Right on the edge of the Arctic Circle, on Greenland’s East Coast, lies a vast range of alpine-scale mountains that are rarely visited, let alone skied. Together with local Inuit mushers, our plan is to travel by dogsled over the sea ice to the glaciated island of Apusiajiik – a small part of a largely uninhabited wilderness bigger in size than Western Europe.
From a comfortable central basecamp, we’ll then have the opportunity to explore the unique terrain that makes up this Arctic haven: the peaks are best described as an alpine range partially submerged by the sea; high peaks, many of them heavily glaciated, sit amidst the sea ice of a complex of fiords.  This makes for tours that start by skinning up a glacier, skiing off the back of a pointy summit, then making our way between icebergs to reach our camp again.

Whilst the sheer isolation of the region puts this trip in the realms of an expedition, our focus is to make the evenings as comfortable as possible – whilst it’s always nice to relax and enjoy a good meal after a long day of skiing, it also means we’re in a better position to do it all again the next day.

This ski expedition offers an rare insight into the most incredible of arctic mountain terrain in a pristine and wild environment.

East Greenland’s remote and mountainous Fjordlands offer a bewitching ski touring mecca of alpine peaks, glaciers, and uniquely, iceberg-studded sea ice.  What accentuates all of this is the complete lack of other people: a place where we’re unlikely to see anybody-else during our time in this vast and pristine arctic wilderness.

East Greenland

Known as Tunu (translates as 'Land at the Back') by the Greenlandic Inuit, the name refers to the East Coast's extreme isolation. Of Greenland's population of 57,000, only 4000 live in a handful of settlements on a coastline that runs 3000km from south to north. The first trading colony was only established in the 1890's, and to this day, the local population keep alive many of the ancient ways of life used to survive in this beautiful but severe environment.

You will be flying from Iceland over the Denmark Strait to one of the outermost islands of the Tunu region.  As well as the 'international airport' (think snow strip and small arrivals building), Kulusuk island is also home to a tiny village, home to around 250, many of whom still still subsistence hunt.

From the village, we'll travel out onto the sea ice of the fjords and travel further inland to one of the many glaciated, mountainous islands that lie to the NW.

If this trip's all about getting in turns, then it's the basecamp that provides the comfort at the end of each day to get up and do it all again the next.  It was in a cramped, cold (and to add insult to injury - damp!) tent that we came up with the idea -  why not travel in by dogsled with all we could imagine in the comfort department:  a big double walled basecamp tent complete with a powerful heater; loads of good food and drink; smaller mountain tents in which to sleep - and what's more, all of this, placed right in the middle of loads of inspiring peaks and limitless potential for first tracks. 

Think of it as a mobile mountain hut.  Without the other people.

As well as being stunningly beautiful, East Greenland presents a swathe of exciting and unique terrain.  Probably the best way of describing it would be to imagine a cross between a partially submerged European Alps and the Norwegian fiords.  Mix in a large helping of sheer arctic isolation, take away almost all the other skiers, and you start to get a sense of the place.

East Greenland's Mountains

Rising directly out of the frozen fiords, the jagged gneiss mountains locally rise to around 1000m and present all the features to be found in the high mountains.  As we usually start out from around sea level, the ascents and descents are very much comparable to alpine days out. Whether cornices or seracs, it's common to find alpine features directly above the shoreline. 

East Greenland's Glaciers

The island we will be based on is heavily glaciated.  From a central plateau, multiple offshoots of the glacier rise up, each surrounded by it's own cirque of mountains.  Each day will start out with a skin up the initial gentle incline, followed by a steeper ascent to the peak.  The descents vary from steep faces and couloirs to laidback turns down undulating slopes.  The particular beauty of the range is that there is usually more than one choice of descent, allowing each person to take the line that's best suited to their abilities.

East Greenland's Fjords and Icebergs

The compley fiord system that seperates the islands is frozen over in winter.  In the past, we've often linked several mountains together in a day, weaving our way between the icebergs to reach new ground.

Each year, we work our way out further, discovering new first descents as we go.  This sense of exploration is a big part of the trip.

Greenland’s arctic climate and land/icescape can change quickly and because of this, our plans are completely dictated by the elements.  Over the years that we’ve spent skiing in the Fjordlands, it’s become clear that a flexible plan is essential.  Your mountain guide will fix the day’s objectives in view of prevailing conditions.  It's here that our experience comes in handy, making the very best of whatever is available.  It’s this factor that makes a trip to Greenland so exciting – be prepared for the unexpected!

A note on timing and extending your trip.....

Flights from Iceland to Greenland are scheduled on Wednesdays and Saturdays.  Because you need to arrive in Iceland the day before the flight, we're unable to fit the trip so that it makes use of 3 weekends.  The best solution we've found is for you to fly into Iceland on Tuesday, then onto Greenland for Wednesday.  This way, we can then ski right up until the flight back from Greenland to Iceland on the Saturday, and you can continue home on Sunday.  If you would like to extend your time up north to make use of the weekend before the trip, one idea is to fly to Iceland on Saturday 13th March and spend a couple of days exploring or even skiing.  We've got some excellent contacts for a couple of days exciting skiing in the land of volcanoes!

Day 1

Flight from your home country to Keflavik, Iceland’s International Airport (not included in price).  Overnight in a Reykjavik guesthouse.

Day 2

Fly from Reykjavik Domestic airport to Kulusuk, East Greenland.  We’ll overnight in a simple mountain-style hut.  In the afternoon we’ll have time to sort through the expedition equipment and to explore the typical Greenlandic hunting settlement.

Day 3

The howling of the excited dog teams will be the sign to make our way down to the edge of the village.  The sleds will be packed and thoroughly lashed down before we jump onboard and tear down through the village and out onto the ice.  The dogs like to race each other and it’s awhile before they settle down into a more relaxed pace.  To the hiss of the sled runners and the panting of the dogs, the village is soon a distant line on the horizon as the dogs pull us on a line that works round the icebergs that have been held fast since the first freeze of the winter.  There are few other experiences that offer such an insight into the culture of the local Inuit – a small group of people that have become masters of this wild environment.  After several hours’ travel, the massively glaciated of Apusiiajik looms in front of us – the day’s goal and site of the expedition basecamp.  The sleds unloaded, we’ll dig the basecamp in before enjoying our first evening in the profound peace of this Arctic wilderness.

Day 4 – 12

The region’s touring possibilities are fascinating.  The combination of alpine mountains and the frozen fjords that surround them is bound to get any skier’s heart beating faster!  The sense of space and stillness is profound.  Together, we’ll explore the region, searching out the best conditions for descents as well as the most breath-taking views.  The magic light of the far north highlights vistas extending many hundreds of kilometres up and down the coast – a coastline that is as mountainous as it is empty of people.  It’s our time in this incredible environment that has left a lasting impression on us.  
As the mountain heights are relatively modest, we’ll often make several ascents and descents in the day.  Dependent on snow and weather conditions, the call of one or more longer tours is strong; a summit on our island, an awesome run to the sea ice, across to a neighbouring island, another up and down before finally returning to a well-earned meal in the evening.  Skiing down off our glacier to explore the icebergs also makes for an exciting day.

Day 13

Today we’ll leave our touring area behind, hot showers and a comfy bed calling from the south, whilst all those slopes and aspects still exert a strong pull in the other direction.  It’s thus usually with a mixture of emotions that the tents are packed up and before long, we’re racing back downhill and out onto the fjord, this time accompanied by the sound of the calls of the musher and the yelping of 10 excited dogs.  Back over the sea ice, Apusiajiik growing smaller behind us, as we approach Kulusuk Island.  We’ll spend our last evening together in Greenland in the warmth of the hotel.

Day 14

Today we’ll pay our farewells to this unique arctic world, flying from Kulusuk back over the Denmark Strait to Iceland.   Clear weather allows one last magic glimpse of the mountainous wilderness we’ve just spent the last days exploring.  Back in Reykjavik, we’ll overnight in a guesthouse with the chance to explore, this time the very different environment of the bars and clubs of Iceland’s capital city.  A very different experience!

Day 15

Transfer back to the international airport and the end of a memorable journey in the North.