Our Greenland Ski Odyssey is a magnificent adventure combining all of the polar icons. Boat trips through ice-choked fiords, an ice ascent, a taste of the Greenland icecap and a descent to a frontier Greenlandic village give you a deep insight into northern polar adventuring.
- Gateway Reykjavik, Iceland
- Distance 130km
- Nights 8
- Trek days 9
- Daily Distance 15km
- Sled Weight 50kg
- Temp. Range -10 to +10C
- Challenge 5 What's this?
- Conditions Relatively warm (-5c min) and clear, can be windy
- Challenges Ski ascents, crevasses, distance
Trip Itinerary
Meet at Reykjavik airport, flight to Kulusuk, Greenland. Boat transfer to Tasiilaq, accommodation included at The Red House. Welcome dinner.
Expedition preparations. Accommodation included at The Red House.
Morning boat transfer up Sermilik Fiord to Nagtivit glacier. Begin trek up glacier.
Ski expedition onto Greenland icecap, southward to descent to Isortoq. Boat pickup to Isortoq village. Stay at Isortoq.
Boat transfer to Tasiilaq. Final night at The Red House.
Boat transfer to Kulusuk, flight to Iceland, end of services.
Inclusions
- Return flight Reykjavik, Iceland to Kulusuk, Greenland.
- 20kg hold luggage and 6kg hand luggage allowance
- All boat transfers
- Two nights single room accommodation at Red House before expedition and one night after.
- Welcome dinner.
- Food and stove fuel during the expedition
- Icetrek guide
- Use of specialist equipment including tents, skis, sleds, cooking gear (see equipment list)
- Safety/navigation/communications equipment
- Expedition blog including live updates
Exclusions
- Hotel accommodation in Iceland
- Excess luggage costs on flights
- Accommodation and meals in Tasiilaq other than indicated
- Additional costs (accommodation, meals etc.) due to changes beyond our control ie. weather delays
- Evacuation, hospitalization and repatriation costs and/or insurance
We meet in Reykjavik, Iceland before flying to Kulusk on the east coast of Greenland. We are greeted here by our local support and transferred by boat to Tasillaq. This 25km trip takes 45 minutes and is in itself a remarkable journey that weaves through icebergs and past rocky headlands.
In Tasiilaq we transfer to The Red House, our accommodation and expedition base. With a full day to prepare and pack our sleds for adventure, there's ample time to take in the sights of this picturesque village and its spectacular surrounds.
The two hour boat journey across Sermilik Fiord is a dazzling ride that will leave you breathless. Weaving through icebergs and perhaps spying seals and birdlife, this is the perfect start to a Greenland journey.
Reaching Nagtivit Fiord, we disembark and begin our ascent to the icecap. Negotiating crevasse fields and flanked by dramatic mountains we feel the epic nature of Greenland, and the call of the world's second largest icecap above us.
At an elevation of above 1000m the ice terrain flattens out and towards the northern horizon we see nothing but ice, stretching more than 1500km to the Arctic Ocean. Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen experienced the very seem scene 130 years earlier as he embarked on his pioneering crossing to the west coast. We ski south along the edge of the Greenland plateau for a few days, camping on these expansive and austere snow plains.
After 80km of skiing we begin to descend through undulating ice terrain to reach the rocky shore north of Isortoq village. On this spectacular shoreline we may see the coastal icefall calve and plunge into the ocean, evidence that the Greenland ice is constantly on the move. A boat takes us from the ice edge to the nearby village, where we remain the night.
The next day we are collected for the 80km, 3-hour boat journey back to Tasiilaq. A celebratory dinner on our final night gives us pause to reminisce about the wonderful days on the ice and plan future trips to the polar wilds.
In the morning we bring you by boat back to Kulusuk in time for your flight back to Iceland.
Fly to Keflavik, Iceland's international airport, then take the Flybus to Reykjavik domestic airport. If you need to overnight in Reykjavik there are many nearby hotels to choose from.
