Ski Traverse Greenland
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Greenland Crossing Day 16 – Where the Sky Moves
August 30 – 20 km, 950 meters of climbing By the time we finally moved, the icecap felt less like a landscape and more like a boundary between worlds. Wind still worried the surface, snow drifted endlessly, and the light… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Day 15 – When Systems Fail
August 29. 13 km. Camped early in severe wind. The day began badly and never recovered. A strong east wind hammered the icecap the moment we stepped outside the tents. Snow streamed sideways and visibility collapsed. Early on, my sled… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Day 14 – Under Pressure
August 28. 21 km, 274 feet of climbing. Camped at 7,686 feet. The day opened already in motion. Wind pressed at our backs, snow streamed low across the surface, and visibility shifted minute by minute. It wasn’t a sudden change… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Day 13 – Into the Light
August 27. 18.7 km, nearly 500 feet of climbing. The day began in white. Not dramatic whiteout, not storm-driven, just the familiar absence of contrast that has come to define travel out here. Elaine and I took the first lead… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Day 12 – White Space
August 26. 19.4 km, ~200 feet of climbing. Camped just under 7,000 feet. The day started well enough. We marked Arjen’s birthday in the morning with small cakes pulled from sleds, a brief pause for something sweet and human before… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Day 11 – Settling Into It
August 25. 22 km, 350 feet of climbing. Camped at 6,866 feet. The day began warm again. Not as oppressive as two days ago, but warm enough to feel wrong for this place. Somewhere far south there must have been… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Day 10 – Into the Long Interior
August 24. 10 km, 20 feet of climbing. Camped at 6,514 feet. We spent the morning still. The wind had blown steadily through the night, straight out of the north, not especially cold by the numbers but sharp enough to… Continue reading
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Greenland Crossing Day 8 – Holding the Line
August 22. 17.6 km, 502 feet of climbing. Camped at 5,935 feet.113 kilometers from the shore of the Irminger Sea. We woke to the aftermath of wind. Drifts had piled against the tent overnight, sculpted and dense, a familiar sight… Continue reading
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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
Alta Backcountry 