Greenland – a world of ice and snow

A world beyond my imagination and wildest dreams. A land unique in the world, as it is the only country with an ice cap covering most of it. A land of glaciers which are among the largest in the world. A land with so much more than ice and snow. I went to the area round Disko Bay, 300 kilometers north of the polar circle in western Greenland. My intention was hiking the areas south and north of Ilulissat and on the Disko island.

Ilulissat seen from hotel Arctic

Ilulissat

The starting point of my trip was Ilulissat – the Inuit name for “icebergs”. A pretty suitable name for a town surrounded by icebergs and the 3rd largest town. Even I stayed at hotel Arctic just outside town, it is only a short walk to the main streets and sights. There are things to do here, besides looking at the icebergs and listening to the howls of sledge dogs. They were everywhere. One of the things I did was visiting the small museum. Walk through the door and you walk right into the home of Knud Rasmussen. He was born in Ilulissat in 1897 and became a famous arctic explorer. It gave me a good insight in both his life and life in the arctic.

Hiking to Kangia Icefjord

On my second day, I did a day hike on a guided tour to Kangia Icefjord. After a short walk we got the first glimpse of iceberg. After climbing up over the hills, we got to see the fjord filled with enormous icebergs. The ice makes cracking sounds. You both hear and “smell” the ice! We stopped for a rest by a deep, narrow gap in the rocks named “Kællingekløften” - meaning “witch gorge” or “suicide gorge”. According to the guide (and historical sources) older people who were becoming a burden on their families would come here to jump to their death in the icy water.

Kangia and “Kællingekløften” to the right

Kangia was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 2004. One of the wonders of the world, along with Taj Mahal and the pyramids in Egypt. From our guide we learned some amazing facts about this fjord: The glacier that provides all this ice, is the largest glacier on the northern hemisphere. 5 km. wide and 1100 meter thick. It flows an average of 20 meters daily, amounting 20 cubic km. annually or 20 million tons per day – enough to supply New York with water for a year!

Midnight boattrip to Kangia Icefjord

The light in summer is almost the same day and night. On my first night, I woke up and saw the bright sunligt. Got up in hurry as I thought I might have missed breakfast. When I came to the restaurant there were no breakfast! I did not see anyone either! Went to the reception. Then I realized that it was 03 O’clock!! I was supposed to get up at 05 O’clock so no point in going back to sleep. ( this actually happened twice during my stay..)

Eqi glacier

Eqi glacier

See the litle red boat in front?

My journey continued. Departure time was 06.15 on board the ship from Ililussat to the Eqi glacier some 70-80 km. north of Ilulissat. The only way possible to get to the glacier. Besides sleeping now and then, I sat on deck watching the landscape and the floating icebergs, which come in all sizes and forms. It is a beautiful boat trip, pasing the settlement Oqaatsu. After 5 hours we approached the Eqi glacier. One of the most active glaciers in Greenland. The ship makes a stop about 1 km. from the glacier. It is an amazing sight. Like a wall of ice! The sound of a calving glacier is loud and powerful, like rolling thunder or a sudden blast of a shotgun. The chunks will hit the water with a huge splach, creating waves we could feel on the boat. The glacier is about 5 kilometers in length. 170 meters high and it moves about 19 meter a day. I really felt very litle in front of it!

Arrival at Port Victor

After an hour at the glacier the ship sails to Port Victor. As you see on the photo it is a wooden stairway and the huts are far up the hill. When the ship arrived we had to be ready to “run” up the stairs and beyond the “safe zone”. When the glacier calves it can cause a tsunami and it takes only 3 minutes for the wave to hit the stairs.

The glacier and the huts

«The French cabin»

To be able to enjoy the glacier and do a day hike, I stayed at the Glacier Lodge Eqi for 2 days. All the huts are placed so the overlook the glacier. As you can see on the photo, the glacier seems far away, but the sound of cracking ice is heard from the hut. One night I even woke up because of the noise and I felt the ground was shaking lightly! That experience made me realize how powerful the ice really is. The hut is comfortable and the view could not have been better.

Eqi also has historical significance. This is where the French arctic explorer, Paul-Èmile Victor came after WWII to study the ice cap and climatic conditions. At the time he was here, Eqi was the best location to come close to the ice cap with equipment for this kind of expedition. From here he went on numerous expeditions to the ice cap between 1948 and 1953. Many other expeditions also started from here. His cabin is still here, named “The French cabin”.

Starting the trek

The ice cap in the back ground

Reminders of his expeditions

Next day I did a full days hike on a guided tour in the footsteps of Paul-Èmile Victor. Every now and then we saw some reminders of his expeditions. The arctic has not been able to regenerate like many other places on earth would have done. This is also a place to come close to the ice cap. After dinner that night, the staff held a lecture and slide show about the glacier and how fast the ice is melting because of the effects of global warming. It is seen everywhere in Greenland: grops are being grown in areas never thought possible. Summerfishing season is longer. Even the first craft brewery – Greenland Beer – is a product of global warming. The company is marketing the water they uses as purer than what is found in other places in the world because it comes from melted inland ice formed thousands of years ago. Really alarming to see how fast the ice is melting...

Time has come to depart and go back to Ilulissat, before going on another boat trip to Disko island. That was a different experience of hiking and whale watching. But that’s another story.

For travel tips and organized tours and hikes The World of Greenland is a good place to start. https://www.worldofgreenland.com/en/

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U.J

Kristiansand, Norway

All the photoes are mine, Ulla Jensen (flickr, Instagram and facebook)

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