An adventurous day on the ice sheet: report and challenges

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An adventurous day on the ice sheet

Today I am happy to share with you the account of an adventurous day on the ice sheet. After a disappointing day yesterday, thankfully we had a better day today. The higher sign is out and a boat has arrived to take us to the harbor.

The challenges of loading

This morning we were told that the boat would arrive at ten o’clock. At 9:30 we were allowed to load our things and they were put on the trailer. However, the harbor was occupied by a large course boat from America, so we had to load our gear on the side of the water. Fortunately, two motorboats were there to receive our gear and take us to Isertoq. The trip took over two hours and we were treated to breathtaking views of beautiful icebergs and whales.

A bumpy ride to Isertoq

Although the trip was very beautiful, the sea was quite choppy. On the foredeck it was very bumpy and we were bouncing in all directions. Finally, we were dropped off at the northernmost tip of the Isertoq fjord, at the edge of the ice cap. We had to lug our luggage ourselves, which amounted to about 70 kilograms per person. Most of it consisted of food, about 35 kilograms per person, plus 5 liters of fuel. After a long day of walking and lugging, we ended up covering a whopping 1.3 kilometers.

A night on the ice

Despite the fatigue, we were happy to finally be on the ice. We set up our tents and I was lucky enough to sleep next to Robert. It promises to be a restless night, however, as we have to keep bear watch. In fact, polar bears have been spotted in the area. Each of us runs a one-hour bear watch and then gets to sleep for 4 more hours. Then we run bear watch for another hour before getting up at 6 p.m. tomorrow morning.

A challenging day ahead

A long day awaits us tomorrow. We plan to set out at 7 p.m. and hope to cover about 7 to 8 kilometers. It is quite a climb, however, since we are now at about 150 meters above sea level and have to get to 2,400 meters above sea level. We still have quite a distance to go.

Thanks for reading

This was today’s report. I want to thank you for reading and following along with our adventure on the ice sheet. Keep following us for more updates and until next time! Greetings from the entire team on the ice sheet.