Greenland day by day expedition program
DAYS 1 & 2 : ARRIVAL AT NARSARSUAQ — PREPARATION DAY Arrival at Narsarsuaq airport. We will spend the rest of the day then the next day making the final preparations. We check our equipment for the last time before our departure.
Meals: breakfasts not included – lunches not included – dinners not included Accommodation: nights in homestay DAY 3 : START OF THE NARSARSUAQ EXPEDITION Departure early morning by helicopter that will drop us on the ice cap. The wind is insufficient to pull us, but we take our kites out anyway to have some fun. We set up our first camp. The temperature is mild and the weather beautiful.
Transfer/transportation: by helicopter to the starting point of the expedition on the ice cap. Meals: food rations Accommodation: night in tents DAY 4 : ADJUSTING THE KITE SAILS Fog and wind. After walking one hour, we take out our sails for the first time, but the wind quickly drops. “We content ourselves with a technical briefing and an adjustment of our sails”.
Average daily distance: approx. 13 km Activities: kite skiing Meals: food rations Accommodation: night in tents DAY 5 : COLD DAY A cold morning. After waiting 2 hours, as forecasted, we raise our sails. A magical, eagerly awaited for moment. What could be more wonderful than to use the wind’s natural energy…Although we still cover little distance by sail, it’s a start! We set up camp around 5pm.
DAY 6 : FINE WEATHER A lovely day, ideal for continuing to perfect our kite skiing technique! We cover 60 kilometers.
DAY 7 : EVER LONGER DISTANCES 30 minutes’ walking to warm up. The sails then come out of the pulkas and, one by one, swell up with the wind. At 6pm the expedition has covered more than 120 kilometers. Morale soars at last. This is what we needed as we left five days ago “already” and we have “only” covered 250 kilometers. At this rate we’ll need two months to reach Qaanaaq!
DAY 8 : 160 KILOMETRES TODAY Wind and clouds. Snow and wind conditions are excellent and, at the end of the afternoon, the group sets up camp 160 kilometers further on! Today, we have markedly drifted to the north. We rely on the katabatic winds to correct our course. During the day, gusty winds of up to 50 km/h, before falling to light winds in the evening.
DAY 9 : EXCELLENT WEATHER, 210 KILOMETRES Magnificent fresh snow fell overnight. It simply sparkles. Steady wind. 9 hours’ kite skiing to cover 210 kilometers.
DAY 10 : BAD WEATHER Winds at more than 50 km/h. Zero visibility. We decide to remain in our tents… What a pleasure to listen to music while tucked cozily into our sleeping bags… And how great it is to be here!
DAY 11 : WINDLESS AND CLOUDY DAY In our tents… we exchange ideas, enjoy the silence, write in our logbooks, sort our photos for the first time… DAY 12 : MORNING STORM Despite the storm, we try to launch our sails. But the wind is too strong, increasing at midday up to 100 km/h in gusts. The situation is urgent. We have to set up camp in extreme conditions. Impossible to do more than 5 kilometers. The elements are the decision-makers… we need to remain humble to ensure the success of our expedition.
DAY 13 : RETURN OF GOOD WEATHER AND WIND A good steady easterly wind and 140 kilometers under our belt. The weather worsens in the evening with fog and sleet. But our router talks of clear spells and a good wind for tomorrow. We already feel much better!
DAY 14 : GOOD HEADWAY 90 kilometers in fine weather and mild temperatures.
DAY 15 : VERY GOOD WEATHER A tailwind, fairly light,requiring a technical sail approach. We set up camp at around 6pm. In Dixie’s words: “Instead of “parking” our sail in the air and letting the wind carry us away, we should try to generate more wind”…
DAY 16 : NOTHING TO REPORT Fair settled weather. Conditions are just perfect, what more could we want!
DAY 17 : 260 KILOMETERS COVERED! We have the impression that the wind is rising continuously and steadily. We achieve our record of 260 km in 9 hours. If we have the same weather conditions tomorrow, we’ll aim at doing 12 hours!
DAY 18 : THE WIND DROPS The wind quickly drops late morning and we “only” cover 67 kilometers today.
DAY 19 : WINDLESS DAY, THE BAROMETER FALLS In our tent, we see the barometer rising, thus announcing a low.
DAY 20 : LITTLE WIND AND CLOUDY We cover 100 km today. The wind rises and, in anticipation of a gale, we stop after 4 hours’ kite skiing.
DAYS 21 & 22 : IN THE TENT WHILE THE STORM RAGES The wind blows outside. The book we took (having removed its cover to limit weight) is a great way to pass the time.
DAY 23 : LIGHT WIND We cover 60 km today on our kite skis. The sky has cleared and a weather forecast from the Lyon team announces a fine weather window with a wind blowing steadily at 20 knots from the South-East for the next three days. We feel really good after our forced period of inactivity and are ready to go!
DAYS 25 TO 26 : UNDER SAIL These three days are simply magical and allow us to cover 400 km, i.e. 133 km per day. We don’t go very fast but we kite 7 hours a day. We are now only 200 km from the finishing point!
DAY 27 : HEADING WESTWe leave the ridge of the ice cap to head west, towards Qaanaaq and Siorapaluk. The North-West wind is not in our favor and we have to weave, that is to say zig zag, to stay on course.
DAYS 28 TO 30 : HEADING FOR SIORAPALUK Bis repetita. We continue to weave. Two days, very trying for our morale, with a wind easing off. We are so close yet so far from our goal…
DAY 31 : THE COAST IN SIGHT Thick fog at the start of the day. The wind has veered. In the middle of the afternoon, we begin to make out the coast line. This is probably our last camp. Emotions are running high! We’re nearly there!
DAY 32 : THE EXPEDITION ARRIVES AT SIORAPALUK At midday, we reach Siorapaluk, a small fishing and hunting village. We’ve made it! The inhabitants welcome us and ask, surprised, where on earth we come from. We spend the night in a homestay reserved especially for us. Festive evening.
Number of daily activity hours: approx. 2 h Activities: kite skiing Meals: food rations, dinner in homestay Accommodation: night in homestay DAYS 33 & 34 : BOAT TRANSFER FOR QAANAAQ AND RETURN Morning transfer on an Inuit boat to Qaanaaq airport where we shall fly to Copenhagen via Nuuk. We land day 29.
Transfer/transportation: by boat Meals: snack for lunch, then dinner in planes Accommodation: nights on the plane
DAYS 35 TO 44 : TEN “SPARE” DAYS “Buffer” days for the expedition
Activities: kite skiing Meals: food rations Accommodation: night in bivouac in tent or homestay
END OF PROGRAM
The total duration of this expedition is an estimation only and “spare” days are an absolute necessity to ensure there are no problems for the return flight. As our expedition progresses, the return date will become more certain and EXPEDITIONS UNLIMITED can adjust return flight dates on participants’ request. Our all-in cost includes two nights at most in a homestay on arrival: the other nights (if we arrive earlier than scheduled) could be in tents or in a communal building.
All expenses relating to differences in expedition dates (additional accommodation nights, airline surcharges) shall be borne by the participants and never by the organizers.
For unpredictable reasons at this stage, concerning climatic vagaries, participants’ excellent or poor fitness condition, or for other reasons (snow and ice conditions, case of force majeure, etc.) your guide may be obliged to adapt the program to ensure the smooth running of your expedition. He alone can make such decisions, and guarantee your safety. Progression times are given as a guideline and can vary from one participant to another.
You should bear in mind that this project is a genuine unsupported expedition and that anything can happen. On no account can EXPEDITIONS UNLIMITED or Dixie Dansercoer be held responsible.
Likewise, the expedition can be stopped at any time should the guide consider it necessary, whether for the group as a whole or for a few participants.