Tour type: Cross-Country skiing tour with pulka/sledges
What’s included: Accommodation, guide, food and cooking equipment, tent.
Departures: 22nd March to 3rd April 2018
Duration: 12 days
Accommodation: Tents and sleeping bag accommodation
Meeting point: Starts and ends at the domestic airport in Reykjavik
Group size: 4 – 12
Language: English
Walking per day: 6-8 active hours
Note: Meeting in Reykjavík the day before departure
Cross Country ski expedition between the isolated Inuit villages of the east cost of Greenland.
The Ammassalik region on the scanty populated east coast of Greenland is a jewel in the Arctic crown. It is among the world´s most recently known civilizations, discovered a mere hundred years ago. During this expedition we follow the traditional dog sledding routes between the small hunting villages of the Ammassalik area.
With sharp granite peaks rising up to 2000 m from the narrow fjords we make our way between the gigantic icebergs, frozen into the sea ice, and into valleys and over mountain passes. On the way we sleep in tents under the northern lights or in cabins, but in community houses in the four villages that we visit before we arrive to the colorful capital town of the area, Tasiilaq. During the tour we keep ore sledges light by getting good quality fresh food and resupply in every town.
During the winter there are few people other than the local Inuit hunters that still use dog sleds for their seal hunting. With two nights in each village we witness the daily live and culture of the local Greenlandic people.
This is the perfect mixture of nature and culture.
2014 Outside Magazine travel awards, Best Polar Trip: Runner-Up: East Greenland Winter Expedition, Icelandic Mountain Guides
Expedition leader: TBA
Departure:
22.03.-03.04.2018
Included: Accommodation, guide, food and cooking equipment, tent.
Not included: Flight to and from Greenland, sleeping bag, ski gear.
If you have more questions, you can check our FAQs and see if you can find the answers. If not, just contact us: booking@greenland.is
Day 0: Meeting with the guide in Reykjavik
In the morning of the day before departure is a meeting with the expedition leader. The expedition leader will assess the equipment each member has brought and advise if there will be a need to replace anything. Later that day we have time to arrange for things if needed.
Day 1: Reykjavík – Kulusuk
Flight from Reykjavík to Kulusuk. Our flight goes from the domestic airport in the centre of Reykjavík. We will pick you up at your hotel or guesthouse between 10:00 and 10:30. Flight leaves at 11:00 from Reykjavik.
Day 2: From Kulusuk to Kuummiut
In Kulusuk we load our baggage to a snowmobile and start our trip to Kuummiut, skiing to the ice edge. After a approx. 12 km we will find a boat waiting for us at the ice edge, from where we sail to Kuummiut, a small village of approx. 350 inhabitants. Arriving to Kuummiut in the late afternoon.
Day 3-7: Kuummiut to Tiniteqilaaq (100 km)
This is the longest and physically hardest part of the expedition with a small glacier and several mountain passes to cross. The mountains are higher, rising up to 2.000 meters, and the valleys are narrower. Sharp granite peaks like the “Triplets” are reaching more than 2000 m in to the sky. With longer distance between the villages the route is less travelled by the local inhabitants.
Day 8: Tiniteqilaaq
Tiniteqilaaq means “the strait which runs dry at low tide” it is one of the smaller communities in the Tasiilaq district, with about 150 people. On the bank of the Sermilik fjord the village is beautifully situated. Without skis we will climb the hills above the town and enjoy the the view over the Sermilik fjord with its gigantic icebergs.
Day 9 and 10: Tiniteqilaaq to Tasiilaq (35 km)
We ski across the Ammassalik island. After crossing the frozen sund from the mainland the route gently leads up the glacier in the centre of the island. There we have good view over the frozen Sermilik fjord and to the Greenland Icecap. The second day we follow series of lakes down to the Tasiilaq town. After establishing our selves in a confortable guest house we will have a dinner in a restaurant or the new pizzeria.
Day 11: Tasiilaq (22 km)
Without our sleds we will ski around the mountain “Prestfjelded”. Arriving back to town through the snow covered flower valley and to the town´s cemetery. We spend the afternoon in town, the souvenir shop, the highly interesting museum and more interesting places in this beautiful town.
Day 12: Tasiilaq – Kulusuk – Reykjavik
The morning we take a boat back to Kulusuk where the circle is closed. Flight from Kulusuk to Reykjavík. Expedition members are transported to their hotels and guest houses in Reykjavík.
