From Ice Sheet to Ocean

In July 2023 my regular teammate Phil Sturgeon and I will head to Greenland to hike around 200km from the foot of the second largest ice sheet in the world, to the waters of the Davis Strait.

Photo: Lisa Germany – Visit Greenland

Ever since the pandemic cancelled plans for a 40-day sledding expedition along the coast of Baffin Island in 2020, I’ve been itching to travel north. In 2021 I briefly visited Swedish Lapland for a skiing shakedown, and last year Phil and I returned to Sweden to ski a short 100km route in Sarek National Park. But having also ski toured in Norway three times in the past eight years, I’m wanting to travel beyond Scandinavia.

Initially I looked at the east Coast of Greenland, and accessing some remote ground north of Tasiliaq by charter boat. But when Phil had a health scare last summer, I decided that it might be wise to tame down our ambitions and try the east coast another time. Because we were aiming for remote fiords we’d have been carrying a heavy base weight, with all the deterrents that come with travelling in polar bear country.

Instead we’ve settled on hiking an extended version of the Arctic Circle Trail, or ACT for short, a now popular hiking route in Greenland that runs from Kangerlussuaq just west of the ice sheet, to the “city” of Sisimiut on the west coastline. Its name gives it away, but at around 67 degrees latitude it’s just above the Arctic Circle line.

I’ve mapped our route out at around 205km.

The typical ACT route starts a little north of the small town Kangerlussuaq, which conveniently has an airport that you can fly in to from Copenhagen. The route traverses 160km of moderate mountain terrain and takes in the Aasivissuit – Nipisat World Heritage Site which was listed by UNESCO in 2018. The area was historically an important seasonal hunting and gathering ground for the Inuit for more than 4,200 years.

Wanting to up the mileage a little, and to catch a peek of the frozen wasteland that covers 80% of Greenland, we’ve decided to hitch a ride north to the ice sheet, and start our hike at Point 660 - the launch point for a classic east-west sledding trip across the ice sheet. We’ll spend a night here and about 15km further south at the impressive looking Russell Glacier.

Point 660. Photo: Lasse Kyed

We’re aiming to hike this extended route (around 205km) in around 11 days, which should be relatively straightforward given the longest day is only 20km. Though as I type there is still snow on the ground and high rivers along many sections, so we’ll no doubt encounter some wet ground to keep us entertained along the way.

Unlike when hauling with a sled, I’m aiming to go light and really minimise my backpack weight (though I am taking my big camera). You can take a look at my provisional kit list and pack weight on Lighter Pack.

All being well you’ll see me spamming social media with our images from mid August! For friends and family who are interested in following our journey, you can follow our progress from 24th July via this shared map. Our planned route is shown in red, and our actual location will be shown via blue dots/line.