Greenland Revisited Part One

GREENLAND REVISITED

In September 2008 my job sent me back to Greenland to support the upgrade of the Early Warning Radar at Thule AB in Pituffik. The assignment was for two weeks. I took an extra week off at the end to travel off base to Qaanaaq, a traditional Inuit hunting village to the north. I hoped also to be able to visit Siorapaluk, a tiny village even further to the north, actually the northernmost naturally-inhabited location on the planet. I had just traveled to Ushuaia, Argentina (the southernmost city in the world) mere days before, so to hit these two places in such quick succession was a special goal for me. Reaching it, however, required favorable weather conditions, by no means guaranteed in late September, the beginning of the winter storm season.

All pictures by me unless otherwise noted.
Thumbnails with white borders around them are links to pages with multiple pictures.
[Note: Much to my disappointment, my camera lens apparently had some kind of smudge on it the whole time. It wasn't bad enough for me to notice when I previewed the images on the camera, but it was bad enough that it pretty much rendered all of my pictures from the trip, at best, painfully drab and not as crisp and vibrant as they should be, and at worst, downright blurred and smudged-looking, particularly on the right-hand side of the image. Terrible shame!]

PART ONE: PITUFFIK

Thursday, September 4

Gonna try to make this quick because I'm really tired. This two-hour delay thing seems to be following me (had a succession of three 2-hour flight delays just previously in South America). Last night's (technically this morning's) flight was supposed to leave at 2:00, but we weren't airborne until 4:30. Needless to say it was a rough night. Got maybe an hour's sleep on the plane thanks to some vodka I smuggled aboard. When the stewardess saw me pouring it she informed me that it's actually against the law to serve yourself liquor on board a plane. You're supposed to give all your alcohol to the staff and let them dispense it to you. Unbelievable.

The terminal was filled with soldiers sleeping all over the place waiting for a long-delayed flight

We landed in overcast/foggy conditions. It wasn't terribly cold, but wasn't warm either. It was that kind of damp cold. Charley and Bob picked us up and brought us to our barrack. Turns out I'm back in 324 ("Chez Lo-Ha") but in a different room. No Danish here this time either. We got something to eat, picked up our arctic gear, then John and I drove around just to see what things are like now. The sea ice is gone now, but the bay is littered with icebergs, getting heavier and heavier as you head into the fjord.

We first drove to Dundas and got some pretty good sights, but the real action was at the head of the fjord, so we headed up to BMEWS to see it. Unfortunately, BMEWS was enveloped in a thick fog and we could barely see the road we were driving on, much less the fjord. We waited up there for a half hour or so in hopes that the fog would lift, also taking a power nap because we were dead tired. No luck with clearing skies, so we headed back and had dinner at the ol' Dundas Buffet Restaurant. Man, the food hasn't changed a bit. Still heavy as an anvil.

Sights down by Dundas

I'm fucking exhausted and a bit weirded out being here. I don't feel like I belong here. I guess I didn't have the opportunity to prepare myself mentally for this trip. Now here I am and it feels odd. Also, the whole vibe seems different from the first trip. The most obvious thing being the abundance of daylight, but also, I expected there to be a lot more activity now, in the summer time, than there was before. The opposite seems to be the case, though. Things seem unsettlingly dead. I haven't even been here a full day yet, though, so who knows. It's past 22:00 and it's still pretty light out even with the overcast sky. The whole South American trip seems like a strangely distant memory. An experience from which I feel curiously disconnected. Here I'm suddenly overcome with an empty, lonely feeling and just this peculiar uneasiness that I don't much care for. Maybe I'll feel better after I get some rest.

Saturday, September 6

Yesterday morning we went to work for a briefing on what we were going to be doing in the coming weeks. Afterward, John, Corinne, Kevin, and I climbed up Dundas Mountain and drove around a bit on the other side of North Mountain.

On the way to Dundas	Coming down into Dundas Village	At the base of the mountain	Views on the way up
The last section of the climb requires climbing a rope	Views from the top	Going back down	On the north shore of the isthmus
An arctic hare stands out among the surroundings	A dramatic gorge looks down upon the Iperautaq promontory and the fjord	Mist-enshrouded cliffs of Akinarssuk	My vodka & cranberry with a nice chunk of glacier ice

Today, John, Corinne, and I took a pretty long hike to try to reach the huge glacier at the head of the fjord (Howard Moltke Bræ). However, because we had no fucking idea where we were going, we didn't end up getting very close. We walked around blindly for a good 4-5 hours over some seriously tough terrain. Vast expanses of rocks of every imaginable type. Hills and fields of large, angular boulders, sometimes slick and spackled with moss, were hell to try to traverse, just begging to twist an ankle or send you crashing to the ground to crack your skull open. We eventually came to a viewing point that was further away than we wanted, but we didn't have the time to press on to a closer position. We just enjoyed the view of the three glaciers coming down into the fjord through the intermittent fog. The walk back was easy in comparison.

The road out to the edge of the icecap	Getting out	Exploring the edge of the icecap	Resting among the desolation
A typical sample of the terrain. Just endless rocks and stones.	John standing on an ice bank, moments before sliding down	A sample of some of the more devilish sections. This terrain was hell to negotiate.	Frosted plant growth
Our very wanting view of the glacier	Group shot at the end of the hike	Views from the walk back	Coming back onto base to heavenly splendor of sunshine

Monday, September 8

Saturday night the barrack next door was having a party so we went. In our usual fashion John & I got shitfaced and stayed all night. I don't remember coming back, but I guess it was around 5:00. We got up pretty late the next day, but went out and did some more hiking. We drove up to BMEWS and hiked down the mountainside towards the fjord. It was an easy hike in comparison to the day before, and in the end, much more gratifying. We weren't as close to the head glacier, but we had a much better view and weather. We couldn't linger as long as we wanted because we were having dinner at Charley's at 18:00. The whole Raytheon crew was there. It was very nice.

Heading down	Looking back up at BMEWS	Spectacular views of Wolstenholme Fjord
Warning signs in case anyone approaches the radar from the fjord	Interesting layered terrain near where we parked	Dinner at Charley's

After work the next day, John & I went to Camp Tuto and walked around there for a few hours. It was incredible. Actually walked up onto the icecap and saw just a bunch of cool shit. Made it back to base just in time to eat. It was a good day. Oh, man, I'm pretty tired. We've been doing some serious hiking and shit. No idea what's going on tonight. Probably just hanging out and trying to plan for tomorrow. OK, gonna write some postcards then go have some beers or something.

The broken bridge that forced us to walk part of the way	Meltwater and ice formations at the base of the icecap	The old ramp/road leading up onto the icecap, now mangled beyond recognition by glacial flux
Views from near the end of the ramp remains	Exploring a channel cut deep into the ice	John in a small ice cave	Pingorssuit Mountain to the east

Friday, September 12

Whew. Haven't had the chance to write in awhile. Just too busy doing shit. John & I took Tuesday off because there wasn't anything for us to do. We were determined to make the most of the day off. In the morning we tried hiking to the ice caves. We asked around and were told, supposedly, how to get there. John & I had seen the sign the day before when we went to Camp Tuto and I had commented how it didn't make any fucking sense. It was parallel to the road, with no arrow, not by another road or anything. Basically it was a sign that gave absolutely no indication as to where the damn things were. We were told to just start hiking away from the ice cap at that location, so that's what we did. They said it would take about an hour to reach.

The terrain wasn't bad, but it was very windy just like the day before at Camp Tuto (same general area). The wind was at our backs on the way out so that was nice. As we set out there was no clear indication as to where these ice caves were, so we just headed generally away from the ice cap as instructed. We hiked for a good hour-and-a-half and there was still no sign of them, so we decided not to waste any more of our time and made our way back. Walking directly into that fierce wind made the hike back many times more difficult than the hike out. I was more drained after that than the really long hike we took to see the glacier. We were beat.

A silver fox on base refuses to look at my camera

Heading out

Views on the walk out

John demonstrates the intensity of the wind by leaning into it and allowing it to hold him up

Views from our furthest point

We decided to drive further down the road to Pingorssuit Mountain (more commonly referred to as P-Mountain). It was like another world up there. Windy, snowy, and fucking freezing! Unfortunately it was all foggy up there too, so it was pretty much a waste of time. On the way we saw a turnoff with a sign saying Cape Atholl and the ice caves again. What the fuck? We started driving down there, but the road just seemed to go on and on and our patience was worn out by then so we just turned back. As we passed that first ice caves sign on the way back I looked over at John and he stopped the truck, backed up, got a piece of metal conduit out of the trunk and smashed that fucking thing to smithereens. We laughed heartily afterward at the pictures I caught.

Some shots up on Pingorssuit Mountain

Heading back

Taking our righteous anger out on that stupid fucking ice caves sign

We got back to base, had dinner, then pondered doing something we talked about when we hiked up Dundas a few days before: camping out on the top of the mountain. I brought my tent and we both had sleeping bags, so we were all set with equipment. If we could find some wood and manage to bring it up there with us we could even have a fire. There was some vacillating, but in the end we decided to go for it. The exhaustion of the day's earlier hike had abated and we felt so screwed by the ice caves that we felt we needed to make up for it and salvage the day. Plus, even though we had to work the next day, the equipment wasn't scheduled to arrive until 10:30, so we didn't need to be up at the site until around 11:00. That means we could come down early, have breakfast, get a few hours of real sleep in our barracks, and shower before we had to go to work.

It was a bit late when we set out (21:00), but we had the still-long polar day on our side. We managed to scavenge a good amount of wood and strapped it to our backpacks. John's pack was bigger and could accomodate more, plus he insisted on carrying up the last two pieces that wouldn't fit by hand, so he took up a considerable amount more weight than I. Poor guy felt it too. As good shape as he is in, he had to put forth everything he had to get up that fucker. It was tough. The trail is very steep. I was a bit nervous going up the first time with not even half the weight on my back. It wasn't really so much the weight, however, that made me really nervous the second time, it was the center of gravity issue. With all that concentrated weight behind me, it would've been especially easy to fall backwards and tumble down the mountainside. There was a time or two that my heart jumped in my throat after I stood up a little too straight and felt that sensation that I might fall backwards. That would've been fucking baaaad news. Not just for me, but also for John who wasn't too far below me. Thankfully we made it up without incident.

A bad-ass looking NORAD plane parked on the side of the runway	Coming down into Dundas (composite)	The target	Loading up
Heading up	John on the verge of summiting...	...and understandably laid out by the effort	View of the base lit up on the other side of North Star Bay

I set up the tent, John set up the fire. Luckily it wasn't too windy up there so we didn't have too much trouble getting it going. Even though I told John on the way up that he should jettison those two last pieces of wood, I was glad he brought them, because sitting by that fire up there, taking in the view of the fjord, the base lit up at night, Baffin Bay, eating the food, drinking the beer and vodka we brought up, smoking the cigar, was just one of the best moments of my life. Seriously fucking brilliant. We got it started at pretty much exactly midnight and went to bed at 2:00 as it was dying out. We brought up almost all of our arctic gear to cope with the cold. Like a fool I took off my parka and iron pants thinking I'd be warm enough in my sleeping bag. I fucking froze. I ended up having to get up to take a piss so I took the opportunity to put on my parka, but unfortunately not my iron pants. I think I managed maybe 40-45 minutes of sleep in all, despite all the alcohol I drank. My legs were freezing.

Our tent, looking down on the majestic Wolstenholme Fjord in the background (this was the best I could manage in the feeble light)	Tremendously enjoying the fire	Sacrificing the rest of our tinder to let the wind afford us a bit of a light show as it blows it over the edge of the mountain
The last light of the fire with the base in the background	Last views of the fjord before calling it a night	Moriusaq barely visible to the northeast

We got up at 5:30 and tried to get the hell down as soon as possible. We were both fucking exhausted and freezing. To make matters worse, John lost the trail just as we set off and we had to go down the uncleared mountainside. All sharp, jagged, loose rocks on like a 45° slope. It was positively diabolical. My hands and tent bag got a bit cut up, but I'm surprised not worsely so. If I didn't have my iron pants on I'm sure my regular pants would've been shredded. I was so relieved when we got down.

We booked it back to base and went straight to the dining hall for breakfast. I could feel the cold settled deep in my chest and I was looking forward to crawling into my soft, warm bed for a couple hours and beginning to restore myself. Imagine our acute disappointment when we saw the rest of the team at the dining hall and they told us the equipment had arrived early and we were going up right after breakfast. I didn't even have time for a shower! What the fuck?! When does stuff like this ever come through EARLY? This kind of shit is always late and delayed. Ugghhhh... I was fucking incredulous, but there was nothing to be done about it. Just had to suck it up.

Getting up	First view of the isthmus and fjord before sunrise (composite)	Last shots before heading down
Dundas bathed in the cold rays of the morning sun. Our misguided path barely visible threading down to the left	The view of the base from North Mountain	Heading into work

Once we got underway, though, it wasn't too bad. I just focused on the work and got through it. We basically just unpacked crates and boxes all day and moved the equipment to their respective rooms and locations. We had some trouble with the three REXs (huge double-bay cabinets) at the very end and ended up having to stay until like 18:30. Needless to say it was a fucking rough day. Afterward, a bunch of us went to the TOW Club and Woody kept us in pizza and beer for a good hour-and-a-half.

Thursday (yesterday) wasn't nearly as bad. Just some more unpacking and starting to clean up. After work we picked up some stuff and made dinner at our barrack. After dinner we were talked into going to the TOW Club for a beer. Unsurprisingly, that turned into several beers and countless shots. When they closed the bar we came back here and kept drinking and even burned down one of my cubans that I picked up a couple weeks previous in Uruguay. Needless to say, I barely got up this morning. Worked our asses off too, doing the real heavy cleanup. I vowed to take it easy tonight, do a wash, get some writing done and I did. I went to the TOW Club just to have dinner and had a couple beers. The crane operator (a Danish GC guy) noticed us, though, and sent over a round of Gammel Dansk shots. I thought, "Oh no, I'm not getting sucked into this tonight." I downed the shot, thanked them, and left. I have to get at least one good night's sleep at this point.

At work

The smoking room at BMEWS

Employee of the month

Some cool shots Bill got of the base at sunset

Tomorrow Charley's taking us out to dinner and it's pretty much guaranteed to be a long, inebriated night. I don't even want to think about that at this moment, though. All I want to think about is reviving myself. My clothes should be dry now. Gonna just get to bed ASAP. Night.