Only Two Expeditions Left In Theatre
Published on 15.06.2010 - General Info
Two Greenland-based expeditions are still fencing with the wind in order to finish their adventures. The four Norwegians have already gone home.
X GREENLAND 2010
It was on the expedition's Day 17 - 30 May - that the four Norwegians, the Nils Arne Ro (43, Helicopter Pilot), Ragmar Sandmark (46, Composite Material Researcher), Hans Friis (58, Project Manager) and Stake Brudevoll (48, Engineer), saw something other than ice for the first time, solid rock in fact. To avoid getting tipsy on this attraction, they postponed their descent down to the Greenlandic shore to the following day. They celebrated their return to sea level by savouring a pure filet mignon sprinkled with a good vodka and lime!
Then, some locals came to recover them in order to do the 40 remaining kilometres in large dog sleighs. They will in all have done 1,810 kilometres since they were put down near the former DYE II radar base on 11 May.
KAFFEKLUBBEN EXPEDITION
The Toni Vaartimo/Vesa Luomala pair, for its part, is still on the ice. It is perhaps right to recall that the two Finns are measuring themselves against the large island's entire length. And that they were put down in the extreme south of the country on 22 April, near the small coastal village of Narsaq. They have to get to Kaffeklubben Island, supposedly Greenland's most northerly point. A 2,300-kilometre trek.
When last heard of (13 June), they were at 72° 05 ' NR/46° 06 ' W. They had already done under sail a trifling 1,257 kilometres. On 05 June, they left the former DYE II radar station (which is becoming a legendary place as so many expeditions that pass by it leave some trace or other of their passage there, either by writing some lines on the walls of the billiards room, or by leaving a glyph on one of the frontages). But so far, luck has not been with them: either they have had trouble with their sails, or the weather has been horrendous (it poured with rain for the first fortnight), or there was too much wind for getting the sails out. In short, they're now starting to read the same books twice  as they hadn't taken enough with them. The end of the journey is still far, far away...
PEARY-HENSON CENTENNIAL
Consisting of two men, the photographer Sébastien Copeland and the Canadian guide Eric McNair Landry, this expedition left Kangerlussuaq on 15 May with the set objective of getting to Quaanaaq. As they have to be picked up there on 24 June, they have a timetable to meet.
And, although the weather's moods have not always been favourable, there's not much of problem with that. On 06 June, indeed, after a crazy 24-hour day under sail, Sébastien and Eric broke the distance record by covering 595 kilometres in one go.
This however is not preventing them from sticking to their trek schedule, which obliges them nevertheless to do 70 kilometres per day. Celebrating that feat will be for later... In short, on 11 June, they were still 480 kilometres from their goal.
When last heard of, they were being slowed down by a huge layer of powdery snow and a total lack of wind. While the date of their return flight is relentlessly approaching...
