Preparations for an unforgettable Greenland expedition

Final days before departure

Hey everyone, it’s great to have you listening again. Right now it’s 11 PM, here on Wednesday, April 29th. That means there are only two days left until the expedition. Everyone is getting a little bit excited. I’m speaking to this group at the edge of a frozen fjord, and next to me, the sun is just shining on the snowy mountains. It’s a beautiful setting, of course, and something that’s getting us all very hyped up.

Early start and preparations

We got up at 6 AM this morning, so very early. After breakfast at 6:10, we got straight to work. We discussed the daily routine, prepared the pre-expedition gear, picked up items from the depot, and did the remaining shopping to complete our daily rations. Actually, we were a little bit late with that, because there are currently four expeditions hanging around the village to start their ice sheet crossing around the weekend. This meant we couldn’t find any more dried sausage, which is a really nice treat in your daily ration. On the other hand, we’ve now plundered all the cheese that was left on the shelves. So that’s a bit of a shame for the residents of Kangerlussuaq. They’ll have to wait for the next supply run before they can eat cheese again. Oh well, so be it.

Shakedown that became a shake-up

On the way back from the supermarket, we also tested the crampons under our boots. We did a gear shakedown—at least, that was the plan—to go through the packing list and see if we might have brought too much or could share items. But that eventually led to the realization that there were still some uncertainties here and there about the packed gear, and in the end, slightly more was taken than we had at the start of the discussion. So that means the shakedown became a bit of a shake-up. But in itself, that’s perfectly fine, because of course you want to head onto the ice sheet with the lightest pulk possible, but you don’t want to make the wrong choices regarding safety and what you really need. We tested the electronics, looked at which solar panels we wanted to take, and finished the daily rations with the items we bought at the supermarket. What I think is most important is that there was just a lot of laughter again during all these activities. And we also had some great conversations to get to know each other just a little bit better.

Arranging a taxi, Greenland style

While grocery shopping, Alain came up with the idea to go for dinner tonight at a restaurant five kilometers away. A Greenlandic restaurant where they serve local delicacies. We needed a taxi for that, because walking back and forth would take too long given the rest of the preparations. And that went completely ‘Greenland style’ again. There was a sign somewhere at the airport with a taxi phone number, but no one picked up. Then we saw a very old car in the parking lot at the supermarket with a very vague ‘taxi’ sign. We walked over there. Sure enough, this gentleman was happy to pick us up at seven o’clock and take us to the restaurant. We had a great time and a delicious meal. And now everyone is back-off.

Why are we actually doing this

To be honest, I want to come back to the question we were asked today: why are you doing this now? And actually, the best answer we have right now is: what more could you want? It’s an all-inclusive holiday. You can eat as much chocolate as you want. You have a full daily program in nature. Your evening entertainment is sorted—namely, melting snow. And you just don’t have any hassle about where to put your towel. Well, all joking aside. Of course, we have deeper reasons for doing this, but sometimes it’s a bit difficult to put that into words. Maybe part of the answers lie somewhere along the way on that ice sheet. So we’ll get back to you on that.