2 days on the go

Update from Astrid, Marit's sister.

I got a phone call from Marit today. Marit and Atle are on their way! (Seems like the weather finally cleared up for a while so the helicopter could take off). They've been on the go for 2 days she said, and reported that they're good! They did though have some problems updating the website, so we'll see if they can figure it out. It was a short talk, so that's about it.

Still waiting

There isn’t much doubt that we are ready to get going… In fact, we are anxious to get going!

We were hoping to fly out yesterday, but the flight was cancelled due to weather at the last minute. We even checked out of the hotel, but as it turned out, for no reason other than getting a different room upon return. Today was another day of disappointment and our chat with the one pilot working out here was not very encouraging either. Although the weather forecast for the next couple of days does not look that good, there is slight chance for flying tomorrow.

The last couple of days have been spent going back and forth to the heliport and chatting about the weather with the heliport staff and other travelers. We have also seen the last few remaining sights of Tasiilaq and visited every public building there is, except from the library which will be open tomorrow for two and a half hour.

We have been building up a vast amount of energy since we got here, and are certain that we are ready to leave Tasiilaq!

While the batteries are charging…

Our solargorilla absorbing solar energy while everyone else is in idle state on weather standby. (We did not bring wall plugs.)

..we are making time go pasted, by climbing the highest point in town...

...and visiting the grave yard.

Main road to the grave yard. It will be very interesting pulling heavy sleds going uphill in these conditions!

After three days in Tasiilaq there is not much left to see or do.

Waiting

Marit cannot make the boat go anywhere.

We are still waiting for the weather to improve for helicopter flights. Yesterday we spent the day exploring Tasiilaq. It’s not a large community, so it did not take long. Main events were to explore the harbor and cheer for the winner of the local dog sled race. We also explored other options for getting onto the ice cap that does not involve helicopter, but it does not look good due to some fjords with open water. With the current weather forecast it looks like the first option for getting to Isortoq is on Monday, but the backlog is building up, so Tuesday or Wednesday might be a more realistic.

Tasiilaq - our new home for a while

Yesterday we made it to Tasiilaq, which is one step closer to the starting point. Now we are only one flight away! But, as it has turned out, ONLY is not a valid word in that sentence. Arriving at the heliport in Tasiilaq we learnt that a group of Italians had been waiting for a flight to Isortoq since Monday, and after hours and hours in the 20 m2 waiting area, we started to realize that Isortoq was farther away than we had thought.

Although the weather is unsuitable for operating helicopters, it is not all that bad, so we have been looking into finding other ways to get to Isortoq. From what we understand, the only real option will take about 3-4 days and involve dog sledging and boats across the semi-frozen fjords. An adventure for sure, but as it seems both complex and long-winded to begin with, hoping for a problem-free transfer in bad weather is far-fetched. So, here we are, in Tasiilaq on the Angmagssalik Island hoping for the weather to clear. The heliport is closed until Monday as the forecast is not looking good.

The good news is that we were reunited with all of our equipment last night, and that we have full board and lodging paid by Air Greenland at the nicest hotel in town!

Pakketur/ turpakking

We have both spent a lifetime perfecting our last minute abilities, and we have not stopped yet. Finalizing the preparations was not done last week, to put it that way. We’d like to thank everyone that has contributed these last weeks to get everything in place, such as making and packing food, getting all spare parts we want to bring (but not use), getting the communication up and running, and making sure that all electronics will charge. Thanks to Uhrweder and Powertraveller that have provided us with solar cells with accessories, we are powered up the entire trip! (Forøvrig ingen nevnt, ingen glemt – As for the rest of you, you know who you are – Thanks:))

The last night in Trondheim we spent, against all odds, packing and getting ready. Although, we failed getting a good night’s sleep, we were overwhelmingly pleased with the outcome! As we have a good amount of experience bringing overweight on planes, our packing was no less than genius, and consequently SAS did not charge us more than 500 NOK for our luggage mountain:) 

The bags are in Reykjavik, waiting for us to buy some more stuff to stuff in them..!

  

It is factual that bringing such a pile of luggage makes travelling more interesting. Especially, when getting from one airport to the other in Reykjavik (to do an early check-in for the flight the next day) and then getting to the hotel involves three bus rides and a few stretches of walking! We are certainly looking forward to getting on the glacier and start pulling our goods rather than carrying everything.

Yesterday was another long day of travelling… or waiting for flights to be more precise. We made it to Greenland, which was quite exciting actually. But, after that, not much have happened. We never thought that we’d be down for weather on day -1, but that is actually the case. Our helicopter flight from Kulusuk to Tasiilaq was cancelled after 8 hours in the airport. As for the luggage we are not sure where it is anymore... Some is here at the hotel, some is in storage at the airport, and some has probably made an earlier flight (knock on wood, because it is nowhere to be seen!)

For the moment we are waiting for news from the airport saying that they will fly today, which is not certain. The good news are that the forecast looks better next week, and that we are happy to be on our way although we have two more flights getting to the planned starting point in Isortoq.
 

Last test before leaving for the big adventure

Last Sunday we tested all essential equipment that we are going to drag across Greenland. Part one was to make sure the sleds were working properly and run a load test.

Part two was to teach ourselves how to pack the tent. Here is a picture taken when we were satisfied with the packing procedure:) (We are planning to keep the tent poles in place at all times, and Atle is doing his polar expedition pose.)

Satellite phone setup

Success! You are now reading the first message sent from our laptop and satellite phone that we will use on the trip. We are planning to do daily updates, BUT don't panic if we are silent for long periods (this message is primarily for our mothers). Batteries might be hard to charge, the laptop is not state of the art etc etc. Of other safety equipment we are bringing are each our PLB's (Personal Locator Beacons) that are designed not to fail in the harshest conditions and will send an alarm signal to the Greenland rescue central if triggered.

Et møblert hjem

I dag hentet vi siste rest av utstyret fra Sportsbua, så nå er det bare å pakke (samt veie lasten:s)! Atle kom i formiddag etter en lang reise, men er så oppspilt at han helt har glemt at han er jet-lagged. Jeg har akkumulert en real doning med utstyr over de siste månedene, så det er mangt å utforske:D Han har akkurat undersøkt nødbivuakkene og konkludert med at vi ikke skal brenne ned teltet. Det er jo en god plan det:) Det eneste vi har ødelagt i dag er en mp3-spiller (den brant!) og den ene primusen. Greit med alt som er unnagjort.

Nok en nydelig dag!

Terje sjekker at jeg ikke har sluntra unna, og strødd løypene under veis. Han kunne med tilfredshet konstatere at alle åtti kiloene med strøsand fortsatt var i pulken ved ankomst dagens høyeste punkt.