X’GREENLAND 2024

FOLLOW DYLAN, SINDRE, RAMANAN, NEERJAI, ROY OVE & INE-LILL

Penultimate day 21 hours ski trip!

We didn't want to get stuck in the piteraq that had been reported for late Saturday evening. We think the storm we had yesterday was demanding enough, even though we have become very good at pitching up and taking down tents in strong gales. The solution is to set up one tent at a time, working as a team.

After an incredible effort, we almost made it all the way to the the cabing by the fjord. When we arrived we found out it  that did not exitst no longer. It had been demotishet by a Piteraq – a sister storm og the one heading our way…

We chose to camp at 04.30 and more than 50 km on our skies. It was 3 km before the planned pick-up point, and because the glacier started to get pretty lively with sleds in tow. We found a flat spot and set up a tent with ice screws and melted ice(!)
After some rest, water, food and a couple of snores, we started the very last stage at 10 am. We arrived ate the end of the Inland Ice at 1 pm on June 1 in lovely calm weather. Helicopter picked us up at 15, and now we are safe in Tasiilaq while the storm rages outside.

 Thank you for following😀

Breaking news - First 5 back in Tasiilaq

A lot has happened today. As some of you may have picked up, a big storm is hitting the area tonight around midnight. This is what the locals call a piteraq. They are extreme catabatic winds that often hit very locally. They are normally not occurring at this time of the year, but with an unusually cold May, they will hit the Isortoq area Sunday and Monday.

Our 2 teams had a race against time to get down before it hit. After stunning days in already strong gale winds, they came down in time. When we saw that, we managed to get a helicopter to take them out of the area. It was only a small helicopter, so it has to make 3 trips. It has all happened so fast, but it was by far the safest and best solution.

So here is proof of the pudding, the first 5 setting foot in civilization, Beautiful Tasiilaq.

day 28 - all in

Short message: We woke up to another beautiful but equally windy day. It was by no means easy with a strong gale side wind to ski over to the entry point for the icefall. The crosswind had stormy gusts and and made skiing difficult. It was a relief to turn into the icefall proper and get the wind behind us.

But as we first saw a mountain and later the sea, the morale and eagerness rose. The team was super geared towards a mammoth effort to get as far down as possible.

Late at night, we camped just 2 km from the ice edge to ensure good snow under our tents. It had been a 50+ kilometer day! But then, we are across!!!

day 27

Yesterday, we felt like we were skiing in a cloud. Today we skied on a dancing cloud. It was really windy from the off, and with all the snow, it was just a beautiful mowing carpet of snow drifting hurriedly towards the coast.
It was stunning but hard work. Each tent was taken down and, at the end of the day, set up in unison, with everybody helping out with each tent. It worked wonders.

The wind has been between 15 and 20ms and came in sideways, so it took a lot of concentration and strength to push ever further east. By camp we were a good 26km closer to the coast.
The wind will keep up, but we hope to be off the ice tomorrow evening as the area will be hit by a big storm / piteraq Sunday and Monday…

day 26 - blindfolded in a white, white world

WO and headwind and snow all day. Absolutely no contrasts to see anywhere - just like walking inside a cloud with this cotton under, over and around you. The only thing you see is the other skiers, and they look like they are floating around in space.

So, very demanding to navigate. We take turns navigating, everyone helped out us to get us forwards. And ‘team 2 cool’ managed it so well. In 11 legs we covered 26.4 km. In these conditions it was a big surprise, very good, and a pat on out own backs! Hit camp at 18.30, then it cleared up and the wind even died down! But it will not last long because tonight it is reported 20 m/s.

Stronger winds have been forecast in the coming days, so we practiced digging down tents 30 cm and get wind-sharp – the rest of the trip will be in very high winds..
At this moment the sun came out too, wonderful. Good night from the Greenland Ice Sheet.

day 25 - a vissit

-11°C in the tent when we woke up this morning. The tent was rattling quite a bit so we knew what was awaiting us :-)
It was the perfect Polar Day. Great windy weather with snow particles in the air and sun! But the snow was still deep and heavy, so we left a hard-fought, beautiful track behind us that winded endlessly westwards and over the horizon behind us.

A small white bird visited us to keep us company and entertained while skiing. Last night, we had several circulating the camp. I'm not sure if they are lost or just curious about what an unexpected nomadic oasis in the middle of nowhere, does up here. For us, it is a reminder that there is life out here - and that we are approaching the eastern coast.

A little postscript from Neeraj, Ine-Lill’s tent buddy at the moment:
It is a great pleasure to learn from ace polar explorer Ine-Lill on this expedition. Her experience and lessons learned will certainly be helpful in the future.
In the tent, it feels like a mother is caring. This is something I will love to remember forever, inter alia.

Day 24 - Windless and a good relaxed atmosphere

A ‘summerly’ minus 8°C in the tent when we woke up, - and completely windless! The complete opposite to yesterday!
The day started in total WO, but then half-cleared later in the day, and we even saw traces of sunshine before calling it a day.

We really managed to do very good navigation in our designated nine legs, which culminated in 18 km eastwards. We were very happy with that as it is very deep and heavy snow in which to trail break.

The team deserved a slightly earlier night in camp after hard work and 11 legs since day 17. We have gone so well that we have fewer km to walk in heavy snow. 

Day 23

Woke up to sounds of snow and wind on the tent outside, so we knew instantly that the weather was turned on ot’s head.

True enough. It was WO, -8°C and wind. Lots of wind, actually. But most of all a daunting 50 cm of fresh snow. The speed therefore decreased considerably. Still, we battled on and were very proud of 19 km in 11 legs today.
The wind increased and around lunchtime there were probably up to 20 ms in the gusts. So we set up a lunch tent, in there it is always warm and cozy, and a super break from the relentlessness of progressing through the deep snow.
Heavy work at the front today and the sleds really wanted to go elsewhere than straight ahead today. Tomorrow, it may clear a bit, but the show will still be deep.

day 22 - tiddeli bom (ask any Norwegian what that means…)

Only -13°C in the tent when we woke up. Gone was the blue sky. Gone was the polar temperatures. We were in Arctic cotton :-)

It was very cloudy and flat light at departure at 7.30 and it became more and more totally whiteout. It all progressed to a lot of snow from above and wind from the side. Or rather straight at us.

After 11 legs and 26 km (very proud of our distance!), we camped. We have to expect weather changes for the worse with the wind seemingly picking up during the night and probably delaying the start tomorrow.
On the ‘sunny side’ - we got a visit from a small bird along the way; it chirped curiously around us. Very cozy. We were probably the only contrast in this featureless, white world.

Now it's snowing heavily outside, and the wind is shaking the tent a bit. We are pleased to have walked many kilometers, especially the last few days before the snow came. Now it will most probably be a bit heavy ahead. But it will clear again late Monday evening. Hopefully the snow will pack well. If not we will leave a deep train behind us. 170km left – and a big storm on Saturday.

day 21 - 3 weeks in

-18°C today as we started out - and sunny! That almost felt warm compared to the -28° mornings not long ago. Managed 32 km today as well, despite quite a lot of sastrugi. It's like walking on a stormy sea, if you can imagine. The sleds are going up and down, through and around the waves as we are crisscrossing or way eastwards. Quite fascinating. As we have passed the top and it has been a little downhill today. Not that descending 120m in 32km feels like downhill – but we take all the positives we can from it :-)

This was the eighth day with sun and little wind. Absolutely fantastic! But we know we are on borrowed time. So, we have had super teamwork to maximize the distance every day. Tomorrow (Saturday) is the start of a huge snowfall, and to top it all, it will be accompanied by a small gale on Sunday morning.
Greenland has made it quite clear that the eastern side is no desert. We will have to work for this one. Wish us luck!

Comment from the Homebase / Situation Room: They will go into total whiteout (WO) today with between 50 and 100cm of snow, and it will not clear till late Monday evening. After a few mixed days, they will get a real gale from the northwest next weekend.

The photo on display today was very blurry. We do not know why. It could be a technical mistake. Or, after doing almost 100km in the last three days, it could be that this is how they now see their surroundings…

day 20

Dylan: Today, we conquered theSsummit of the Greenland ice sheet. Hard to tell exactly where it was but I think we are going down now. The team is working hard and putting in big hours. 11 legs of 52 minutes ski and 8-minute break.
This gave us a record distance of 32 km!

As we passed the Summit area, conditions markedly changed. Big snowfalls and storms earlier in the season have sculptured the area, and more and more sastrugi (Russian name for packed snow) appeared. Very pretty at first. Very hard work later as more and more showed up.

Please send more chocolate. 
Sindre & Dylan

day 19 - the top!

We are really stretching our legs these days. Pulling at max!

It is a bit sad to push this hard here (30k / day), as the last period has been Greenland at its most beautiful: clear skies, not much wind, great polar surface, and Arctic temperatures in the mid-minus 20th. That keeps us from overheating and keeps us focused and sharp so we don't get frost injuries.

We have pushed to get over to the eastern side before the weather changes. This last night we camped at Summit, the highest point on the inland ice. It is very hard to know and only the GPS can tell if we have stopped climbing. It now seems we are at the top, and tomorrow (Thursday), we should have the luxury of descending a full 40 meters!

Two more days of this blizz and heaven is supposed to open and dump a ton of snow on us. Wish us luck 😊

day 18

It was very comfortable -17°C and sunny this morning when we got up. The wind was down to a light breeze, which was also welcomed.We got going with our departure at 8:00 with the aim of carried out our new plan of 11 legs, six before lunch / 5 after 😀

We have lowered the cruising speed somewhat after becoming a little overeager after the visit to Dye2. Now we go a little calmer and stay on our skiis for longer. We paid of as we hit 30km in great style!
The reason why we have picked up distance is that a 50-80 cm snowfall has been reported for the weekend. Right now we have great conditions that we have to take advantage of before it can be very heavy❄️

Day 17

After the thrill of visiting DYE II on day 15, there has been a lot of skiing the last two days.  Today was another productive day, having done 10 legs covering 27kms. The conditions were close to perfect for skiing, clear blue skies, and light wind. 

The plan is to take advantage of these conditions over the next three days before the onset of some unfavorable weather with heavy snow and strong winds predicted for Friday and the weekend, which might make us tent-ridden on Saturday. Fingers crossed the weather forecast is not as bad or better still does not eventuate.  
However, we are also equally prepared having run through building a snow wall to provide protection from the strong winds.

The team is still in good spirits. However, there is always a fine balance between pushing hard and not overexerting. Onwards and upwards!

Ram

Day 16

DYE II is a huge waypoint and marks a reset of your crossing. 

Now we have finished the Western icefall. We have seriously entered the big polar plateau and reached DYE. Now, our next aim is Summit. It sounds dramatic, but it is just an area where we reach the highest point nearly without noticing. Just by turning around and looking backward, we will notice that the horizon behind us suddenly is a bit higher! It is around 100km from DYE II and we hope to do it in ca 4 days if the conditions keep improving.

We have heard we will be hit by bad weather by the end of the week, possibly three full days of heavy snow and a storm on Saturday. We’ll see.

This morning was a bit relaxed and we were late on to our skis. Still we got in 8 legs and covered 23km in glorious weather, almost no wind an -20°C

day 15

Minus 17°C and sunny when we woke up this morning, with the minimum temperature last night down to minus 25°. That means frost on the ceiling and frost on the sleeping bags, but luckily there are good drying conditions in the tent in the evening, when it's sunny! And now we have  sun sun sun!

We skied about 17 km today and arrived at Dye2 at four o'clock after 7 legs! An absurd place in the middle of the ice. The surveillance system with a large radar on top was left in a hurry and the place stands there with beds, a bar, a pool table with beer on it. There are several floors under the ice. 

Tomorrow we start skiing towards the east side as we have been out about half the time we have food for. Next week is said to be with lots of sun as the terrain now calms down as it raises the last 500 meters till we are at the top in ca 5 days.

Day 14 - 17th of may

What a great day to wake up to, sun and a gentle wind and a mere – 15°C! That was a Constitution Day celebration in itself for the 3 Norwegians in the team. I blew the wakeup call (revelje) with a typical 17th of May trumpet! In hindsight, probably only heard Roy who is my tent mate 😊 The flag was hoisted and a Norwegian ribbon was placed on a pole.
We walked on windblown snow, and it has poor glide, but we worked on and managed 19 Km today after 9 legs. Full facemask at all time is still necessary to avoid frostbite.

At the end of the day we got a glimpse Dye II, an abandoned radar station from the days of the Cold War. It’s a huge construction out in nowhere and a stark reminder of  tentions in our world. – For us and our simple, compact living far removed from what goes on in the world – it is a great navigational point that for a day makes going in from super easy!

Now: Sun outside and happy skiers inside

Day 13

Finally the sun came back out again and we had good visibility. Now we can really see how powerful and large the Greenland ice sheet is as the plane rolls upwards and outwards in lazy dunes! Flat, but never flat.

We had a chilling -28°C tonight and the wind turned 180 degrees during the night to go with the change in weather. From a soft push from behind, we now had to head into standard, katabatic south-east wind.

Going to the loo became a fierce séance. In -28° we all very quickly learned that when the wind turns, the leeward toilet wall is on the wring side… The cold and windy conditions was demanding, and had to be tackled with respect,  and so we got off a little late. Still, we got in 9 full legs and over 20 km! The last three legs we used the moon as a guide, wonderful!

day 12

-11°C in the tent and total white-out when we got up this morning. And so it stayed all day, except for the last (no 8) leg then the sun finally appeared in the fog with a beautiful ‘’mother-of-pearl’ ring around it ( it is called that – others less romantic call it helo :-)

We still have somewhat heavy snow and trailbreaking. It apparently snowed all over the entire Greenland ice sheet a few days ago. So we hope soon the snow sets and will carry us in a better (and easier) way. But we got enough speed to manage 17 km today.  3 more days and we reach DYE.

Now we hear the calm rumbling from the burners in all the tents. I guess most people take a little stretch while they wait for the water to boil and for dinner to be ready – a true highlight!

A spacy PS:

You will probably think that the thing hanging down from Dylan’s sled is a piece from the tent, it isn’t. Dylan explains:
A few days before the trip I learned from a friend that there are micro meteorites found in Greenland. These are especially found on the lower melt zones of the glaciers.  To try to collect some I am dragging a small strong magnet behind the sled. We find out after the trip when looking in the microscope if we got lucky.

day 11

This was the heaviest so far! We really got our stamina and willpower tested to the full, but all prevailed and stood their ground!

We walked 17 km and 8 legs in fog and whiteout, with snow in the air and on the ground. On the positive side, the wind calmed down. But that made it too hot! To the extent that the chocolate melted in the sled.

As we got more and more snow, both sleds and skis sank in deep.  Everyone took turns going up front. It has been a ‘walk-straight-on-just the-compass-course’ for many days in a row now, and the skills have increased greatly in the team. Everyone is doing important work -  whitch is a huge part of carrying out an expedition together.

day 10

15 km of weather today. We've had everything from glimpses of sun to snowflakes and sleet with whiteout. The last hour was messy sticky snow and a heavy finish. We’ve been staring at the compass course all day. There are some tired but satisfied bodies in the tents now with a cup of hot chocolate.

Here is a little greeting from Roy (70 years old), he says: Here it is good, but it is a bit heavy. But that is how it should be over the Greenland Ice. Loves all of you at home.

We always say it is a small world, and (obviously) Norway is even smaller :-)
My tent mate, Roy, who I have never met before, has many, many summers rowed and sailed and refurbishing the very special boat from Nordland called Lofotr.

That is the same boat that Rita and I (Ine-Lill) rowed all along Norway for 3.5 months last year. All the way from the very southern tip at Lindesnes to the very top at North Cape. It turns out that Karl Jan, from whom we bought the Lofotr, is Roy's uncle! This summer, Roy will probably come to Lofoten for a reunion with Lofotr. Feel free to see pictures of the boat and the trip here: #BaklengsMotNord

Lofotr is a historical Viking museum based on a reconstruction and archaeological excavation of a Viking chieftain's village on the island of Vestvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago.

It is said of the Nordland boat is described as seductively beautiful. But it is also seductively dangerous. A dangerous boat in unskilled hands…

day 9

What a great day! 15 km and 7 legs. Woke up to minus 8 degrees and a bit windy. We started off in partly cloudy conditions, but that changed to more and more into a beautiful sunny day.

Snow drifts on the ground, which makes it easy to find the right direction. Still some fresh, semi-deep snow to pull the sleds through, though.

The whole team contributed to making tracks and took turns being at the front; the orienteering is going better and better for everyone, top team spirit. The sun is warming the tents now, nice and warm inside :-)

Team 2 Cool

day 8

Another -15° night. W woke up to beautiful weather, a completely blue sky, and a little wind from the side that gave just the right amount of driftsnow so that the navigation went very smoothly.

Everyone contributes to navigating and breaking trail. We still have some fresh snow, but it is somewhat more packed which we can happily appreciate :-)

White plains here are absolutely magnificent and powerful.

A small bird came out of nowhere and tried to enter the ranks. It must have  gotten on the wrong course. One bird here makes us more attentive than 100 at home, it feels good to have few things to focus on, mindfulness in practice.

Team 2 Cool

day 7

Minus 15 and no wind and sun when we got up! Departure 8.30 on dry snow, not even a draft, but best of all: no sticky snow! Skis glided – what a joy.

We now have a turned our compass and course towards Dye2, an we will stay on that bearing for many days.

We set camp after 6.5 legs (a leg is 50 minutes). The revelation was that now, well out of the icefall, the there were finally plenty of som and no ice screws were needed to secure the tent!

Dylan impressed hugely with his surprise to the team, a self-made replica of the snow goggles Nansen wore during the crossing of the Green Ice in 1888. Nansen was inspired by the Inuit when he had these glasses made. The glasses were used on the last half of the leg and the thoughts went to the pioneers and the tough task in unknown land they went to.

Team 2 Cool

Day 6

Team 2 Cool is fully operational. Today we met a warm sunny morning and 10 cm fresh powder. Great conditions and progress in the morning. Lots of clumping and sticky snow after lunch. Hard work was done by all!

Made camp and built the best toilet using the ‘natural features’ of the glacier (a friendly & tiny crevasse). Now we rest in the warmth of the tent where it is 23 degrees C. Ready for another day tomorrow!

Dylan and Sindre

day5

Ram writes: Day 5, and it was the first taste of a semi-white-out. Visibility was not the best which made navigation a bit tricky, at least for some of the relative novices in the team. Each team member navigated a leg with some better at it than others.  

Navigating without a distinguishing feature on the horizon, with no sun as a reference point whilst pulling a 70-80kg sledge through the overnight soft snow has its challenges.  

Six legs later, we’re now warm and toasty in our tents munching on whatever it is that we have to get through for the day. Eating our allocated kilo of food is equally as important as any other aspect of the expedition.

I personally love the porridge mix (with a slab of butter and brown sugar) for breakfast, instant noodles (with a chunk of cheese and cured meat for lunch) and Kvikk Lunsj (pronounced Quick Lunch) chocolate bars (imagine Kit Kat as a chocolate bar) for snacks.  Eating to maintain your calories is a full-time job!

The forecast for the next couple of days looks sunny.  It hasn’t been that cold either and hence most of the team haven’t had the chance to test out the comfort limits of our sleeping bags.  I’ve been sleeping with my shorts and T-shirt in my inner bag (with vents open).

Team spirit and morale is high and looking forward to tomorrow.  C’mon Day 7!

Day 4

What a dream day! -15°C this morning and a clear sky. Dry, pristine snow with some ice swells here and there as decoration.
We are now mostly on the plains as we have cleared the lower icefall. We are gaining altitude all the time on long dunes. Wonderful feeling!

The day was a little windy but sunny. During lunch, we pitched a tent to shelter, but we also kept rapid turnarounds when needed. It was cozy with six people in a tent. 
Had a ski ‘tip hiccup’ when a sled hit (attacked), but we fixed that with glue and tape, no problem for ‘team 2 cool’ :-)

day 3

Absolutely top work by ‘team 2 cool’!
The day began challengingly with rather sculptural ice. Fantastically beautiful formations and nice blue colors all around. It's like a huge and nice maze that we solved together.
But then it gradually got better. We have gotten through the worst now, and we have even camped in a flat place! Tomorrow is the last day we see land with rocks and mountains in the distance.

Fantastic weather in camp: windless and few degrees minus.

Day 2

Great teamwork today. We fought our way through the ice-labyrinth and met a couple of dead ends, but we kept our spirits up.
After pushing, hauling, and lifting interchangeably up the lowest part of the icefall, we have now come up to a slightly flattened and kinder area. We even found a space for all the tents that was almost horizontal! Ice screws were used to plug as this is a very icy icefall this season.
Didn’t get very far today, but it’s an important progression. Minus ten this morning warmer out of wind now, some snow in the air.

Ine-Lill and Team 2 are cool.

Dag 1

Very good to get going. and what a lovely start! Really bumpy road, but all equipment was packed well and withstood it – puh 😊
Saw arctic foxes, musk ox and reindeer from the car on the way in! We really are in the wilderness now! That became even clearer as we suddenly saw the daunting and wild inland ice.

We put on our skis right from the start and walked over a small meltwater lake before we met some small moraine ridges where we helped each other over. Great teamwork!
Now in the tent, all are warm and soon full! Minus 7.5 degrees and a slight breeze and great atmosphere.

Greetings from ‘Team2cool’

ALL TOGETHER NOW:

On Thursday, the ‘Saints came marching in’. On Friday, only Neerjai is the last arrival. Then all was here, and the focus was now on the final details.

Most came Thursday and got straight to work. Everything was lined up so that tents, equipment, food, fuel etc etc, could be set up and prepared.

The team also got time for the first celebration! Sindre turned 30 and the team sang, flagged and held a chips party mix extra gathering.

Saturday, we head out. It’s a 45km drive from Kangerlussuaq through rolling hills, often with musk oxen and other animals. Then, halfway, the first glimpse of the inland ice appeared. That is real goosebump time.

But Friday is the last chat, details, plans, and landing everyone on the same platform before the weekend starts.

Stay tuned.

PACKING, FIXING, PREPPING

It was all hands on deck. All those who had arrived threw themselves at getting ready physically, working on lowering shoulders and mentally starting the digi-detox and get their minds into the team & Greenland frame.

MEETING UP

As everybody is on their way toward Greenland, the team leaders have already set foot in Kangerlussuaq. The rest will follow during the next days.
All the cargo with food and equipment was there waiting and intact! So now the real work begins to piece together every small detail for the trip. By the end of the week we should all be set for the crossing.

Stay tuned!

AROUND THE WORLD, DAY -8

Last frantic packing. calls and checks. Guids heading for the airport today and the rest following over the next days. This is countdown time and drams and endless preparatiobs are about to become real - and serious.

Stay tuned and follow the team here!