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Greenland Essay: The Back of the Line
Long-distance arctic travel in a group reduces the world to a line. You move forward at a prescribed pace, in a prescribed order, toward a horizon that rarely changes. The terrain may vary, the weather may shift, but the structure… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Day 7 – Finding a Rhythm
August 21. 20.7 km | 400 feet of climbing. Camped at 5,532 feet. We woke to a clear sky and light north breeze, a welcome change after the muted light of the previous day. The icecap felt calm and open… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Day 6 – White and Quiet
August 20. 22.5 km | 514 feet of climbing. The day began under a flat sky and stayed that way. Consistent snow, muted light, and a semi white-out that came and went, growing more pronounced as the hours passed. Not… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Day 5 – Onto the Icecap Proper
August 19. 18.5 km, 1,333 feet of climbing. We woke to one of those days that feels like a gift. Blue sky, light clouds stretched thin and high, and temperatures warm enough to make you question your layers. Ahead of… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Day 4 – Finding Snow
August 18. The night was windy and restless, and by morning the ice felt unsettled. Not dangerous exactly, just busy. Crevasses right out of camp forced immediate decisions, and the surface was carved into shallow runnels that didn’t really go… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Day 3 – The First Crevasse Day
August 17. Rain had fallen during the night, and by morning the glacier was glazed in a thin, brittle shine that made every step feel tentative. We were moving across a surface of ripples and hollows, a landscape that looked… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Day 2 – Learning the Sled
August 16. The day began on hard, bare ice. We were still far below the snowline, so the skis stayed strapped to sleds and everyone walked. The surface was a mix of frozen dimples and sun-hardened ripples that made travel… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Day 1 – Onto the Ice
August 15. We left the Red House at 9 a.m. under clear skies and a light that felt almost too warm for East Greenland. The harbor was quiet except for the clatter of bags being handed from dock to boat.… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Preparation – Before the Ice Comes the Hostel
August 14, 2022 — Tasillaq, East Greenland We came back to Greenland to try again. The first time, in 2018, the ice pushed us back with storms strong enough to tear a tent built for Antarctica. We were evacuated by… Continue reading
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Endless Summer on Skis
This year has been a little bit of a wash in terms of outdoor adventures. In March my wife tore her knee, and the ensuing instability, surgery (which made it stable again) and rehab made a planned multi-month trip in… Continue reading
Alta Backcountry: Living and Exporing in Wild Places
Alta Backcountry 