2008 Greenland Icecap Crossing Blog
June
7:
Success!!! The team traveled to their pick up point yesterday
at 65 53.773 North, 039 13.239 West and met the charter helicopter
which took them to Kulusuk. They were extremely fortunate that
the weather cooperated- the pilot told them that had it been 20
minutes later, he would not have been able to fly. They arrived
in Kulusuk and thoroughly enjoyed all of the comforts of civilization-
showers, celebratory dinner in the restaurant and perhaps a few
alcoholic beverages. Overall, it was an outstanding expedition.
They had some absolutely spectacular days of weather and travel,
some extremely challenging days, they weathered a severe storm which
had everyone rather anxious and they all worked together as a team
to accomplish their ultimate goal- crossing the Greenland Icecap.
It was a unique situation to have a 10 member team representing
7 different nationalities. Today all will be departing from
Kulusuk, beginning their journeys back to their homes, families
and friends.
Congratulations to all team members on a spectacular accomplishment!
Expeditions such as this require not only good physical conditioning
but can present mental and emotional challenges that not all are
cut out for. Our team did an incredible job meeting all of the
various challenges. We are all extremely proud of team members
Alexander Drozdkov (Russia), Norbert Kern (Germany), Katerina Marinaki
(Greece), Jin Fei Bao and Fei Xuan (China) and Lawrence Lahay (USA)
with expedition guides Mykkel Lybaech and Peter Ignatiussen from
Greenland and Annie Aggens and Keith Heger of Polar Explorers, Wilmette,
IL. Bravo!!!
June
6:
Current position is 65 57.036° North, 039 34.096° West.
The team traveled another 30 km yesterday. They had excellent
weather and great travel conditions. Going downhill really helps
too! They are nearing their goal rapidly and feeling excited as
the end draws nearer.
June
5:
Current position is 66 03.142° North, 040 10.835° West.
Yesterday the team traveled 30 km (18.64 miles) again. They experienced
all different kinds of weather- at the end of the day they experienced
the most beautiful sky they have seen yet. They are now 78 km
from the coast. Everyone is in great spirits as the end of the
expedition is nearing and they experience the sense of accomplishment
from all their hard work. Special update from team member Katia
Marinaki from Greece, wishing a special hello to Rick Sweitzer,
Executive Director of Polar Explorers, who is currently in Crete
guiding a sea kayaking trip.
June
4:
Current position is 66 06.515° North, 040 49.811° West.
They are now south of the Arctic Circle. They traveled over 30
km (18.64 miles) yesterday through very strenuous conditions.
Initially, they had very deep snow but toward the end of the day,
conditions turned icy and they were able to speed along and cover
more kms. They are all tired but feeling the end is in sight (not
quite literally yet but could be soon). They are 30 km from the
dog food cache which is their goal today. Overall, they have about
100 km to go. Live update from team member Larry Lahay (Colorado).
June
3:
Current position is 66 10.717° North, 41 31.951° West.
The team had an exceptionally challenging day yesterday as they
traveled through deep, deep snow. It took great effort on everyone’s
part, skiers and dogs, and they deservedly felt very proud to have
made 27 km (16.8 miles). They woke up to stormy conditions this
morning and were concerned they might be weathered in again. But
the storm blew threw and they were able to get a late morning start,
still hoping to cover 30 km today.
Special thanks to everyone sending text messages- they really help
the team keep up morale and persevere on the long, challenging days.
A very special thanks to John’s 4th grade class who has been following
their progress every day. It means a lot!
June
2:
Current position is 66 13.853° North, 42 07.134° West.
The team is doing very well. Yesterday, they traveled 30 km in
mixed conditions- at times, the snow was very wet and heavy which
can stick to one’s skis and have the effect of slamming on the
brakes. But they persevered and were able to make good progress.
They received an email from Mary D., wondering about the location
of the dog food cache. It is located at 66 03.14° North, 40
10.84° West. From there, it will be all downhill and the team
anticipates making significant progress, clocking away the kilometers,
heading into the home stretch. A special hello to the Polar Explorers’
North Pole team members who are following the expedition- it is
beautiful and they wish you were with them! Annie Aggens wishes
a special hello also to her family.
June
1:
Current position is 66 16.756° North, 042 45.980° West.
The team had another great day of travel, covering 30 km (18.64
miles). The weather cooperated nicely with lots of sunshine and
mild temperatures. They look forward to continuing this trend of
clocking the kilometers toward their final destination. Listen to
the live update from team member Alexander
Drozdkov from Russia.
May
31:
Current position is 66 19.47° North, 043 25.32° West. The
team had an amazing day of travel! The storm finally broke around
1 a.m. to the great relief of all. They had a slow start to the
day as they had to dig out the dogsleds which were completely buried
in snow, break off the ice balls crusted in the dogs’ fur, repair
the tent which had been damaged in the wind- all part of the adventure!
When they started traveling, they had no wind and 100% sun, perfect
visibility. As the afternoon wore on, it became partly cloudy
and they had a slight wind but it was at their backs. They traveled
30 km (18.64 miles) in 7.5 hours- the fastest travel date yet.
All are very excited to be back on the move, looking forward to
more travel days like this. Keith Heger's live update below.
May
30:
Current position is the same as yesterday as the team was not able
to move at all due to the extremely high winds. They boldly braved
the storm and maintained high spirits throughout. One tent sustained
damage in the winds but has now been repaired. The team was delighted
to find the winds died down today and they have a beautiful day
for travel. Listen to Norbert Kern’s report below.
May
29:
Current position is 66 22.869° North, 44 05.288° West. Windbound!
The team traveled in full white out conditions yesterday with winds
of 48 km/hr (30 mph) and zero visibility. They were able to follow
the tracks of the dog teams and kept close together but it was extremely
challenging. After 3.5 hours, they had made 7 km (4.4 miles) and
decided to stop and make camp. This as you can imagine was quite
difficult with such winds. Today, the winds increased to 80.5 km/hr
(50 mph) sustained with gusts significantly higher. The weather
forecast indicates that the storm should blow over tonight and winds
decrease tomorrow. All are well and safely in their tents, looking
forward to hearing the wind die down so they can continue their
travels.
May
28:
Current position is 66 23.598° North, 44 13.589° West. The
team traveled 27.5 km (17.1 miles) with decent travel conditions.
Visibility was limited and the winds were at their faces but they
managed to cover significant distance. They look forward to reaching
the summit soon. All are in very good spirits.
May
27:
Current position is 66 26.12° North, 44 50.11° West. The
team managed 21k after a late start from waiting for the wind to
die down. They travelled through a lot of different conditions yesterday.
As Annie says, "Things change quickly and they change frequently."
They went through sunny skies with a headwind, then to overcast
with almost no visibility. They were rewarded with some tasty fried
tortillas for their efforts.
May
26:
Current position is 66 27.22° North, 45 18.19° West. After
yesterday's forced layover due to 40 Mph winds, the team is ready
to get moving again. They had some excitement last night, when one
of the tents had to be moved in 35 Mph winds to a better position.
The winds have abated now to about 20 Mph with 30 Mph gusts. They
are busy trying to dig out all the dogsleds and tents from the drift
snow, so they can get on their way.
May
25:
Current position is 66 27.22° North, 45 18.19° West. Yesterday
was beautiful with mixed clouds and very nice travel conditions.
The team traveled 30.2k. The wind began to pick up once they made
camp, and continued to increase all night. Once morning came, it
was too much to travel. They've been getting outside to dig away
some of the snow piling against their tents, but otherwise it looks
like today is an off day.
May
24:
Current position is 66 29° North, 45 58° West. The team
is 13k west of the radar site from yesterday. The team spent 2 hours
at the radar site, and still managed to cover 23k. It's sunny, with
a light wind, and the team is ready to go.
May
23:
Current position is 66 32.773°
North, 046 27.971° West. Weather's great and everyone is in
good spirits. The team started 10k from the distant early warning
radar site, today's destination, which was set up in 1959 to monitor
cold war activities from the U.S.. Be sure to listen for Keith's
history brief on the site.
May
22:
Current position is 66 40.772° North, 046 56.878° West.
The team had an excellent day of travel yesterday in challenging
conditions. They covered 27 km (16.8 miles) with winds from the
south at 40 km/hour (25 mph). They had zero visibility, making
travel and navigation quite difficult but temperatures were in their
favor, -15° C (5° F) so the colder temperature combined
with the wind dried out the snow and let the dogs really run.
Welcome all NPR listeners who heard Annie Aggens’ (Polar Explorers
Director) interview on the Eight Forty Eight program yesterday morning.
You can listen at http://polarexplorers.com/Radio.htm.
You can text message the team by emailing 881641403334@msg.iridium.com.
You can send a message up to 160 characters. They will be looking
forward to receiving your greetings, questions, best wishes, etc.
The live updates below cover their report of travel yesterday along
with information on texting the team.
May
21:
Current position is 66.48.63° N, 047.27.79° W. The team
traveled 15 km (9.3 miles) yesterday through very challenging conditions-
wet, heavy and deep snow. They had gray skies and very poor visibility.
The dogs were stars, pulling the sleds through the difficult snow
conditions. And the team members all did a fantastic job breaking
trail and persevering through the challenges. Temperatures were
-7 to -4° C (20-25° F) but have now dropped to -10°
C (15° F). All are in good spirits, hoping that the temperature
will continue to drop and bring about better snow and travel conditions
tomorrow. Annie Aggens, Polar Explorers Director, called in the
update today.
May
20:
Current position is 66.53.253° North, 047.45.479° West.
The team had a challenging travel day yesterday with zero visibility,
winds from the SE at 24 km/hr (15 mph) all day, blowing snow.
But they persevered and traveled 22 km (13.7 miles). Temperatures
were warm 2° C (35.6° F) which contributed to the challenges.
Norbert Kern, team member from Germany recorded today’s update.
May
19:
Current position is 66.59° North, 48.11° West. Today is
Larry Lahay’s (team member from Colorado) birthday! HAPPY
BIRTHDAY, LARRY!! He’s thinking about his mother and
brother and wishing them all the best. They will celebrate with
a special birthday dinner tonight. Conditions currently are overcast
with blowing snow, temperature still around 0° C (32° F).
The snow is very wet, tents, boots, everything is wet so moisture
management is a key issue. They hope the temperatures will drop
some to freeze the snow further.
The team traveled 24 km (15 miles) yesterday in 8 hours. Conditions
were very overcast with flat light, giving no depth perception.
This made travel and navigation tricky and they felt very positive
about covering 24 km. All are in great spirits looking forward
to another good day of travel.
The live update today is from Katia Marinaki from Greece and includes
some notes in both Greek and Turkish.
May
18:
Current position is 67.06° North, 48.39° West. They had
a fantastic day of travel yesterday, covering 21 km (13 miles).
They had beautiful weather- blue skies, unlimited visibility, slight
wind at their faces, temperatures still around 0° C (32°
F). They were planning to begin travel around noon today. This time
the live update did record- have a listen...
May 17:
The team called in an update this morning but unfortunately, it
did not actually record... hopefully tomorrow. They also called
in a live message and reported that all is well. It's a beautiful
day- blue skies, unlimited visibility, minimal winds, temperatures
just at freezing 0° C, 32° F. Due to the relatively warm
conditions, they plan to adjust their schedule and travel in the
afternoon and into the night (2:00 PM to 12:00 AM) so the dogs won't
get too warm and the ice will be more solid. We'll
look forward to an update on their progress after their day of travel
today.
May
15:
The team has all gathered in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. They spent
the day reviewing their gear, sorting food and equipment, making
sure their personal kits were all in order. They enjoyed a special
barbecue dinner in a yurt. They plan to get a good night's rest
before their charter flight out to the start of the expedition tomorrow
afternoon. Team members are Alexander Drozdkov (Russia), Norbert
Kern (Germany), Katerina Marinaki (Greece), Jin Fei Bao and Fei
Xuan (China) and Lawrence Lahay (USA) with expedition guides Mykkel
Lybaech and Peter Ignatiussen from Greenland and Annie Aggens and
Keith Heger of Polar Explorers, Wilmette, IL. They should call in
a live update tomorrow. Stay tuned...
This expedition will begin on May 15, 2008 in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. Check back in starting May 15 for daily updates from the expedition team!
