Greenland report 2012

EAST GREENLAN EXPEDITION

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Trent College Expedition to East Greenland 8th July -29th July 2012 Expedition Address: Trent College Long Eaton Nottingham NG10 4AD Tel: 0115 8494949 Fax:0115 8494997 E-mail paul.saville@trentcollege.net Compiled by Paul Saville and Keri Price

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CONTENTS

1. Introduction, Ethos and Objectives

Page 3

2. Expedition Areas

Page 4

3. East Greenland History

Page 7

4. Personnel

Page 10

5. Planning the Expedition

Page 14

6. Outline of Expedition Programme

Page 19

7. Greenland Expedition Diary

Page 20

8. Personal Reflections

Page 53

9. Leader’s Concluding Thoughts

Page 59

10. East Greenland Reference books

Page 75

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INTRODUCTION THE ETHOS The overall aim was to spend 22 days away from home exploring the magical landscape of the Sermilik and Angmagssalik fjord areas of the East Greenland coast. The emphasis being firmly placed on self-reliance, and to this end we intended to backpack, carrying all our equipment and supplies with us. This freedom would allow us to explore fully, whilst hopefully completing a number of challenging mountain and glacial ascents. Thus, most of the logistical hassle would be completed prior to departure, leaving us to enjoy the expedition experience itself whilst in the field.

A number of expedition objectives were formulated, which hopefully allowed us to maximise our freedom of movement in their pursuit. Some of these were completed as part of the normal, expected progression of the expedition, whilst others represented specific mountain objectives that required more determination, energy and luck if they were to be successfully completed. The objectives involved those that could be described as physical, cultural and social.

This, I hoped, would provide a healthy balance.

PRELIMINARY OBJECTIVES A. Cultural and General 1. To gain an insight into the survival, over the last thousand years, of the Thule Inuit culture in East Greenland.

2. To travel, cooperate and live self-sufficiently in the East Greenlandic wilderness.

3. To complete a community project, benefitting those who live in and visit the area.

B. Mountain and Trekking 1. To ascend glaciers in Dodemansdalen.

2a. To explore the area of the Karale glacier and Ryttenegten. In particular to make group ascents of Hutten Kogel, Kunigelborg and Peak 1240 2b. To explore Dodemansdalen to its watershed and traverse the shore of Sermilik fjord before crossing the Kilikilat glacier to Qingertivak fjord.

3. To climb Left Sentinel Peak which guards the entrance to Sol Porten or the Sun Gate.

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EXPEDITION AREA The main expedition area lies 100km/60 miles south of the Arctic Circle. It is part of East Greenland or to give it its proper Greenlandic name “Tuno”, quite literally “the other side” or “backside”. Culturally and linguistically the isolated eastern coast is significantly different from the west. The vast coastline stretches from Thule (Qanaaq) in the north to Cape Farewell at the extreme southern tip - a distance of 3000 km. Along this length there are but two inhabited areas - Angmagssalik (Ammassalik) or Tasiilaq as it is now known by the Greenlanders and Ittoqqoortoormiit (Scoresby Sund) further north. Angmagssalik means literally “the place of ammassats”; these being capelins (a small, tasty fish of the Salmonids).

The entire coastline is subjected to the enveloping influence of the pack ice driven south by the East Greenland Polar Current. This sea ice crashes into the large amount of freshwater glacial ice given life by the many impressive “live” glaciers along the coastline. All this ice makes navigation a hazardous adventure confined to the short summer period (by boats, anyway). In the winter and spring months the frozen fjords used to become very much the realm of the husky and the sled; recently however, due to global warming, it is becoming increasingly rare for hunters to go out hunting in winter due to the precarious state of the winter ice!

The area to the north of Tasiilaq - the Blosseville coast, is steep and inaccessible whilst the area to the south has a narrow, low-lying coastline. The Tasiilaq area itself is characterised by several deep fjord complexes based on the Sermilik and Angmagssalik fjords.

The former has many wide glaciers calving into its northern recess of Ningerti and is thus variably navigable. The latter fjord is more influenced by the pack, rather than calving, and as such, becomes navigable as the summer advances - this will form our approach pathway.

The coastal vegetation is sparse and the land area appears dominated by bare rock, glacial debris, snow and ice. The mountains are precipitous, being of more recent date than those in the west (approximately 70 million years old) they have not been subjected to prolonged exposure and erosion. Thus, they tower still as a series of soaring peaks and pinnacles; none

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more impressively than Trillingerne (the triplets) and Pikkelhuen (the spiked helmet) towering 2000 meters above Tasiilap Kuua.

The rock series represent a continuation of the Caledonian series of Scotland found north of the Great Caledonian fault running SW-NE past Fort William. Indeed the rocks exposed just to the north of Kuummiit appear identical to the exceedingly characteristic ‘mottled’ exposures of gneiss on the Outer Hebridean islands of Lewis and Harris. This has provided evidence to support the hypothesis that East Greenland has, over the last 70 million years, continued its northern and westward migration away from northern Europe (whilst West Greenland is part of the Laurentian Shield of North America).

The inland ice is never far away and its looming presence dominates the vista wherever you stand on one of the peaks in the area. However, the expedition area itself fringes this ice, snaking along sinuous valleys flanked by glacial mountains towards the defining presence of the Sermilik ice fjord running north-east to south-west.

We hoped to sail from Tasiilaq “city” on Angmagssalik Island along Angmagssalik fjord to land at the end of Tasiilaq fjord at Tasiilap Kuua, well to the north. From here, we intended to continue along the great valley of Dodemansdalen before forging a route up to the “Tasiilaq” Mountain hut, and use this as a base to explore the surrounding glacial area, making a series of mountain ascents prior to trekking further up Tasiilap Kuua, to its watershed. Walking north to the shore of Sermilik fjord would then take us to the area known as Nigerti before following the shoreline west to the Kilikilat glacier and crossing this to Qingertivak fjord. From here we would be picked up at a pre-determined grid reference by Inuit hunting boats and transported back to Tasiilaq. On our last day in Greenland we would visit the museum at Tasiilaq to continue our research relating to the hunting society of the Inuit, past, present and future.

The area around Angmagssalik is stunning and forms a superb expedition wilderness. It also has a reasonably well developed infrastructure to support an expedition logistically and to provide the necessary safety back-up. It represents a true arctic wonderland and a truly awesome destination for a school expedition!

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The whole East Greenlandic coast comprises nigh on 3000 km of coastline, yet it supports well under 4000 human beings. As detailed in the history section, it is also home to some of the most amazing adventure and survival stories; not least that of the Inuit themselves.

MAP OF THE EXPEDITION AREA

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EAST GREENLAND HISTORY The documented history of the area is extremely recent. However, even the unwritten prehistory is still surprisingly of recent origin. Archaeological evidence suggests that about 2000 years ago Eskimos of the Saqqaq and later the Dorset cultures began their slow, progressive migration from the north down the East Greenland coastline by rowing in skin boats. These communities probably died out and by the time of the next migration of the people of the “Thule” Eskimo culture in the 14th and 15th centuries, along this same corridor, the area was uninhabited.

By the 18th century the whole of the East coast possessed a series of Eskimo (or by now really termed Inuit - “the people”) settlements. However, during the 19th century the population declined drastically owing to death from starvation as the climate deteriorated, or owing to emigration of the southern communities round Cape Farewell to the West Coast.

During this time Danish colonies had been founded (again) in West Greenland originally by the evangelist Hans Egede in the 18th century. The driving force behind this colonial phase was a desire, on the Scandinavian part, to relocate the ‘lost’ Viking colonies of the Eastern and Western Settlements founded in the late 10th century but subsequently lost to history since 1408. The Danes found evidence of Christian settlement in West Greenland but mistakenly believed that the Eastern Settlement was on the East coast and so continued their search for it as the 19th century progressed. In fact, 10th century Vikings could not assess longitude having no reliable timepiece (not invented until the 18 th century) and they had, confusingly, named their two major settlements ‘Vesterbygð’ (Western Settlement) and ‘Osterbygð’ (Eastern Settlement) as though they were on opposite coastlines. In fact, the eastern settlement was slightly to the east and 350 km to the south of the western settlement but they were both on Greenland’s south-west coast.

In 1829-30 W A Graah led a Danish expedition to the area just south of the Angmagssalik area; but it was not until 1884 that Gustav Holm succeeded in getting from Cape Farewell to the Angmagssalik fjord. This expedition managed to penetrate the ice barrier by using the so-called ‘women’s’ boat or Umiak of the Inuit, which could be dragged across the ice. Gustav Holm found an isolated Inuit population of 413 in the small settlements of the Angmagssalik area. These people truly believed that they were the ‘last 8

people on earth’ as their Inuit contacts to the north and south of Angmagssalik fjord had all died out. A follow-up expedition in 1892 found that the population had fallen owing to internecine strife and starvation, to 294. This prompted the Danes to found the ‘Trading and Mission Station of Angmagssalik’ in 1894, in the bay named Kong Oscar’s Havn (now the site of Tasiilaq itself). The area became the staging post for a series of remarkable expeditions.

The Blosseville coast was charted by Amdrup in 1900 and the whole of North-East Greenland was mapped as far as Peary Land (explored by Peary himself but from Thule in the west).

Indeed the area has formed the backcloth to one of the greatest survival stories in existence.

In 1906-8 the ‘Danmark’ expedition explored the northeast coast. One of the team, Jorgen Bronland, was found dead more to the south but with a tantalising note referring to the position and demise of the leader MyliusErichsen and his companion HoeghHagen.

The relief ‘Alabama’ expedition, led by Ejnar Mikkelsen (and Iver Iverson) never located the bodies but spent two winters alone in North-East Greenland in incredibly dramatic circumstances whilst they explored the area as they waited for a relief ship (theirs having been crushed in the ice!). The whole story, detailed in Mikkelsen’s book “Two Against the Ice” is awesomely compelling in its understatement of the day to day struggle for survival.

Ejnar Mikkelsen is heavily featured in the collection of evocative photographs, from the later years of the 19th and early years of the 20th centuries, to be found in the museum in Tasiilaq.

Ejnar Mikkelsen was later involved in administering the developing colony of Angmagssalik.

Indeed in 1925 he was the guiding light in the relocation of a section of the burgeoning population to Illoqqoortoormiit (Scoresby Sund) 600 km to the north; to found a new hunting community on the borders of what is now the North-East Greenland National Park. This acted to relieve the hunting pressure on the Angmagssalik district. The Angmagssalik district now comprises a population of 3000. It is, of course, like all Greenland, thoroughly westernised, especially materially, but it does retain an ‘Inuit’ feel based on the continuation of the hunter’s life.

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Later, several of Knud Rasmussen’s ‘Thule’ expeditions also explored North-East Greenland as a prelude to its development, via a major Norwegian and Danish hunting and trapping area, into the largest National Park on earth today.

Together with Illoqqoortoormiit and Qanaaq (Thule) further north, Angmagssalik has retained the ‘hunter’s life’ as a major occupation for a section of the population during part of the year. You can see and feel the effects of this life, especially in the outlying satellite settlements and hunting camps away from Angmagssalik/Tasiilaq town itself.

The Tasiilaq area has not as yet been fully cleaned up like most inhabited areas in West Greenland – this will occur as the tourist pressure grows! However there has been a noticeable improvement over the last ten years. It is not long ago that everything that was thrown away rotted and old habits die hard. In other ways the East is still behind the West of Greenland developmentally. The effects of alcohol on the local population are far more visible and obvious. The centre of Tasiilaq is often dominated by groups of local people sat on the grass drinking and some in a far more serious state of repair slumped unconscious around the centre of the settlement. The reasons for this are complex and relate to a rapid transition from the Stone Age and a great deal of cultural erosion based on a loss of affinity and contact with the land. This, coupled with a ready supply of alcohol and a genetic impasse in the ability to metabolise it, goes a long way towards explaining the present situation. The situation will improve, although it will take time and involve the young reacting more positively to what has happened to their elders.

We hoped that by living in the area, travelling with and talking to the Inuit hunters, to get a feel for the life of the hunter today and possibly with a view into the future. The past is still a remembered one, and by talking with some of the older hunters and by visiting the wonderful museum, with its evocative photographic collection in Tasiilaq, we hoped to gain an insight, however incomplete and small, into what life was really like in the Stone Age hunting culture of pre-Danish colonial days.

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PERSONNEL Expedition Leaders Paul Saville BA(Hons), PGCE, (49) - MIA. ML. SPA. - Level 3 Kayak Coach - Alpine Ski Leader - Technical Mountain Bike Leader - Mountain First Aid qualified - Independent Outdoors Committee member - Co-ordinator of Outdoor Pursuits at Trent College.

Extensive experience of running mixed outdoor activity sessions for school groups including mountaineering, climbing, canoe, kayak and biking activities.

Assistant leader on Expeditions to East Greenland (2007) Bolivia (2003) and Morocco (2002).

Leader of Trent College East Greenland Expedition 2009 Extensive experience of Scottish Winter Mountaineering and a number of Alpine ascents.

Member of the Climbers Club of Great Britain.

23 years’ experience of running Alpine Ski trips and multi-activity Outdoor Pursuits Residentials and courses.

Mr Keri Price BA (Joint Hons), PGCE, TESOL - Head of Modern Languages at Trent College Assistant leader on Trent College expeditions to Bolivia (2003) and India (2005).

Leader of several Modern Languages trips to Madrid, Barcelona, Cantabria & Langen.

Personal adventure travel to Borneo.

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Matthew Bevan Age 17 Studying AS Levels: Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

Wants to study Medicine at University.

Douglas Britton Age: 17 Studying AS Levels: Maths, Further Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics Wants to study Engineering at either Oxford, Durham, Liverpool, Warwick or Exeter University

Jack Mason Age: 17 Studying AS Levels: Biology, Chemistry, Geography and Maths Wants to study Geology at Cardiff University

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Tom Perry Age: 17 Studying AS Levels: Physics, Art, Design Technology and Maths.

Wants to study Product Design at Loughborough, Brunel or Aston University.

Harry Tatham Age: 17 Studying AS Levels: Maths, Physics and DT. Wants to study Product Design at London South Bank University.

Alex Taylor Age: 16 Studying AS Levels: Economics, Geography, Biology and Chemistry.

Wants to do well in AS levels and stay at Trent for A2.

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Matthew Walter Age: 17 Studying AS Levels: Design & Technology (Product Design), Maths and Physics.

Wants to study Automotive Engineering at Bath, Birmingham, Leeds, Loughborough or Warwick University.

PLANNING THE EXPEDITION (INCLUDING TRAVEL) 14

Background Having been to East Greenland in 2007 and 2009, I was well aware of the splendid opportunities that were on offer, for any expedition group, in that country. Greenland is an amazing place, in all its guises, and I believe that it represents the ultimate in self-organised school–based expedition opportunities.

The Angmagssalik/Ammassalik area just south of the Arctic Circle is an ideal expedition location in that, it is inhabited and therefore has an infrastructure that facilitates logistical support and especially travel. Also, being inhabited, it is exempt from the constraints involving form-filling and extra insurance that is required by the Danish Polar Centre for expeditions visiting all other parts of the East Greenland coast. It is also well south of the main polar bear “denning” area and thus the only ice bears that appear do so as a result of drifting south on the main East Greenlandic pack ice. Any southbound ursines are considered fair game and represent walking money-yielding quarry although there are now quotas that must be adhered to and which involve monitoring by the local police in Tasiilaq. Generally, they do not survive in an active hunting area very long! This meant that we did not need to carry firearms or resort to protecting our camps with trip wires and flashes.

The main settlement in the area is Tasiilaq (formerly called Angmagssalik) – this formed the fulcrum of our plans. The nearby island of Kulusuk houses the only airfield in the area.

This is serviced daily (virtually) from Reykjavík and it is also an area that I had visited before.

Thus I had established some contacts and possessed a good deal of experience of East Greenlandic conditions. I used the excellent website developed by Greenland Tourism at www.greenland-guide.gl to develop further my knowledge and contacts.

The result was the 22-day itinerary enclosed. It hopefully contained the right amount of flexibility to allow the inevitable changes of plan to be accommodated. Below is a brief summary of the main facets of the planning.

1.

Flights to/from Iceland

These were organised via Iceland Air over the internet and involved flying from/to Heathrow.

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2.

Flights to/from East Greenland

These were organised via Air Iceland using the internet, involving flights from Reykjavík airport to Kulusuk airport on Kulusuk Island just off the East Greenland coast.

3.

Helicopter Kulusuk to Tasiilaq ‘city’, Angmagssalik Island, East Greenland

With the airport being on an island, it is essential to use transport across to the major settlement of Tasiilaq found on Angmagssalik Island. Due to the early nature of the season, here in July, we decided that using the helicopter was necessary since any usage of boats, at this time, could be heavily ice-dependent; especially in the offshore lanes between the two islands. Most of the group had not had the opportunity to travel by helicopter and thus were very keen to do so; especially over ice-filled arctic fjords. This was booked through Air Greenland over the internet.

4 Boats Tasiilaq to Tasiilap Kuua, Qingertivaq to Tasiilaq, Tasiilaq to Kulusuk These were organised via e-mail with Robert Peroni (the Red House) and would involve the use of speedboats owned by the cooperative Tuning Services based in Tasiilaq. These were supplemented by additional craft to carry baggage where necessary. We arranged to travel in flotilla as a safety factor.

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Flight delays

Kulusuk airport, being on an offshore island, is heavily influenced by pack ice. This causes fairly frequent flight delays due to the ice-generated coastal fogs. It is therefore important to allow plenty of time between flying in and using local transport – the helicopter provided this as they operated in conjunction with flight arrival times so there was little chance we could have problems resulting from delays. At the end of the trip, it is even more important to allow plenty of time between flying out from Kulusuk and joining the flight back from Keflavík, 16

Iceland to the UK. We therefore allowed just over two days in Reykjavík to allow for this eventuality - it also formed a valuable rest and recuperation time prior to flying home.

6.

Sailing conditions

Sermilik Fjord is not always navigable, especially at the top end near Ningerti, due to the enormous calving glaciers that discharge their loads into these waters. Angmagssalik fjord is navigable in the summer months of July and August, although exactly when the ice breaks up enough to provide navigable leads, is not predictable year to year. The 11th July should be alright for travel along Angmagssalik fjord but we still decided to helicopter across the more exposed part between Kulusuk and Angmagssalik Island prior to commencing our boat journey from Tasiilaq itself. The return from Tasiilaq to Kulusuk on the 25th July should be less troubled by the ice conditions and so we decided to boat across and Robert Peroni organised this. We had a fall-back plan just in case we were temporarily stranded on Angmagssalik Island by the ice conditions in Angmagssalik fjord. This would involve spending time exploring and ascending peaks in the mountains in the central part of the island prior to embarking for the mainland at a slightly later date.

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An area contact

Whilst visiting the area in 2007 and 2009 we used a cooperative in East Greenland called Tuning Incoming travel agency. This is run, by a group including Robert Peroni and based at the Red House in Tasiilaq. They have an email address and responded reliably to our queries.

Thus we were able to set up much of the Greenlandic logistics via this link. (See boats, helicopter, accommodation, food and fuel). I again used Robert and Tuning to organise the Greenland logistics.

The use of the Tasiilaq Mountain Hut was organised through Hans Christian Florian, a friend and Mountain Guide, who works as a doctor in the Hospital in Tassilaq. He also runs guided expeditions into the mountains of the area.

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Food and Fuel

We intended to take over to Greenland the specialist dehydrated main meal foods and the oat-based breakfast cereals, that we have found to be ideal in the past. We intended to purchase much of the “fresh” food that we needed in the Pilersuisoq supermarket in Tasiilaq.

Robert Peroni agreed to organise the supply of methylated spirit fuel for our Trangias.

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As we only had a single phase to the expedition, we intended to take all the food that we needed for our time in the field (14 days) with us on the boats, in addition to the painting materials that were required for our community project (re-painting the Tasiilaq Mountain Hut) – a tall order! However, with careful planning, we believed that this would be possible. We planned to spend a day camped in Dodemansdalen prior to ascending one of the glaciers to stay at the Tasiilaq mountain hut situated on the arm of the Ice Cap. On returning from this we would have about 6 days food left. Venturing north, along Dodemansdalen, we intended to walk to Nigerti and the shores of Sermilik Fjord (a huge ice filled expanse of water with no less than six calving glaciers creating a unique and amazing maze of ice-bergs crammed into the fjord) before contouring around the shoreline and crossing the Kilikilat glacier to Qinngertivaq fjord. Should the glacier crossing prove too difficult, our itinerary left flexibility of time to contour further around the shore before walking east up the more predictable valley of Ilivnera to Qinngertivaq.

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Accommodation Our first nights were to be spent at the ReykjavĂ­k Campsite situated on Sundlaugavegur, which was organised over the internet before departure. This sits comfortably next to a drop off point for the FlyBus which regularly shuttles between Reykjavik and Keflavik Airport. As a busy site it would have a lively feel, and provide a cosmopolitan environment at both the start and the end of our travels.

The firs tnight in Tasiilaq was to be spent camped on the shoreline below the Red House. This is the base of Robert Peroni and it is the nerve centre of a cooperative venture dedicated to involving the local people, so that more of the money generated by visitors finds its way into the pockets of the local population rather than one or two individuals.

One of our major objectives is to learn about the hunting society of the Inuit of East Greenland, past, present and future and we felt that this contact would hopefully satisfy the present and future components, in particular.

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10.

The Museum, Tasiilaq

Tasiilaq has a marvellously evocative museum in which objects and photographs are used to depict the former life of the Inuit of East Greenland. Many of the photographs were taken in the early years of the 20th century.

Indeed it was in Angmagssalik (as it was then known) that the famous Greenlandic explorer, Knud Rasmussen, made the film "Palo’s Wedding” and this is often shown at the museum. Prior to departure, I organised a visit to the museum for our final full day in Tasiilaq. This would certainly provide an opportunity for us to look at the past history of the hunting society of East Greenland’s Inuit.

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Travel in Great Britain

We would travel from Trent to Heathrow on the 8th July and return on the 29th July by minibus with Max Stevens and Paul Towle (Design & Technology technician) providing the willing driving expertise – thus absolving the expedition leaders of any such responsibility.

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Permission

This was necessary from the school Governors and through the support of the Head Gill Dixon.

Within Greenland, it is no longer a necessity to gain the approval of the Danish Polar Centre if you are localised in areas that have a local resident population, are not areas that form part of the central ice cap and are outside the NE Greenland National Park. Therefore the West Coast from Cape Farewell to Upernarvik and the East Coast area around Tasiilaq are exempt (unless you plan to go high up on to the central ice cap). However, we still needed to be well planned and effectively insured via our own efforts.

13.

Boats Tasiilaq to Kulusuk

As mentioned earlier, Robert Peroni would provide the speedboats to transfer our group from Tasiilaq to Kulusuk Island and the airport ready for our flights out to Reykjavík. This would be cheaper than the helicopter, and at this later stage in the season the ice would be less of a problem. From past experience, it is also likely to form one of the highlights of the venture as our journey would take us into the “pack” and give great views looking back on our expedition area!

OUTLINE OF EXPEDITION PROGRAMME Thursday 5th July

Packing and weighing baggage at Trent 19

Sunday 8th July Monday 9th July Tuesday 10th July Wednesday 11th July Thursday 12th July Friday 13th July Saturday 14th July Sunday 15th July Monday 16th July Tuesday 17th July Wednesday 18th July Thursday 19th July Friday 20th July Saturday 21st July Sunday 22nd July Monday 23rd July Tuesday 24th July Wednesday 25th July Thursday 26th July Friday 27th July Saturday 28th July Sunday 29th July

Fly London Heathrow (Ter 1) to Keflavik. Iceland (overnight in Reykjavik) (Flight F1455 departure 21:10 arrive 23:10) Reykjavik day sightseeing and activity.

Fly Reykjavik to Kulusuk (Flight NY245. departure 14:15, arrival 14:05), East Greenland: helicopter into Tasiilaq (departure 15:05). Organise supplies.

Boats along the Angmagssalik, Tasiilaq Fjords to Tasilap kua. Walk into camp with 14 days supplies.

Glacier day. Ascent to Mountain hut with supplies for 7 days.

Ascent of Kunigleborg with day sacks . Return to Mountain hut.

Hutton Kogel Mountain Day 1280m Hut Painting activity Mountain day (Peaks around Hut) Hutton Kogel Day 2. Hut painting activity.

Ascent of Veranda peak Descend to Dodemansdalen.

Glacial day Journey North up to Tassilap kua Descend to Ningerte Journey south west along shore line to Kilikilat glacier Cross Kilikilat glacier to Qingertivak fjord Ascent of Left Sentinel Peak / Rest day Boat toTasiilaq, museum visit Boat to Kulusuk Camp next to airport.

Fly Kulusuk to Reyjavik (Flight NY232 Departure 11:00). Camp at Reyjavik Camp Site Reykjavik Activity day.

Blue Lagoon day Fly Keflavik to London, Flight 1454, Depart 16:10 Arrive 20:10 UK time. Back to Trent.

East Greenland Expedition Diary July 2009 Day 1 - Sunday 8th July Trent – Heathrow – Flight to Keflavik –Reykjavik Campsite 20

We arrived at Trent at 13:30 with Mr Saville giving a briefing to our anxious parents. We all got together for a pre-departure photo in front of school. It was a long and at times boring bus trip down to Heathrow with everyone anxious to get the expedition underway. The long journey south was helped by the radio commentary from this year’s Wimbledon final between Murray and Federer, although we needed to leave this at a cliff-hanging 1 set all as Paul Towle dropped us off at Heathrow. We were not to find out the final result until our return. Having arrived at the terminal three hours before our flight departure, we had some time to kill, so quickly decided to go for something to eat. We finally checked in our bags at 5:30. Everyone was nervous as all the bags were weighed.

However, in style, Bevo’s was overweight, and we found ourselves distributing his excess baggage amongst the rest of the party. Having finally made it through to the departure lounge, we were faced with the news that our flight to Iceland was delayed by one hour. Mr Saville said that this was something we would get used to in Greenland. After the flight, we arrived at Keklavik at 00:20 and after catching the FlyBus into Reykjavik, we arrived at the campsite at 03:00 in the rain, which didn’t stop until morning when we woke up to clear blue skies.

Tom Perry Day 2 - Monday 9th July Reykjavik Day After about five hours sleep we woke up at around 0930 and started the day with a shower (possibly our last one for weeks to come) before eating the breakfast that Mr Saville and Mr Price had bought for us whilst we slept.

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Once organised we set off into the town of Reykjavik deciding to take the scenic route down by the sea front and stopping off to admire the sculptures arranged at intervals along the coast. A stainless steel sculpture of a long boat gave a great opportunity to take a few shots. Continuing into Reykjavik town centre, we passed a building called the culture house – an interesting looking building due to its many glass bulges patterned down its side. Arriving into the more densely populated Reykjavik town centre, our first port of call was lunch. Yes, food! – even though it was still only the second day we were already hungry. Lunch included a variety of paprika or sour cream and chive crisps and ham sandwiches which we ate on a grass hill overlooking the harbour.

After lunch we split into three groups: one group went to get coffee, another to get more food, and the final to play on the slides inside the Cintemani shop. After regrouping at the tourist information centre (apart from Sav and Keri who were still on a coffee break) we strolled around Reykjavik scouting out places suitable for a meal on our return. Reykjavik is a very cosmopolitan city and there were lots of street entertainers and musicians to listen to scattered around the town. Sav & Keri finally finished their coffee and we set off back to our camp site passing the Hallgrimskirkja church; a huge concrete building with a striking design. We ventured inside and were amazed by the contrast, much more highly decorated and containing an organ covering one entire facet of its walls. Later we arrived back at our campsite and decided to wind down by cooking pasta, which Walter insisted was flavoured because the pasta had a variety of colours, with the addition of pesto sauce. Still tired from the previous late night, we cleaned our pots and pans before turning in for the night Dougie Britton 22

Day 3 - Tuesday 10th July Travel day Iceland - Kulusuk - Tasiilaq The day started by waking up, once again fairly leisurely, at about 0845 to another gorgeously sunny day. Showers were then a priority, as none of us knew when and where the next one would be. The next few hours were spent tidying up our camping area and packing up our bags for another day of more travelling. Hopefully we would get quicker at this, as it would be a daily occurrence in Greenland. Sav was feeling generous and allowed us to catch a bus to the main terminal in central Reykjavik, where we caught another to Reykjavik Airport, which was the smallest airport I had been to until we arrived in Kulusuk. Thankfully, the plane wasn't fully booked so we all managed to have leg room and a window seat, meaning we had great views as we departed Iceland. In the distance, a white cluster on the horizon was getting closer, which none of us could quite make out until Sav told us: “Look lads – that’s ice!”. That was Greenland. The mountains with their pointy and snowy peaks were looking incredibly inviting giving me a sensational tingling inside. Meanwhile, the hostess was handing out some complimentary lunches consisting of a turkey sandwich, a cereal bar and a choice of drinks.

Definitely filled a spot!

The pilot was also obviously also in a good mood, as since it was such a nice clear day, he gave a luxury tour of some of the sights from the air. Landing wasn’t quite so relaxed as we saw that the landing strip was made up of dirt and gravel. However, it was a fairly smooth landing. We then had a 45 minute wait at the tiny airport before climbing into the helicopter which gave us a thrilling experience flying low through the mountains. Personally, this was possibly the most enjoyable part of the day, especially as it was a new experience for the majority of us. However, all great things come 23

to an end, and we soon arrived in Tasiilaq, which would be the base for our first night in Greenland.

Seeing the local Inuit people for the first time brought home the fact that we were in a very different part of the world. It also came as a real surprise to me that, despite living in a pristine environment, there seems little concern about looking after it. Things we take for granted such as litter collection simply don’t happen and the signs of discarded products and litter were everywhere in Tasiilaq. In a way, I found it fairly upsetting. Anyway, after getting off the helicopter we set up camp at the campsite and headed off to explore the village. A couple of us including Alex, Tom, Harry and myself went to have a look at the Stunk workshops which made small models of Tupilak and jewellery out of whale and seal bone. Afterwards, we found a local football match, which the majority of the village had turned out to watch. This gave a very pleasant sense of community. Once back at the campsite we were all starving, which meant it must be time for some tea. Here we had our first opportunity to use teamwork to prepare our first meal. However, this didn't go too well so we all separated into our tents and made our own meals from there –we’ll get better! The food was surprisingly nice. After washing up, the rest of the evening was spent admiring the icebergs floating on the water surface with mountain peaks in the background and preparing mentally for the expedition phase, which started the next day.

Jack Mason Day 4 - Wednesday 11th July Travel day Boats from Tasiilaq along Angmagssalik and Tasiilaq Fjord to Tasilap Kuua.

The day started late at about 0930 and we emerged from our tent to an amazing view of icebergs floating around along the fjord.

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The mosquitoes were out in force. This was to be the day we started the expedition phase, with a journey into Tasillaq fjord.

The day, however, mainly involved a lot of sitting around waiting for the boat to arrive to take us along the Sermilik and Tasiilaq fjords to where our expedition phase would begin. As usual in Greenland, when they say 1600 they actually mean 1730 so we entertained ourselves with a makeshift frisbee for a few hours. The boats finally arrived – two of them, one orange and quite small powered by a large outboard motor and the other a white boat owned by a local hunter. The first half an hour of the journey was terrific, smashing along the waves and dodging icebergs, but then the temperature dropped and the fog closed in around us meaning we had to reduce the speed at which we could travel. We headed further out from the coast until we could no longer see the shore. The journey was going well and we were making good progress. Jack , who had been a bit quiet, then asked us if it would be okay to stop the boat so he could take a pee. Apparently he had been desperate for some time. The driver laughed at this as the boat slowed and Jack proudly stood up on the side of the boat. We arrived at the shore at about 1930 and started our long journey up Tasilap Kuua to our camp. As we were putting our tents up, the largest swarm of mosquitoes I have ever seen descended to greet us. There were thousands of them. We had to wear our mosquito nets and feed ourselves by pushing food up through the bottom of them. Jack, Tom and Sav went back to where the boats dropped us off to collect the group kit which had proved too heavy to transport in one load. The additional supplies needed to repaint the mountain hut along with the bag containing the ropes and ice kit had required a second journey. They finally returned to camp at 00:30. The rest of us had killed the mosquitoes that had made their way into the tent and went to sleep.

Alex Taylor

Day 5 - Thursday 12th July Glacial ascent from Tasiilap Kuur to Mountain Hut 25

Up at around 10:00 today after an agitating night. Everyone was extremely keen to set off, as today was supposed to be the day which was short and easy and resulted in us reaching the hut. This wasn't our only motivation as the fact that everyone was being bitten to death by swarms of mosquitoes helped somewhat. We all set off on a high and reaching the foot of a glacier enhanced the feeling as it really felt like we were stepping out into the unknown. Glacier walking is new to all of us, except Savs, so everyone was raring to go. Shortly after setting off, we realised it wasn't going to be as easy a day as promised. This wasn't just because of the steepness of the glacier - the sheer number of crevasses slowed us down massively. We all ploughed on though, and eventually found a decent place to eat lunch. This consisted of a quarter of a loaf of bread accompanied with two rubbery cheese slices. Yum! The walk after lunch proved to be a bit trickier than it ought to have been. This was due to our inexperience combined with very poor snow conditions, but we battled on. Unfortunately, I (Bevan) was the first to be downed by the crevasses of Greenland. It was nothing major so we promptly carried on. A little later, the hut came into view. However, it was sitting on the very top of a mountain and although it was now in view, it still seemed so far away. Dougie was the next victim and fell deeper into a crevasse. Unlike me, of course, Dougie deserved this as the only thing Savs had drummed into us before the glacier ascent was that “Grey is good, white is shite”, and what did Doug do?

He walked straight through the whitest sheet of snow I’ve ever seen. Anyway we carried on and it was more of the same for the next few hours. At around 1600, we reached the foot of the glacier which led up to the hut.

Everyone had renewed motivation and despite the crevassed terrain, we moved up the glacier fairly quickly. This speedy ascent was to be ruined as again Doug fell victim to the crevasse. This time it was a little worse but after a 20 minute wait of watching Savs lean into the crevasse to dig out Doug, we were off.

We reached the hut at about 1745 and everyone felt very relieved to finally get here after an unexpectedly long day. The hut looks awesome especially if you are looking out of the toilet.

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I think we’re all going to have some dinner and get an early night tonight ahead of a long 12 hour day tomorrow. Nighty night!

Matt Bevan Day 6 - Friday 13th July Glacial ascent from Tasiilaq Mountain Hut to climb Kunigelborg

We awoke at 6:30 so as to get a good start on the 11hour day ahead of us. Once breakfast was out of the way, we began our walk along the Karale glacier. Once again we roped up for safety before starting to cross the huge expanse of snow and ice. The routine of putting on a harness, using a sling to improvise a chest attachment and then tying into the rope was something we will get quicker at over the coming weeks. It was a long trudge to begin with, as the snow on the glacier was still relatively firm. After about two hours we reached our first major crevasses of the day. This slowed us down to a degree, but we were soon at the base of Kunigelborg where the rock ridge joined the coll at the top of the glacier. A short way up we stopped for our first water break three hours after starting. We then continued on our ascent, easy at first, but steepening as we ascended toward the summit, before finishing off with a fine ridge walk with massive drops to either side of us. We made it to the top in a little over two hours from where we had left the glacier. The view from the top

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was awe-inspiring, and for the first half an hour of being at the summit everyone was silent, but that might be partly because we were all so tired. Once we all had time to catch our breath, we had a few photos of us at the top, as well as some panoramas. The walk back down was much quicker, although that might have been because the footing was a little looser, and gravity was also on our side.

As we made our way towards the hut across the glacier, we had to be much more careful because a lot of the snow had melted and so we had to be gentle on our feet. Alex as usual did not listen and promptly fell through, hyperextending his knee in the process. After hobbling back to the hut, we had a quick supper to aid our recovery, before retiring to slumber.

Matt Walter Day 7 - Saturday 14th July Hütten Kogel mountain day/Start of community project

Today, some of us had the opportunity to stay at the hut and rest. The others were taken up Hütten Kogel with Paul. The team of Paul, Perry, Mason, Walter and Dougle were to ascend and descend the mountain. We started off by waking up at 09:30 and setting off at 11:45. The ascent started with a 2 hour scramble over loose rocks, which was like climbing a continuous but very steep staircase. After that, we got roped up and climbed along a ridge which was about 2 metres in width at its widest.

The drops on either side were really quite scary but we were all roped together and Sav had given us instructions as to what to do if someone lost their footing. Then he took a line across a steep wall to miss out a particularly overhanging section on the ridge above us and made us traverse across a small rock edge with a sheer 150 feet drop into the glacier. Being very cautious, we didn’t fall off. When we reached the summit, 28

we had a 1 hour rest and ate lunch, taking in the magnificent views from the top. On the way down, we stopped and saw the people at the hut running outside, trying to look busy for when we got back.

Those of us who had not gone on the trip today stayed at the hut. So Keri, Alex, Bevo and I shared 3 scrapers between us as we took it in turns to complete the panels assigned to us by Keri. We were in the sun for the morning, as it happened to be on that side of the hut as we worked on scraping off the paint. I could see the guys who were climbing after two hours, making good progress from where I was looking. By 14:30 we took a break for lunch, not intending this to be long, but one by one we came in and ended up having a hour and a half break, enjoying a lovely cheese sandwich and drinks of water. Alex, unlike the rest of us who had a bit of self-restraint, ate his two chocolate bars within the first few minutes.

By 17:30, we had finished our work and set about other tasks, including fetching more water for the hut which was a two man job shared between Keri and myself. Oh, and Alex broke one of the scrapers, which made us all stop in horror until we had the great idea of gaffer-taping the end as a new type of makeshift handle.

Tom Perry and Harry Tatham.

Day 8 - Sunday 15th July H端tten Kogel mountain day 2/Continuation of community project 29

We had a leisurely start walking at 10 o’ clock’!

Today was another day of splitting into groups.

It was the turn of Keri, Alex, Harry and Matt Bevan to go up Hütten Kogel. But first we had to apply the primer coat to our side of the hut.

We worked very well as a team, adopting a system to get everyone involved in the painting to make it as efficient as possible. We had finished the painting by 12 and so had lunch before ascending the mountain. It was the last day of having bread, and by this point it had gone a little stale. The first part of the ascent was very hard and we all had a sweat-on when

we reached the first summit. The view even from this relatively low level was incredible. We could see almost 180km due to the beautiful weather. There was not a cloud in the sky. It was amazing. We roped up to start the second ascent which added a great element of excitement. This second ascent was much more technical and involved climbing ridges mere feet from perilous 100m drops – the adrenaline rush was huge! The relief when we reached the top was wonderful.

But the view was the most spectacular thing I have ever seen. Nothing could make you feel smaller than looking out over a landscape of thousands of huge mountains extending as far as you can see. In one place you could even see the permanent ice cap that extends all the way to the North Pole. It was certainly one of the best experiences of my life.

Alex Taylor

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Day 9 - Monday 16th July Completion of Hut painting project After a leisurely wake up at around ten, Sav plopped a pan of water on the hob and the rest of us dressed before eating. With breakfast over and done with, we all headed outside to finish off painting the hut.

The rest of the red coating was a quick job compared to the balancing and juggling of heavy ladders, large tin cans and planks to delicately apply the white paint to window frames, door frames and gables at either end.

The day progressed in this manner until lunch, at around 2, where we all sat, tired from our morning of activity, all believing we were done for the day. This we believed until Sav poked his head around the door and instructed us outside.

There we stood as Sav moved up and down the hut saying ‘You call this painting?’ and so we continued our day of tediously slopping paint from buckets on to the wall.

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Finally, at around 5pm, we had finished.

However, our labour had not yet ended, as we turned to head into our newly painted hut, Sav (the task master) called us back to start the washing of the buckets and brushes in the freezing stream, replace the used ladders and planks under the hut and throwing the paint covered rocks over the cliff before having a group photo at the front gable.

Finally we could rest. The time now was half six and dinner was served and quickly eaten.

Shortly after dinner we all prepared for bed and, with a few tosses and turns, we drifted off to sleep.

Dougie Britton

Day 10 - Tuesday 17th July Ascent of the Unnamed Peak 1276m “Morning campers! I’m your Uncle Pauly and I welcome you to Pauly’s holiday camp” seems to be a common wake-up call over the last few mornings in the hut. This was at 6:10 AM so wasn’t greeted with much enthusiasm especially from Matt, who doesn’t seem to be much of an early morning fan.

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The plan was to leave the hut at 7:00 in Greenland time, which was fairly accurate since we did eventually leave at 7:20 AM. The early morning was definitely worth it as walking in the snow definitely proved to be easier with it being more stable, particularly closer to the crevasses.

About 45 minutes of this walk was spent in the shade before reaching the sun, where some pleasant warmth greeted us. Not so pleasant on the eyes however. It started to get very steep as the team got ever closer to the foot of the mountain. I don’t think any of us quite realised how much effort Sav put into kicking the snow to make more stable footsteps. Otherwise it would have been a fast slide to the bottom of this minor hill. Towards the top, Keri’s ability to take some quality photos shone through which will look amazing on screen or printed out. Here we found a suitable route to begin our ascent by climbing up through some very loose rock, which I apologise for now if I did accidentally knock

some onto you. Having spent a couple of days already tied together and rock scrambling, we were getting very skilled individually at managing the rocks but also together at communicating and being patient for each other knowing when to stop and wait at the harder parts. I find this essential to make the expedition a more fun and memorable experience for everyone. Towards the summit, a mini glacier took us up to the very top, which I found quite special and weird being on a glacier so high up. The views at the top were very rewarding and well deserved. The trip back down the mountain was again full of “Kez you might want to get a picture of this”. Looking at the photos, you wouldn't have thought 33

we had come to Greenland. We managed to make it back to the hut having been away for only eight hours making record time. Everyone made best use of the stove and communal eating area since it was the last time we would be eating at the hut. Having spent six nights in it, we have become quite attached to it, particularly since we almost felt like we had owned some of it having spent three days scraping and painting it. The first time I saw the hut, I didn’t think much of it, but leaving it felt as though we were leaving home. I have felt lucky to stay there, even though it is very basic, but absolutely perfect for its purpose (Being back down in the valleys and tents won’t be quite the same). It’s on all of our minds - I do hope the mosquitoes behave!

Jack Mason Day 11 - Wednesday 18th July Descent from Mountain Hut and journey north along Tasiilap Kuua Today we had to say goodbye to the hut. We woke up to the sound of “Good morning campers”, however, this was not done by Paul but rather by Matthew Walter, (but because of it already being 8:35) we all individually started to get up out of bed. As we each sat down around the table waiting to have boiling water to use for hot chocolate, coffee or porridge, Paul said that the first job to do was tidy the hut, pack your bags and sign the log book. We all said ‘Yeah’, not paying enough attention.

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We swept, washed windows and generally tidied the place to the point of making it better than when we’d come. I guess we have Paul’s OCD to thank for making a good job of it as when each job had been done he still seemed to find another job for someone, such as Perry with the dustpan and brush or Mason with the windows.

By the time we were ready to set off it was about 11:30.

Just before setting off after having locked all the doors, put our bags on and tied on to the rope, we remembered the logbook. Paul untied himself, looking a little annoyed, and went in to fetch it. The logbook then got passed along in a speedy autograph sign race, each person signing it faster than the previous one.

As we finally set off 5 minutes or so later, Paul choose to take us the more entertaining of the two paths back down towards the tents in the valley. This meant that we were going across the crevasses which involved a lot of jumping and careful treading as the white snow at this point was definitely shite.

Fortunately no-one fell in and better still some of the cracks were so big that you could see all the way down. Harry found some brilliant places to take photos from and my favourite one that he got had to be the one at the end. I’m sure the others felt the same about it because Walter gave a whistle of ‘Well, that’s big!’. We soon reached the end of the ice and removed our crampons for the last part of our trek to the tents as walking on stones with crampons tends to break ankles.

By 1:40 we had make it to the tents. Setting our priorities straight almost everybody, bar those who were still returning, tucked into some cracker bread and strange unknown spread. But when you’re hungry it just doesn’t matter. To be fair to the makers of the spread, it wasn’t too bad. Not saying that I’d 35

take a pack of it back to England though. After having spent around 1-2 hours trying to fit everything into our bags, even after having eaten some of the food, there seemed to be less room in the bags as everyone pushed and squeezed their kit in. Dougey gave up squashing kit in and just strapped his daysack to the outer of his bag. Not gonna lie, it was a good idea, but when we started to cross streams I was glad to know that mine was safe and dry on the inside of my bag. After leaving the campsite with tents at 3:15, and gone over some small streams and through the valley for an hour and a half, we got close to the green patch of stuff, well it wasn’t grass, more like vines or weeds. We had to cross what Paul called a river and Walter (delicately) called a lake.

As we all changed into our trainers, throwing our boots around our necks causing some to gag on the smell of their own sweat, we watched as Paul, Keri and little Alex made their way across the river.

Alex’s face was easy to read, it read. ‘Well this is a little bit colder than I thought’. Keri was the last in on the tripod formation and as Paul showed little reaction to the water, Keri must have thought that Alex was being a bit of a girl. However, he too gave the same expression but with the guidance of Paul, they all made it across. Next were Mason, Harry and Douglas, who crossed with little problem too and finally the rest. They made the first crossing easily, if anything because of having little awareness of how cold the water was that they were getting into.

The second crossing was much more eventful and even Paul got his camera out as the last group of Walter, Bevo and Perry prepared themselves to be bollock deep in water. As they went further, cries from Walter got stronger as he shouted with ‘Oh, ah’ and then by the time it got to his thighs he was shouting ‘Rape’.

Then silence as it reached his waist, trying not to lose his manhood saying ‘It’s reached my nicky-nacky-noo-nahs’. By the time they’d all made it across, Bevo debriefed them by simply saying ‘Well when it comes to a proper river crossing, we’re all going in’. Walter just curled up into the foetal position and stayed there until he felt like getting up and dressed.

By the time he got up and the others in the group had got over the crossing, Paul, Keri and Mason were already marching on to the campsite which was still a good half hour away. They found a very nice place for us all with

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soft ground next to a stream. After such an eventful day, we just set up our tents and went to bed.

Harry Tatham Day 12- Thursday 19th July Ice-climbing day in the Serac Glacier This morning, the unthinkable the undoable, the impossible happened – Savs overslept. We were told to be expecting a wake up call at 06:00 for a 07:00 leave, but this never came. We ended up being awoken at around 07:00 and after the routine breakfast and packing of daysacks, we set off for the foot of the glacier at around 08:00. Everyone was absolutely buzzing for today (you could tell as people were actually ready to leave on time) because today was our ice climbing day. Now for the majority of us this was our first ever time ice climbing and for all of us this was our first proper time. We arrived at the foot of the glacier in around an hour and after a short break, armed with crampons and ice axes, we began to ascend the glacier. This was actually surprisingly steep and long, so it seemed to damage everyone’s initial excitement for the day, but any signs of this damage were well and truly removed as we reached one of the deepest crevasses to date, where Savs said “Ooh, I’ll drop you down that later”. At the time, I wasn’t sure if this was a threat or an actual plan, but either way, it removed the tiredness of the climb and replaced it with either fear or excitement. Anyway, after another short climb up the glacier, we reached the foot of where the “real glacier” began. When I say “ real glacier’ I don’t mean stereotypical images from the movies, I mean it’s so steep and crevassed and sharp in places, that if you didn’t pay 100% attention all the time, you could seriously hurt yourself. For me, this was probably the first time that I realized this was a proper expedition, and something going wrong would be serious.

Personally, I was overwhelmed with excitement at the sight of these giant ice walls, and I’m sure all the lads would agree with me when I say I couldn’t wait to get going.

Our first chance to actually ice climb came quickly and although this was almost just a small bump compared to the huge ice walls surrounding us, it was immensely fun and even proved challenging for some of us (mostly me).

But after this first taste of ice climbing, we all wanted more so we set off in search of another more challenging wall. We actually reached the top of the glacier before we found the wall and it felt like a real achievement reaching the top of it, as it has been a real battle to get there. When we started looking at what we had just come up,

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for that split second, all the tiredness from your legs disappears and you gain a real sense of achievement and accomplishment. I’d even go as far as saying I felt proud of myself.

On the way down we came across a bigger, more challenging ice wall and everyone fell a lot quieter, as anxiety and nerves began to kick in. This must have been because of the size of the thing! It must have been around 60 feet but felt like 600 and was directly vertical.

Savs told us to take a seat so we all took this literally and began carving seats out of the ice with our axes and literally two minutes after he said this, we looked up, and at the top of the wall was Mr Saville! This was just another moment that reinforces our theory that he isn’t human! Anyway this climb is close to one of the best things I've ever done. It was so hard to actually climb, not only physically but also mentally, that when you finally reached the top of it, feelings of pure joy and happiness kick in. This was by far the best moment of the expedition so far, regardless of all the breath-taking views we had seen; it definitely made me feel the most happy and proud. Maybe it was the fact that I didn’t think I’d be able to do it or just the sheer amount of energy it took to climb it - I don’t know - but what I do know is at that time I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else in the world than standing on 60 feet ice wall overlooking some of the most beautiful mountains and scenery I’ve ever seen. I think that’s what the expedition is all about and I wouldn’t want to change that feeling I felt on top of that wall for anything Matt Bevan Day 13- Friday 20th July Journey north along Tasiilap Kuua The day, a walk which we’d all been dreading. The 12 hour day. It had been hyped up in our minds to be a true test of determination. Possibly a three chocolate bar day. So, we set off after having packed the kit from the campsite with the strange smelling floor of weeds, next to a stream, which made it convenient to get fresh water, but caused a subliminal need to wee. However that may just be me. The sound of the stream in the nights is the same as that of a white noise CD except, well it’s free and actually there.

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We had a staggered start in the morning, with Walter and myself staggering about 15 minutes behind the others who had packed and left at 8:45. We spent the day trekking across what was pretty flat ground. It could possibly be seen as going up, but very little. Then after an hour and a half the first group took their first break for a layer change. Walter and I managed to catch up, with a little less breath with the quickened pace used to catch the group but not too bad. After having done a layer-change with mosquitoes all around us, we set off as a complete group this time with one thing on our minds - we were going to get this day done in under 12 hours. The walk was pretty standard going you know – one foot in front of the other and then repeat.

However, our obstacle was a river mouth. It wasn’t the first one we’d crossed, but it was the first one Paul had wobbled on. This wobble then caused our faith and confidence in being able to walk across it wobble as well. Matthew didn’t stay long, heading straight up further to find a better place to cross, which was a mistake. He should have at least stayed to watch Keri.

Although this may sound harsh there was a visible difference in confidence between Paul, who marched through, and Keri who, well, ended up getting his shirt wet. To be fair to him, the bags do throw your balance, and he was obeying the rule of crossings are best done near the bottom. However, after dampening his shirt, he retreated back and followed Walter and most of the others to a higher crossing. There was just Mason and I left for the original path.

I could still picture myself going in, but went for it anyway, fortunately having just a few wobbles and a damp foot. I made it to the other side shortly followed by hardcore Mason.

Because the others had gone to higher ground we waited, thinking they would come and join us. Paul decided that it may be an idea for him to go and see where they were, if anything to make sure no one had gone and done anything silly like drowning. Almost as soon as Paul was out of sight Mason and I spotted Walter, Perry and soon followed by Keri. Poor Keri took his shoes off and even from where we were, a good 50m away, we saw the water coming out of his boots. Paul jumped down from “God knows where” saying “Let’s go!” to the others “as the rest are heading that way”. As we all sat down recovering from the great river crossing that hadn’t been performed.

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Paul explained the physics of water in rivers to us. If he had pointed this out before it would have seemed trivial but I wouldn’t have realised it, like when you inhale gas lighter than air, your voice goes higher, but when you inhale a gas lower than air your voice goes lower. The physics he shared with us was that the further upstream you go, the faster the flow of water, which means the best place to cross is low down where the river spreads out. Also because Paul can’t keep a ‘man of the mountain’s eye’ on you and dive in the water if you fall in. However, with how cold the water is you’d have to be drowning before anyone jumped in to save you. To say the rest of the journey seemed to fly by would be an exaggeration but it did go a lot quicker than we thought it would as we reached the 12 hour checkpoint with about five hours spare. If anything, I think this just goes to show how strong an expedition group we are. That, or Paul had really underestimated our ability to walk. We did do a bit of scrambling to get around the ledge with the weight of our packs trying to pull us back into the water below, but we all managed to make it around the rock faces without falling in. Apart from achieving the walk in such a quick time, the other achievements of the day were the river crossing with little problem and the place we chose to have lunch was a brilliant spot. The ground wasn’t that flat but the view was phenomenal. White water rapids flowed down in front of our little perch showing the strength of the water, although this was where we have to fill water from, and it was cold. Even the mosquitoes didn’t want to be near a deadly waterfall, but we just admired it as we sat there munching on chocolate bars and a pack of crackers. In the end, our day, had been a brilliant one as what should have been a walk along death row had turned into a skip through a daisy field. The campsite, although getting us closer to the next destination was, not great to say the least. The floor was like a damp sponge, probably because we were next to a lake, but apart from the ground we were on, the day had been pretty much a positive one, if anything because of how strong we felt as a team. We were all thinking, “Yeah, we’re quick!”

Harry Tatham

Day 14- Saturday 21st July 40

Journey north along Tasiilap Kuua to Ningerti Nights in the valley were getting somewhat more chilly, meaning that the Ascent 700 is having to be fully zipped up instead of leaving it open to allow some air to my body odourish torso. We had been blessed with a second day of cloudy weather which made the walk to Sermalik Fjord a little more exciting. Not every day can be sunny, however, so it did allow us to experience a different side of Greenland. Seeing porridge and Alpen bars may also be getting a touch repetitive, but that’s what it’s like to eat “in the wilderness”. The hike started with a steep ascent over some loose rock which was a serious tester for those with blisters. After gaining height early, the boulders started to level out and then start to descend into what seemed like a completely different valley. At this point we hit our first major eyebrow raiser of the day. Perry took quite a tumble as a rock deceived him causing him to lose his footing before landing with a lot of impact on the rocks. Fortunately, he landed on his rucksack and so came away from this incident unscathed. As the terrain started to level out, the boulders gradually disappeared and more and more rivers started to appear. These were all easily crossable, but with Tatham being French, decided to walk through rivers filling his Scarpa Mantas with water. A number of breaks were taken along the way, but the best stop was for lunch by a huge boulder nearly the size of an average house. You could see Paul’s eyes glinting from miles away and his fingers subconsciously warming themselves up. The first thing he did was inspect all faces of the boulder for any places to climb, but his luck had run out and decided it wasn’t suitable.

After around 5 hours of walking, we

managed to have a clear glimpse of a small 41

section of the fjord. Seeing a sea of icebergs was simply spectacular. The achievement I felt to have made it to the Sermalik Fjord made every drop of sweat, every irritating mosquito bite, and every river crossing (all one of them) worth it. Sav found a good high viewpoint of the whole fjord where you could see from end to end of the valley where all these glaciers lead to. We took up trangias and drinks to where we sat staring out over this surreal place.

There was a moment of silence when everyone reached this viewpoint. No-one even breathed. It literally seemed as if the view took all our breaths away. Personally, I feel extremely privileged to have witnessed that moment and see how awesome this place is. The next few sounds I heard were lots of clicking coming from Keri’s camera. As he said, “It seems as though you take lots of pictures of the same thing, but you keep realising different things each time”. The other sound was the rumbling of the icebergs tossing and turning in the water. It seemed as though they were greeting us, as weird as that sounds. Where we pitched our tents was in as magical a place as I ever likely will. The only thing that interrupted me staring into the distance was Bevo’s blister…

Jack Mason

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Day 15- Sunday 22nd July Journey west along the shore of Sermalik Fjord

As we woke up this morning, we opened the tent doors and gazed out onto the wonderful iceberg filled fjord. It was a relaxed morning, as we left the camp site at around 09:30. We then realised that one of, if not, the biggest iceberg in the sea had disappeared overnight. This was a mystery, as no one had heard it sink or topple. Today was to prove to be one of the toughest, due to the underfoot conditions. Spongy moss that sank when you stepped on it made it hard work for our legs. As we started to walk, the clouds slowly separated and blue skies started to appear. This felt good to know that one of the days spent at the fjord would be clear and sunny. It was only meant to be a four hour walk, but we decided to have long breaks, and often. We stopped for lunch at about 12:30. Paul picked a very nice spot overlooking the fjord and looking at a huge iceberg. After a leisurely lunch, we set off again. I felt that the afternoon was a bit of a slog. The boggy terrain and the fast flowing river crossing proved difficult on a hot Greenlandic summer’s day. Eventually we arrived at our campsite for the night. It is a flat gravel/moss floor overlooking the fjord. I thought today was quite difficult due to the terrain. However, with the view from the sleeping bag in the tent looking at the fjord, it was very much worth it.

Tom Perry

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Day 16- Monday 23rd July Sermalik Fjord to Qinngertivaq via the Sun Gate The wake-up call was at 7, and after a scramble for breakfast, we left Sermalik Fjord with mixed feelings. On one hand, we were excited to be on our final walk day, but on the other, we were leaving the amazing looking fjord which none of us will ever likely see again; a sobering thought as the view of the sea of ice had been the last thing we saw before falling asleep for the last couple of days. However, on to the walk! After leaving in high spirits, we made quick time and reached the foot of the glacier. Attaching crampons for the last time we started to ascend the glacier. It appeared our excitement of nearly finishing the expedition was short-lived as we trudged up the glacier.

Right foot, left foot, then left foot again and again as we slogged our way to the top. Time ticked by and we still were not at the top. A chocolate bar at 1100, and we still were not at the top. Lunch at 13:00, but still not at the top.

14:00, and what was this? The glacier was starting to level off. We passed over the top, also known as the ‘Sun Gate’, and stopped and stared at the beautiful view and our pick up point in the distance. With renewed vigour, we made our way down off the glacier, with Sav commenting, “That was the last technical glacier left and we were lucky it hadn’t been harder!”

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Now all that was left was moraine – the horrible, rocky, uneven and unstable moraine. Being tired from the long slog up the glacier, trips and stumbles became frequent. Some minor injuries such as small cuts and grazes stared to occur and the distance left to cover was finally realised, dashing our hopes of an early finish. Many hours and stumbles later, we were a stone throw away from our camp and finally we knew that the long day was nearly over. Releasing our buckles and letting our bags fall to the ground, we felt exhilarated and exhausted.

After a few minutes’ rest Sav suggested getting a brew on. We quickly set up our trangias, left some water to boil and sat at our tents, letting out a deep breath , some from tiredness, and some from the shock at what had been seen that day. And then the mosquitos came, and so we took refuge in our tents to avoid them, not to emerge until the next morning Dougie Britton Day 17 – Tuesday 24th July Optional Day/Ascent of Left Sentinel Peak Paul, Mason and I were up at 08:00 and ready to go by 08:30. Today was an optional day and we had opted to do the large mountain to the left of the Sun Gate – the left sentinel. The morning was quiet with less movement than normal and a chill in the air from the wind, so jackets and gloves were on this morning. After scoffing our breakfast, we were ready. Our only extra kit was a rope, helmet and harness. The line of attack was quite an easy one, on the left hand side of the left sentinel. As we started walking, we stopped to fill up with drinking water as there was none around the campsite.

As we began the steady ascent, it soon became apparent that the incline had looked a lot easier from a distance than close up. But nonetheless we marched up, zigzagging along the face of the mountain.

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By 10:00, we were starting to get tired but were nice and high looking out over the valley. I got some good photos from this face of the mountain. Soon we reached the first problem; the upcoming wall was too steep so we had to go back down to lose a bit of height which we soon made up again. But there is a real demoralising feeling of going down to go back up somewhere else. After a small break and chocolate bar at around midday we set off for the final hurdle.

Helmets on, harnesses on, and rope tied as we crossed over ever loosening rock. What then started as a walk turned into a scramble and then at some points became a climb. We finally reached the summit at around 13:45. Or at least what we could call the summit of the south peak. The reason being that we didn’t have enough climbing equipment to do the north peak, so we chose to take some photos, have lunch, enjoy the view and also ponder how to get down. Paul walked off without saying a thing.

Mason and I just sat there discussing what would be the quickest way down. Now not that there was a problem with the way down for us, but it was not for the faint hearted. Right from the start it was a slippery rock slope built for only one technique: scree-running. It seems that if you want to get down a mountain quickly and safely and have forgotten your parachute, because from there a parachute would have been ideal, then what you do is almost ski with your heels, digging in down the slope. Our life expectancy must have halved with the amount of dust being kicked up. This path came with less difficulties than if we’d decided to go down the same way as we’d come up, but still causes a few bumps and grazes. Mason kept shaking hands with the rock face, who would scratch his hand in return. But he just wiped it on his shirt and kept going. After only 2 hours of downhill we’d reached the bottom and had only had one incident, when I had slipped and the rope had taken Mason’s legs from under him. Thankfully, he hadn’t been hurt and I gained a nickname for being clumsy. Reaching the bottom was the best feeling in the world. With clothes and bags covered in dust, we decided to try and get rid of some of it as we looked like a child’s toy that had been left in the attic for centuries and found as an antique to be sold on ‘Cash in the Attic’. Thankfully for us as we came out of the gorge mouth there was a flowing river that we hopped over then used to wash the dust off our hands and clothes. There was a nice stroll 46

from the river down to the tents for a well-deserved tea followed by a bit of R and R. Now we wait for the boats to turn up tomorrow morning to start our journey home.

Harry Tatham Day 18 – Wednesday 25th July Journey from Qinngertivak Fjord to Kulusuk Airport via Tasiilaq. Museum visit

Today was our last day away from civilisation and so we could afford to finish the rest of our food. We awoke at 0700 so as to give ourselves plenty of time to pack up and make the short walk around Qingertivaq Fjord for the boat pick up at 10:00. The walk began with a short river crossing which was manageable with our boots kept on, fortunately. We then made our way across the marshy area surrounding the fjord so as to get onto firmer ground.

Everyone was in high spirits and so it took a lot less time than it might have done 3 days previously. With only a short 5 minute layer change, it only took about an hour and a half to make it to the pick-up point, with 10 minutes to spare. Although it did take another 20 minutes for the boats to arrive. Everyone was much more relaxed to be on some form of vehicle again, even if it wasn’t the most comfortable of rides! About an hour into the boat journey, we made a short stop to watch a huge iceberg that looked as if it was about to roll, but alas it was only rocking, but impressive nonetheless. We eventually made it to Tasiilaq at just gone 12:00, at which point we swapped to our day sacks and made our way to the supermarket to pick up some food for lunch, as well as any extras we might want. Lunch consisted of salami and one third of a loaf each, as well as orange juice and crisps. I’m still amazed that so little could make us so full.

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After lunch, we made our way to the local Tasiilaq museum where we learnt about some of our history behind where we’d been living for the past 2 ½ weeks. We then decided that the next priority was a wash so we headed over to the bath house, only to discover that it was closed. Instead, we made our way to the stunk workshops where we discovered it really did live up to its name and Paul bought a ‘tupilak’ – a small ‘totemesque’ carving based on a combination of evil spirits, humans and animals. After that we headed back down to the museum where we had a short tour of a reconstructed turf house, led by our tour guide Paul Saville. It was a very squat little house built into the side of a hill. Inside there was one main area, with four little sections off to one side, each about 2 metres squared. In each compartment, a family of 4 to 6 people would live, meaning that there could be 24 people in the house at any time! Some of us made our way back to the museum whilst others went back to the supermarket or even the book shop before meeting back up at the bags to wait for the boats. The boats arrived at 18:00 and after a short hold-up to get life jackets and get rid of some apple juice, we were soon headed to Kulusuk for our last night in Greenland. I’d also like to quickly mention the boat driver who did a great job despite the wind and water throughout the journey. We were soon at the campsite cooking our curry and rice for the night.

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Matt Walter Day 19 – Thursday 26th July Flights from Kulusuk to Reykjavik

We were woken relatively early in order to reach the airport with plenty of time to spare.

We made use of the airport’s facilities to freshen up for our flight, which for some of us was our first wash in 2 weeks. It was a wonderful feeling to be just a little bit cleaner! We boarded our flight at 11:00 and headed back to Reykjavik to begin the R & R part of the expedition. The flight only took about an hour and a half, and we got some wonderful views of the mountains that line the coast of Greenland. It was quite sad to be leaving such an amazing place, but everyone was excited about getting home. We caught

the bus from the airport to the campsite and set up our tents for the final time, which was a wonderful feeling. We then proceeded to the showers for our first proper wash in two weeks. It was such an incredible feeling to finally be clean again and wear clean clothes. This was the point 49

where it became clear to us that the expedition phase of the trip was over and the R & R phase had begun, and we could finally relax. We walked to the local shop to stock up on the basics while the rest of us filled our baskets with excessive amounts of sweets and chocolates.

Mr Saville bought us pasta and pesto for us to cook on our trangias. However, we refused to use that thing again and so used the campsite stove to cook up what was actually a very good and filling meal. We retired to bed early ready for an early start the next morning.

Alex Taylor

Day 20 – Friday 27th July Reykjavik Day

The day started at about 8:30 for most of us whilst others chose to have a bit more of a lie-in.

For breakfast most people had cornflakes but some of us decided to make our way down to the shop where we had peperoni pizza for breakfast or a ham and cheese croissant. Once everyone was back at the campsite we made our way to the swimming pool for a mid-morning swim. It was a full sized Olympic one with hot tubs surrounding it, varying in temperature from 38 degrees to 44 degrees Celsius. People spent the majority of the time in the shallowest of the 38 degree pools although to begin with everyone was in the main kids’ pool. Bevo wasn’t feeling too confident and so he wore armbands. We then made our way back to the campsite to leave our swimming stuff to dry before heading off for lunch. Once in Reykjavik, we were each given 1000 kroner to go off and buy ourselves lunch .Our time in the main area of Reykjavik was spent walking, searching for souvenirs and more food. We then made our way back to the campsite with Walter taking a slightly different route back

and stumbling across a concert which several of us made our way back to where we got free Vodafone buffs. For dinner, we made our way to the famous Vegamot restaurant where after a little confusion we all ordered Vegaburgers and were glad to discover there was more than enough food for us. We were soon finished and headed 50

for our evening’s entertainment, the power showing of The Dark Knight Rises. Of course I won’t go into details other than it was awesome and that the Icelandic way of entering a cinema is a little different to the English one.

Matt Walter

Day 21 – Saturday 28th July Blue Lagoon Day Another early wake up, this time to make a bus journey to the blue lagoons. The day started with the customary fight for cereal, this time I actually got seconds. With the day off to a good start, although everyone was still feeling the effects of the meal of the previous night. We arrived at the Blue Lagoon and were amazed with the changing facilities, the electronic entrance and lockers, but most of all the showers. With everyone required to shower before entering the lagoon, we eagerly dived in and used as much shower gel as possible, just to get our money’s worth. After the brisk stroll to the water’s edge, we got in and found the temperature like that of a bath, and quickly we indulged ourselves in the free facial masks available (some more than others).

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After finding the hottest place in the whole lagoon and sitting there for a while, we washed the face masks off in the salty water and headed for the steam room and waterfalls. Having sat in there for a while, and shrivelling up like prunes we got back in the lagoon and posed for a photo-shoot. We finally had enough and got out. Before having lunch in the blue cafe (not before using the showers once again) and then caught the 2.00 pm bus into the city centre.

We spent the afternoon shopping and relaxing in cafes and it was a really nice way to spend our last evening in Reykjavik. Mr Saville had been busy organising the stuff necessary for a BBQ on the campsite, with chicken, sausages and potato salad and even a little liquid refreshment to celebrate our last evening on expedition. We all feasted heartily and talked late into the evening before retiring to bed in the knowledge that tomorrow we would be heading back to the UK. Mixed feelings that the expedition and our time spent as a close knit team was nearly over but excitement that we would be soon back with families and the creature comforts that come with being back home in the UK. Paul Day 22 – Sunday 29th July Fly Keflavik to London Heathrow. Journey back to school

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After an early wake up at 7:00, we settled down to our last breakfast of the expedition. The usual cereals, fruit juice and drinks were soon finished and the preparations for our departure began. The final ceremonial packing of the rucksacks was followed by a sense of calm before our last stage of the journey home began. I have mixed feelings at the moment, sadness that the physical part of the expedition will all soon be over but relieved that everything has gone to plan and the group appear to have thrived on the challenge. It’s been a long time since we departed Trent, but we have fitted so much into it. I don’t think it will all sink in, until we have time to relax and relive the experiences at home.

The campsite had gradually increased its population over the last few day, whilst we had used it as a base, scout and youth groups were beginning their summer camps. It’s given a really cosmopolitan end to the trip and a real shock to the system to be suddenly surrounded by so many people. We had booked the fly bus tickets from the campsite reception last night so all we needed to do was turn up on time. Our stay in Reykjavik had given a chance for everyone to reacquaint themselves with the normal world.

We took the bus to Keflavik and checked into the departures at 2:00pm before settling down to wait for the flight. This passed quickly and soon we were touching down on the runway at Gatwick. Mr Stevens was there to collect us, and we were glad to see him. Miraculously the razor that had gone missing during our stay in the hut, and which meant that I had sported a beard for the latter part of the expedition reappeared in the front of the minibus, much to 53

the amusement of my fellow expeditioners. I never should have mentioned how I hate beards and the fact they make me look like my heads on upside down. The journey back to Trent was full of chatter and swapping of stories. It was hard to believe that whilst we had been away in the arctic experiencing predominately bright sunny and stable weather conditions, the UK had suffered one of the wettest summers in recent history.

We drove onto the drive at Trent, to the sight of parents and family eagerly awaiting the return of their loved ones. It had been a long trip but one hopefully full of varied and unforgettable memories.

Thanks to everyone for making it special.

Paul

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PERSONAL REFLECTIONS Matt Bevan It’s actually hard to single out a specific highlight of the expedition, seeing as the whole experience has probably been the best, most challenging and most rewarding of my life.

If I was to choose a time highlight though, it’d definitely be the few moments we spent at the top of the Serac Glacier, after having climbed the 60 ft vertical ice wall. I don’t even know what I was feeling at the top of the glacier, but looking out over what we had climbed a real sense of accomplishment swept through me and for those few moments, all the fatigue from the climb vanished and it was an amazing feeling, for me which I doubt I’ll experience again unless I return to Greenland.

As for the low point of my expedition, there was genuinely not a moment when I thought “This is rubbish, I don’t want to be here”. If I had to choose one though, it’d probably be the constant battle for me to get up every morning. This was partly due to Paul’s horrendous wake up ‘call’ and without eating more than 50 mosquitos, but mostly to do with the fact that I had to pull myself into dirty and smelly clothes every morning. Although it sounds petty, this was one of the only things that seemed to bother me.

To be honest, this just shows how good the whole 3 weeks have been, as dirty clothing is the only fault I can find. I can say with confidence and without doubt, (that without showing it much) these 3 weeks have been the most adrenaline fuelled, challenging, rewarding and best of my life.

Douglas Britton As with all expeditions there will be points at which you think there is no better place you’d rather be, points at which you think you would rather be anywhere apart from where you are and points that reflect every part of the spectrum in between.

It is easy, when looking back, to find the moments that took my breath away during the expedition. I found, for me, many of the high points were the views of the landscapes that I saw stretched further than the eye could see, that I experienced on top of the mountain peaks, especially the view from Kunigelborg as this was the first time, both literally as well as emotionally, I could fully appreciate the shape of the beautiful scenery of Greenland.

Another was the communal atmosphere we had at the hut, while this would normally not be usually what someone would view as amazing the fact that we were in such isolation made it so special.

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The top of the contender’s for my highlights of the Expedition was torn between the ice climbing on the Serac Glacier and the view of the Sermalik Fjord, however I can say with confidence the ice climbing was the most enjoyable moment as I felt Sermalik Fjord was hyped too much and so I felt as though it had let me down (even still it was an amazing place. and even better because the weather could not have been nicer).

As for the low points, these are less easily found. As I’m not the strongest lad, walking with a heavy sack definitely made me wish at times that I was not on the expedition, especially when carrying a rucksack with the paint up to the hut with my crampons coming off, every step and stumble into crevasses making me feel like giving up. Walking with the big sack was also hard work, but I accepted this as what I signed up for. Apart from the rucksack, there were very few low points at which I wished to be elsewhere. The river crossing, although unpleasant and painful on the feet happened only once and as I was in a good three (with Jack and Harry) did not give me too much grief. The only other thing I can complain about would be the moraine and the mosquitos. The mosquitos for being pests, especially at meal times, and the moraine for being hard on the foot and ankles, as well as giving me lots of cuts and grazes as I grew tired from the day of walking.

I do not regret a single moment of going on the Expedition, as even though I was occasionally scared of landslides and rock falls etc,….. as well as feeling sick at the very smell of porridge (let alone the taste) there is nothing time, a shower or two and lots of food cannot fix, while this experience is leaving me with invaluable memories and unforgettable moments that I will treasure for the years to come.

Jack Mason Ever since hearing that sixth form have expeditions most years, (after being told by James Pritchard in Year 9), I have always wanted to go on one when it was my turn. So when we were told about the opportunity of going to East Greenland for 3 weeks I took no time at all to apply and have been excited ever since. I can tell you that nearly at the end of this experience, it didn’t fail to disappoint in the slightest.

Two of my high points have to include reaching the summit of Veranda Peak and seeing the finished product of a painted hut. The top of Veranda Peak, as being in the hut I’d spent 4

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days already seeing it every day just wanting to climb it and when at the top the view felt very special as you could see where our journey started in Tasiilaq Fjord all the way down the valley past the camping spots to Sermalik Fjord where we camped for two more nights. So in this way we could reflect on the past and see into the future as well.

Having spent the best part of seven days and a lot of hard work scraping then painting the hut, it was really good to be able to see that we had been able to make a change. Seeing this filled me with pride and made me proud to be part of a team who worked so hard together to achieve this.

My favourite day was undertaking the optional day along with Sav and Harry in the attempt to climb the left sentinel. This was because here I had the opportunity to do so much more technical mountaineering and being part of a much smaller team as well. I don’t think I will ever forget the scree running down, as I can honestly say I was nervous doing it but having done it was a huge achievement. The highlight though was on the second night at Sermalik Fjord where I was able to sit in my tent and watch the sun go down over the ice cap which really made me tingle inside.

One of the most challenging moments was the first night in the wilderness. Firstly because here we had to accept that we were on our own and everything we needed to survive for 2 weeks was on our backs. Secondly, because I really wanted to get into the tent away from the mosquitos, but instead took up the challenge of going back to the boat drop off to collect a bag. However, I was pleased I did this purely because it benefited other members of the team.

The hardest moment was a daily occurrence of getting out of the tent and putting on dirty clothes which were actually painful to put on. However, had I not worn the same clothes for 2 weeks, I wouldn’t have been able to wear fresh clothes here in Iceland.

From these 3 weeks, I feel I have gained more in life experiences and skills than I ever would have done had I not come on this expedition.

Tom Perry As the expedition has unravelled, I have found that there have been many highlights, one of which was the first night of camping looking over the Sermalik Fjord.

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I enjoyed just sitting down looking over the fjord and actually appreciating how far we’d walked to get to that point. Another one of my highlights was the time that we spent at the hut. At the hut my personal favourite mountain that we climbed was Kunigelborg. I just thought that the views from the mountain and the mountain itself was so spectacular. Of course there have been moments in the expedition which have been low points and there are other places which I’d rather be, but I don’t wish to dwell on them too much. Overall I feel that this expedition has been a great 3 weeks and some lessons that I have learned will stay with me for a long time. I wouldn’t have swapped this experience for anything.

Harry Tatham Within this trip there have been lots of things that I’ve enjoyed, such as the ways we’ve travelled. I’ve never been in a helicopter which was a new experience for me. There was then the fact that the weather had been great for the whole trip which was both a good and bad thing as it meant that we didn’t particularly need waterproofs but the sun did burn me.

The crossing was fun when we came into the wilderness of Greenland more for the fact that it felt like the expedition had begun. The mosquitos all the way were a nightmare. There isn’t enough repellent in the world to keep that big a swarm away. They were in the food and tents, just generally being a bit of a pain.

The hut that we then stayed at was a great way to start the trip, as there were a few things extra, such as a stove, beds and a toilet which meant it didn’t feel too uncomfortable to begin with. This also meant that everything we did had to be within the region of the hut which meant that it didn’t feel like we were travelling. Coming down from the hut over the crevasses was brilliant, jumping over ever growing gaps, as well as being able to see the water flowing below. I would have to disagree with the people that said the ice climbing day is the best purely because of the optional day which was better.

However, ice climbing is something that I’ve never done before but rock climbing is better.

There were some nights that were harder than others to get to sleep on this trip because of bad campsite areas which were uncomfortable followed by long walks to get water that wasn’t always drinkable. On the other hand there were some that were amazing locations such as the one below the glacier for ice climbing.

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There were also the long walks up glaciers. The worst part was when you could see what looked like the summit but it turned out to be a brow. Although I’m glad to have done it once, I wouldn’t have liked doing another river crossing, especially if it had been in the morning as that would have probably been the worst thing to have to deal with. Having to walk with soaking boots tends to be bad enough but even worse when they are caked in wet sand and heavy mud.

The mornings have to be the worst, when it was cold, which seemed to only happen twice when it was windy. Not having permanent daylight wasn’t too bad, more disorientating because you couldn’t tell what time it was at all without a watch. I also preferred the days without crampons purely because I found it easier to walk without them.

My favourite part would be the optional day as it was the best session of mountaineering I had done. The size of the group must be what makes the difference as the smaller the group the more experimental or intricate the routes can be. Something I would probably only ever do on this trip was scree running which was amazing fun. Not only was it different to anything I had ever done before, it could only be done in small groups which made it feel more like a team job then when everyone’s on a rope being led along a route. I think the more scrambling, climbing and scree running the better as they were definitely my favourite parts of travelling , as well as seeing the sermalik fjord obviously (with hot chocolate).

Alex Taylor This expedition has been such an incredible but challenging experience.

We have been pushed both physically and mentally which has produced some lows but without doubt more amazing highs.

Even small details such as our methods of travel have made this such an unforgettable experience. One of the first highs for me was travelling from Kulusuk to Tasiilaq by helicopter, something I had never done before.

The best highs come after the most physically difficult parts of the expedition, such as when we reached the peaks of Kunigelborg, the feeling that you have reached the top is unbeatable and gave you such a sense of achievement.

Another more simple high came once we had finished painting the mountain hut. To know that you have left your mark high up on a mountain thousands of miles from home is pretty amazing.

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The best part however, came upon reaching the Sermalik Fjords which I have to say is the most incredible breath-taking place I have ever seen. The thousands of bergs, all the different shapes and sizes made for the most amazing scenes and made that place seem so special for me.

Matthew Walter Overall there have been many highlights throughout the expedition, the first was reaching the hut because it made life that little bit easier and relaxing. Another highlight was reaching Sermalik Fjord, it was a lot different to what I’d anticipated, but a lot grander and so it was quite hard to take it all in. I sat for hours looking out across it.

My personal favourite moment/day of the Expedition was the one we spent ascending the Serac Glacier and the Ice climbing included in doing so.

There weren’t many bad points of the expedition apart from the depressing sight of clouds which threatened the chance of rain.

The worst part though was without a doubt the river crossing. Although I’m glad I did it whilst looking back, I know that I hated it at the time, mostly because I’d never experienced cold like it before and had no idea how to cope with it.

But just to reiterate, the bad points of the experience by no means ruined the trip and if anything made it one to remember.

Mid-expedition reflections Keri Price As day 12 comes to an end, so does the ‘mountain phase’ of our Expedition. We have now been in Greenland for 9 days which have seen numerous highs, and thankfully not too many lows. Since our arrival, or drop off at the Tasiilaq Fjord on day 4, we have camped in the valley, ascended to the mountain hut, climbed to 3 summits (Hutten Kogel, Kuigelborg and the Veranda peak), descended from the mountain hut and moved camp along the valley, climbed a Serac Glacier and ice climbed 3 of its walls.

Each of the above has posed its own challenges, from the mosquitos of the valley, to the patience involved in stripping and painting the hut, to the physicality and in some cases long days involved in climbing to the summits. The rewards have been manifold, from leaving a 60

freshly painted hut as a refuge to future generations of mountaineers and climbers, to the utterly breath taking, spectacular scenery of the mountains and beyond. The glacial and jagged mountainous landscape against a backdrop of fjords and sea dotted with icebergs and the blue sky and sun leave me short of words to describe. Nowhere else have I witnessed such beauty, leaving me in wonder of the world in which we live, but so few have the opportunity to see. The heat has been a surprise, as I expect few of us anticipated T Shirt weather for practically the whole duration, and the group has been able to relax at the summits and take in the surroundings, without having to escape quickly from the elements.

The team has been strong and solid. There have been no ‘wobbles’ or ‘squabbles’ and we have moved together at a good pace which we are all comfortable with.

There have been many laughs, some dodgy dealing of supplies, friendly banter and the students have been comfortable with the staff and vice versa. During the painting of the hut, everyone mucked in and played their part. There have been very few moans, communication has been effective ensuring that each member of the team feels safe in their steps when technique and care have been required. We have crossed the half-way mark, but we are only 4 days away from our pick-up point and so the hard yards are behind us, and we are in good shape. The yards ahead are perhaps longer and I am sure that legs will be very tired, emotionally and physically, by the time we get back on the boat to the relative civilisation that is Tasiilaq, with numerous glaciers, crevasses, rivers, morraine fields, valleys, and relatively little food under our belts.

LEADER’S CONCLUDING THOUGHTS Reflecting on the time we spent as a group in East Greenland, exploring, climbing, travelling and existing together as a group, there were some very special moments. It truly is a magical and unspoilt area of the world and one which can always be relied upon to give some fantastic memories. Rapidly changing, due to global warming, it was also a chance for the team to see a fragile environment and view first-hand the effects of climate change.

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Having visited this part of East Greenland before, I was well aware of the potential it has as an expedition area, and that, there would be a good chance we could undertake an extended expedition phase without coming into contact with a single other person. This element of remoteness was high on my personal list of criteria for the expedition as it brings psychological dimension to the physical challenge that living selfsufficiently for an extended period of time already offers. Being self-organised from the onset provided greater flexibility in both logistics planning and itinerary compared to that offered by most commercial providers or in-country organisations. Perhaps the one area I felt my previous expeditions had lacked was that of a community project to provide a sense that the team had put something back into the area they visited and perhaps help offset the heavy carbon footprint that overseas expeditioning creates. This however, was achieved through the painting of the mountain hut, which provided additional physical challenge but also enabled us to leave a lasting reminder of the time we spent in the area.

The choice of expedition area enabled the team to be heavily involved in the planning, selfreliant in approach, carrying all the food and equipment needed to survive for the extended 15 day phase on their backs. Having the flexibility to not feel compelled to stick to a ridgid plan gave scope for decisions to be made in the field which added to the excitement of each and every mountain or glacial ascent. East Greenland offers massive potential for mountaineering in an environment that, whilst remote and wild had an infrastructure that facilitates rescue and medical attention should the need arise. The relatively low summit heights removed the concerns that high altitude mountaineering can bring, and with little disease and hygiene problems to worry about, medical issues would be in the main predictable. We were a considerable distance south of the polar bear denning areas and as such this meant the likelihood of an encounter was minimal giving one less factor to deal with.

East Greenland also benefits from generally stable weather resulting from anti-cyclonic (high pressure) weather systems that tend to frequent the area in the summer months. This combination made the area particularly suitable for our adventure. For our expedition we experienced bright clear and surprisingly warm days for the duration of our time in-country and were able to explore the mountains and valleys with relative freedom

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to make decisions on the ground.

This meant the main area for consideration was the mountaineering itself and ensuring the safety of the team throughout the entirety of the adventure. Satellite phone back-up facilitated rescue and the critical incident procedures formulated before departure, using in country contacts, meant that help was never really far away should it be needed, despite the remoteness of our location.

I have to record my thanks to Keri Price who took his responsibilities as assistant leader comfortably in his stride, fitting seamlessly into the expedition team and providing valuable support throughout the adventure. It is important to have someone level headed and experienced in expedition lifestyle to bounce ideas off and Keri performed this task admirably. He also proved to be an excellent photographer 63

recording some fantastic images of the trip and removing the need for me to have rope in one hand and the camera in the other.

Looking back over the total 21 days, we fitted so many different experiences into the time available, and the group proved to be a very resilient and supportive team. Wanting to build on the experiences gained on the 2009 expedition I knew that a strong team would be required if our mountaineering objectives were to be suitably demanding to give a real sense of adventure. I was therefore really pleased as the group evolved and began to mould during the training expeditions. These gave very contrasting experiences, but when combined, provided a good set of skills and experiences for the team in preparation for their venture.

The Snowdonia expedition gave a chance for winter mountaineering skills to be developed with several days of poor visibility, heavy snow and biting cold, but the comfort of a mountain hut to return to in the evenings, whereas the Easter Lake District training gave a chance to develop remote camping skills and to walk carrying heavy packs for several days in succession. We also spent some time familiarising ourselves with moving over steeper terrain by completing a number of graded rock climbs testing out the relative comfort levels when exposure was involved. This would enable supportive groupings to be organised when using a rope to protect sections of mountaineering in Greenland. All these experiences and skills would be necessary on the final expedition. The training trips also gave a chance for the team to gel and to determine the relative strengths of each team member and anticipate their likely areas of concern on the expedition itself.

The resultant seven strong team meant we had the flexibility to take on more technical ascents than previous groups and explore more of the area as a single team, rather than splitting up for those summits that required a more technical approach. Each team member brought different but supportive skills to the expedition, it was a real pleasure to be able to spend time with them in the mountains and be able to facilitate their adventure.

Situated 66째 North on the fringes of the Arctic Circle, the area provided a massive unspoilt wilderness in which the group would spend 15 days making an unsupported journey, carrying with them all the food and equipment they needed for survival. East Greenland represents an area bigger than Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy combined, and with a total population of only around 3500, so admirably met the remoteness criteria I was looking for.

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Just getting to Tasiilaq (inhabitants 1700), the logistical base for the expedition was an adventure in itself, consisting of flights from Heathrow to Keflavik in Iceland, a second flight from Reykjavik to Kulusuk a small island off the East Greenland coast, a helicopter shuttle to the mainland and boats into our final drop-of point. The helicopter shuttle itself was an amazing way to travel into Tasiilaq and gave an incredible view of the expedition area as we arrived, as well as providing a heightened sense of anticipation of what was to come. The view of endless mountains separated by high glacial passes and valleys gave a sense of scale to the areas that the team would be in for the next fortnight.

On arrival we organised in-country logistics and purchased additional food and fuel supplies before setting off with heavily laden rucksacks for the expedition phase. Inevitably, as tends to happen in the arctic, some of our pre-departure planning proved to have been futile due to the lack of actual response from the incountry agents used. In Greenland things just don’t happen with the same reliability that we expect here in the UK. This proved to be concerning to some members of the group despite my warnings of how things would be in an environment where daylight does not limit activities in mid-summer. My previous visits to the country had convinced me of the importance of multi-layered planning and the fact that in Greenland things happen in their own time which can be frustrating when you are used to the structured and predictable lifestyle we have here in the UK. The Inuit have a term (imaqa or maybe) often associated with timings or arrangements which can be concerning to the uneducated in Greenlandic living. Once on the ground however, and with the benefit of face to face contact, things do tend to get sorted out, although patience is very definitely a virtue. This was the case with our fuel supplies, which despite being asked for in three different languages (English, Greenlandic and Danish) to avoid any confusion through translation, still proved to be incorrect on arrival. We had been supplied with Kerosene (white fuel) rather than Borup (methylated spirits) for the trangias. A quick test with this showed that, whilst it started to burn with a gentle enough flame, very soon it developed into a fierce and uncontrollable blaze almost impossible to extinguish. This was sorted, however, by a simple demonstration to Robert Peroni our supplier who quickly organised 65

some replacement, although it was not certain this would reach us before our slot for departure by boats. From the onset it brought home the fact that multi-layered planning is essential and it is always necessary to have a plan B option for all stages of the expedition.

This was in place, as we could easily have based our expedition in its entirety in the area surrounding Tasiilaq, making day ventures and using the town as a logistical base with its infrastructure to resupply with food and simple cooking arrangements. I had also managed to procure some petrol powered stoves that would have allowed limited short duration explorations into the surrounding area possible. As is usually the case, however, the fuel arrived and everything proceeded to plan Carrying camping equipment, ice and rock climbing gear and all the food needed for over two weeks in the field, in addition to the paint and equipment required for completion of our community project, meant the initial stages were very hard work. Leaving Tasiilaq by boat we had an amazing 2hr journey north to the head of the Tasiilaq fjord before walking into the area that would form our base camp. The initial phase of the expedition was to be spent in the high mountains climbing various peaks and exploring the glacial systems, using the Tasiilaq Mountain Hut as our base. Whilst there, we had also agreed to repaint the mountain hut to help secure its continued use for future expeditions and adventurers. This proved a demanding task given that much of the work was completed at the end of relatively long mountain days when rest and recuperation could easily have been the easier option. It was a valuable experience especially for the team, to complete a task that had no direct benefit for themselves and to a standard that was appropriate. At times it was frustrating to have to push the group into action but as with so many areas of the expedition they galvanised themselves into action and ultimately did a great job of work. From the hut the team made a number of technical mountain ascents, including exploration of the Karali glacier to reach the summits of Kunigelborg, Hutten Kogel and Peak 1240, giving lots of scope for ice-climbing and Alpine style mountaineering. Scrambling along the steep and exposed ridges needed care and prudent use of a rope and climbing equipment but the reward of amazing views from the summits, looking out over the permanent icecap, made the efforts all worthwhile. The time 66

spent at the hut was a special experience and the seven days soon passed very quickly particularly as much of our free time was spent scraping and painting. Returning to the valley, the next day was spent ice climbing in another glacial system where the seracs provided lots of entertainment with the boys completing a number of ice climbing pitches, culminating in a 25m vertical ice wall. The second phase of the expedition involved valley walking along Dolemhans Dahlen to the spectacular Sermilik fjord which took two long days of effort clambering over broken rocky moraine fields and crossing numerous glacial streams, but it proved worthwhile as the views on arrival were truly amazing. With no less than 5 glaciers feeding into the fjord each carving off huge icebergs into the water it was a jumbled maze of jagged and sculptural forms. For me, this was my personal highlight of the trip as I had heard of the beauty of this area but had not managed to visit in on the previous occasions

We all spent considerable time gazing out in amazement at the incredible sight as the sun momentarily dipped below the horizon. A further day’s walking took us along the fjord shore to our final glacier crossing across the Kilikilat glacier and Sol Porten (the sun gate) to our boat pickup point at Qingertivak fjord leaving one day spare for those who wanted to complete an 67

ascent of Sentinel Peak which guarded the entrance to the sun gate. This involved several pitches of rock climbing and an exciting scree run descent for the small team involved.

Waiting at the shore of Qingertivak was a sombre moment full of reflective thought. The team were unusually quiet mulling over the experiences of the last few weeks and the fact that their time in this magnificent area of the world was about to come to an end. A combination of fatigue, emotion and relief, tinged by the thoughts and memories of the experiences and excitement we had shared began to take its toll. Like all true expeditions, covering big distances with heavily laden sacks, existing off minimal supplies and a very limited menu takes its toll. There were one or two moments where tempers became a little short and everyone at some stage or another needed to dig deep and find reserves of strength that perhaps they did not fully appreciate they had. On an expedition there will always be highs and lows, and I firmly believe this is what sets an expedition apart from a trip. It’s when the aches and pains and worry have subsided that the memories and unforgettable experiences come to the front of your mind, leaving a long lasting and very special series of memories as well as something to tell the grandchildren about in years to come.

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Having completed the mountain phase we returned to Tasiilaq where a visit to the small local museum gave the boys a chance to absorb some of the culture and history of the area. Seeing the reconstructed turf house in which up to 5 Inuit families used to live over the winter months, with up to 25 people sharing a space probably little bigger than most of the students bedrooms brought home the harshness of existence for the Inuit over the hard and dark winters with near permanent darkness. Seeing the seal skin kayaks used for hunting and fishing and the umiaq (or women’s boat) used to transport families as they ventured further north up the coastline, gave a real sense of how difficult survival had been for the population before the colonisation by the Danes. The museum offered a truly evocative and profound insight into their real fight for survival.

Flying back into Iceland at the end of the trip gave some time for R&R, with a visit to the Blue Lagoon, and a trip to the cinema, along with the chance to do some souvenir shopping and lots of eating to make up for any weight loss during the trip, before being returned to the care of their parents. The inevitable over-eating and consumption of luxuries such a fizzy pop took its toll on some, with their indulgence overpowering their somewhat shrunken appetite for rich food. Reykjavik provided a chance for re-adjustment however, and prepared the group for reintegration with their families on return.

Thinking about the success of the expedition, the obvious measure is to look at the physical objectives achieved. We successfully climbed a number of adventurous peaks, explored the glacial systems safely and managed to complete the practical task of preparing and painting the hut. We investigated the survival of the Inuit population through the evocative museum visit and interaction with some of the local people. This is possibly a rather simplistic measure, however, and I fully believe that far more important measures are found in the way the team bonded as a group and looked after each other during the venture. How they support each other in times of tiredness and anxiety. In this respect, it was a pleasure to watch this group develop empathy with their environment and each other as the expedition proceeded.

Hopefully, they view the world in which they live in a somewhat more enlightened way, having seen the fight for survival experienced by the Inuit. The luxuries of modern living are just that, luxuries not necessities. We are fortunate to live in the environment into which we 69

are born and should view each day as a chance to push ourselves and explore new challenges, at the same time as showing altruism towards others. Hopefully, the expedition will have instilled some of these attributes to its members. I thoroughly enjoyed their company throughout the expedition, sharing laughter, moments of fatigue, a predictable menu and on more than one or two occasions perhaps a tear or two at the magical place we were in. I do hope that the experience stays with them for a long time and perhaps in years to come they will look through the report and realise the very special few weeks they shared with the Arctic.

Paul Saville Expedition leader, East Greenland 2012

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EAST GREENLAND REFERENCE BOOKS A. The Inuit The Snow People - Marie Herbert. An account of life amongst the Polar Inuit

The Explorer’s Daughter – Kari Herbert. Marie and Wally Herbert’s daughter returns to the area of Greenland where she had spent a year as a child (see previous book).

The Last Kings of Thule – Jean Malaurie. Life of a Frenchman amongst the Polar Inuit in 1950.

Ultima Thule – Jean Malaurie. A scholarly review of all the European explorations in Greenland and their influences as viewed by the native Inuit.

B. Exploration The Unknown Mountains of East Greenland - Erwin Reinthaller and Hans Christian Florian.

Sledging, climbing and journeying in East Greenland.

Northern Lights – F.Spencer Chapman. The official account of the British Arctic Air-Route Expedition 1930-1931. A totally exhilarating account of an amazing and successful expedition led by one of my heroes!

Gino Watkins – J.M.Scott. A biography of the young leader of the British Arctic Air-Route Expedition to East Greenland in 1930-1931. The story of a tragically short and brilliant life!

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Two Against the Ice - Ejnar Mikkelsen An account of two men stranded in North-East Greenland for three years in the early years of the Twentieth century. Possibly one of the greatest survival stories ever told!

Sea, Ice and Rock - Chris Bonnington and Robin Knox-Johnson. Sailing and climbing in East Greenland.

Arctic Journeys - Edward Shackleton An account of an Oxford University sledging expedition to North-West Greenland and Ellesmere Island in the 1930s.

To the Ends of the Earth – the History of Polar Exploration – Richard Sale. Deals extensively with Greenland from the viewpoint of the race for the North Pole and the exploratory expeditions of Peary, Rasmussen, Mikkelsen and the like.

Mischief in Greenland, Mostly Mischief, In Mischief’s Wake, Ice with Everything and Triumph and Tribulation – H.W. Tilman. The voyages of the ageing Tilman to northern waters in the 1960’s and 1970’s featuring many visits to East and West Greenlandic areas.

C. General Last Places - a journey in the North - Lawrence Millman. An account of a journey from Norway to Newfoundland tracing the ancient Viking trading and colonisation routes. Amusing chapters on Greenland.

Arctic Dreams - Barry Lopez. Quite simply the greatest book ever written about northern climes. Spellbinding journeys through Arctic Canada and Greenland.

The Poles - Life magazines. Interesting accounts of the Polar areas in the north; very good on fauna, exploration and the Inuit.

This Cold Heaven – Gretel Ehrlich. A heartfelt account of seven seasons spent living amongst the Inuit in North Greenland.

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D. Flora and Fauna The Arctic and its Wildlife - Brian Sage. An account of the flora and fauna of the northern lands.

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