and snow with perfectly ok glide.
Yesterday, even DYE II showed up on the horizon. That was a huge inspiration and made navigation in front a bliss!
As we camped on Wednesday evening, we had only 5km left to DYE. So tomorrow morning, we will reach this big but strange milestone on our trip.
Then, we will ski on Thursday evening into big winds and snowfall. - So we still need best wishes :-)
Day 21 – three weeks in
It was a great day, with a feel-good temperature of -12°V and no wind from the morning. As the day progressed, the sun came out, and we had a great pace.
Even the wind was nice. After no wind in early morning, it slowly increased to 5ms, and even though it came in for SV, we continued for another stint to do our best day of almost 25km.
But paradise does not last forever up here. Tomorrow, there will be clouds and snow, a whiteout, and hard going for the next days. And on Thursday, it seems we will have another big wind.
But by then, will we be at DYE II, or maybe a bit beyond?
day 20 sunday
Yesterday was very windy and cold, we kept pushing with the wind in our faces but had to stop after 6 legs. Today has been a tiny bit warmer and with a little less wind, so we managed our 9 legs. Hoping for some warmer and nicer weather soon
day 19 saturday: polar hardship
After a bitingly cold night, temperatures rose to -18°C. But mixed with a moderate gale from the west (straight in our face), heavy clouds, and without, the day was a huge challenge. It did not help that it started to snow later in the day, making both navigation and keeping control over the cold very hard.
After 6 stints and a mere 9,6km, we set camp. It was a very small reward for the effort. But, 9,6km is 9,6km further west!
day 18 friday
20km today :) everybody is doing good. We had a small bird coming to check us out before flying off, and that’s the only thing we saw today, cloudy and white-out conditions.
But one big milestone! We passed over Summit. Not the summit feeling most will think of. Over the 20km we covered today, we descended 22 meters - at least that is what the gps told us. Not very scary 🤣
The next milestone will be DYE II, some 105km away. But before we get there, we will have a moderate gale, -20° and several days of snowfall...
day 17 thursday
Windy and snowy conditions today. So we spent the day inside the hood. We are now over halfway in therms of how many days worth of food we have, and it’s nice to feel the pulkas are getting lighter. 19,9km in total.
day 16
First Cloudy day in a long time today. We did our regular 9 legs and skies a total of 21,5km. The temperatures have been very pleasant, and we have had the wind in our back.
Navigating did however get trickier as the clouds made for very flat light.
day 15 tuesday
Another sunny and nice day on the ice! We did 9 legs, of 50min. And got a total of 20km! Everybody is happy and have gotten into the rhythm. Cold and clear weather now, seems like it’s going to be a cold night :)
Day 14 - monday
Tonight was our coldest night so far, but in good sleeping bags even the coldest temperatures can be dealt with. A little wind in our faces, so nose masks and fur ruffs was good to have the first legs. At lunchtime the wind stopped and we sat in the sun chatting and discussing movies and music, David spent the next leg figuring out witch movie characters best resembles the rest of the team;
Morten, Norwegian ‘Crocodile Dundee’
Simon, Robert Downey Jr in Ironman
Brian, Jean Claude Van Dam in Bloodsport
Bjarke, Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2
David, Robin Williams in Dead Poet’s Society
Now in camp we are getting ready for another cold night!
day 13 sunday - big mix
Today we woke up to nice weather, good conditions and little wind. A great day of skiing. During leg 8 we got a sudden snowfall of a few cm, before it disappeared as fast as it started, conditions were tough for the last leg, but we managed to ski 20,2km. Now we have a couple of hours to eat, drink and relax before we get into the sleeping bags.
day 12 saturday
During the night we had some wind beating on our tents. Even if the cold wind is blowing, our tents provide shelter from the wind and the sleeping bags keep us warm. So for some the sound of the weather is just a soothing lullaby.
We woke up as ususal and did our morning chores, prepairing for the day ahead.
Today we skied in ok conditions and the weather was also ok, a bit windy, but we have gotten used to skiing in the wind by now.
Since we came up the icefall and made our way into the icecap, it is amazing to experience the vast icy desert we find ourselves in. Today there was nothing but us and snow in all directions. Turning on the spot provides a good sence of how wast this icecap really is and how small we are. Today the sun and moon shared the sky for the bigger part of the day, as a special decoration.
But now, we are back in our sleeping bags, with warm food in our bellys, ready to go to sleep in our warm and cozy tents.
day 11
The blizz of a rest day soon becomes a distant oasis. It is hard not to sleep a little extra during the day and then not get the best sleep during the real night. Still, we all know the rest did wonders and is an important part of this long route.
So it was a slow start today, pretty fierce wind in our face and soft snow made for slow progress. Hopefully, the next few days will give us better conditions as we now aim for Summit. Still a 600 metre climb before we round the mark and start towards DYE II
DAY 10, Thursday: rest day!
After nine grueling days, the team decided to take a rest day as the wind picked up to almost gale force.
This is bang on our usual plan and should set them up well for the push for Summit, which is the highest point on the crossing.
As can be seen from the photo below, they had a blazing sum, making life inside the tent very nice indeed as the wind blasted outside.
A small note on the photos:
The extraordinary images on this trip is down to 2 things:
1) Morten takes beautiful photos.
2) But the surprising and stunning quality / high resolution is thanks to Simon who has brought a Starlink dish. Big thanks also go to Mr. Musk, who is gradually covering the Arctic and Antarctica.
day 9
Shifting weather and a little tougher conditions today, but the sun came out at lunchtime and we had a great time discussing who is the best James Bond while enjoying our noodles. We also saw polar bear foot prints for the second time today. Did 19km
day 8
Woke up to sun and clear skies today, again. Nice hard icy conditions until lunch, when it started clouding over and the snow got colder, the last leg of the day being the hardest, with the skies falling through the icy layer above softer snow.
We did however do 20km and are happy with that!
Day 7
Today we woke up to gale winds, but the sun was shining and skies were clear. It was the first day where everybody were tanking turns navigating in front, not the easiest day to navigate as there was almost nothing to “aim” for when skiing, but we managed fairly good. Got to camp at 1700 after 7 legs.
day 6 - the day of days
Woke up to sun, clear skies and hard icy snow. The pulkas felt feather light in the fantastic conditions and we did 20 easy kilometers. Now we are relaxing in the warm tents, snow in the kettle and dinner on its way.
Day 4
We spent the morning hours slogging up a big crest on the eastern icefall in overcast, warm, and party-drizzly conditions. On top we to meet the Nansen team.
A few hours later we were able to put on our skies for the first time! It all felt so good. Well into camp, the sunset looks like it will be beautiful tonight. On a positive note, we appear to be out of (or nearly out of) the daunting eastern icefall. Tomorrow the journey continues….
Last of all, on a personal note, I would like to publicly wish my son, William Latham, a very happy eighth birthday today!! I love you son!!!!
Day 3
As picktures say more than a 1000 words, see below and enjoy!
Day 2
It was a beautiful first day on the ice. We climbed the first part of the icefall in beautiful weather and hard ice with lots of small rivers. After a long day of jumping and fighting, we all reached camp pretty tired. The icefall is a brutal way to settle into a trip, and adjustments and rethinks have to be made before we head out tomorrow.
It seems like two overcast and party-wet days await us before the home office promises us more sunshine,
day 1 - still:
After leaving the boat, the team came alive and rocked up the steep wall and over to the ice. Even though we were running late, we just had to move on a little bit and camped at a reasonably flat area. Zzzzzzz
Day 1: We are off!!!
In glorious weather, the whole team gathers at the docs. We packed the 2 boats and are now on our way to the ice.
We will be set ashore, carry everything up on to the ice, camp there, and then the icefall awaits us over the next days!
Day zero / Tuesday: We are go!
There have been some hectic days getting everything ready. We even had Akshay’s luggage lost on its way from Iceland.
Then, after some days of fantastic weather here in Tasiilaq, it all turned on us. The weekend was all rain and wind. Together with all the ice this year, it meant that sailing over to the starting point could not happen until today.
But now the food is done, the equipment is ready, the permit is good, the waves are slowly subsiding, and our expectations are building.
The plan is to go by boat this afternoon. We will get into the fjord north of Isortoq and carry all our stuff up to the ice. Then we will set out properly tomorrow morning.
Sun is back out this morning. We are ready!
Wish us luck
COUNTDOWN, DAY -8
Everybody is packing and preparing. Soon you can follow this team as they cross the epic greenland Icecap