EAST GREENLAND
July 2022
Back in 1934, under the lead of Martin Lindsay, a 3-person team completed the British Trans- Greenland Expedition. In recounting their adventure, Lindsay describes a scroll he left, placed in a cocoa-tin, with the position of the cairn marked by a broken ice axe. Our expedition is to locate this cairn.
This expedition is a treasure hunt of sorts, celebrating the spirit of exploration and the beauty of East Greenland’s incredibly Jurassic world of ice, snow, mountains and ocean – all executed in an environmentally respectful way.
July 2022
Dates: July 2022 - approximately 45 days. This Itinerary allows for sailing delays due to coastal pack-ice, storms both on land and on the ocean, and sufficient exploration time to find a suitable landing location for the overland journey.
The team will sail from Iceland towards the Blosseville Coast, navigate its way through the coastal pack-ice and find a launching point at the mouth of the Kangerlussuaq fjord. The overland journey will consist of a 290 km round trip glacier ski travel, with 2200 meters of elevation gain. The route will take the team to the edge of ice cap to locate a Nunatak where the cairn was placed. After the overland journey, the boat will sail south to Tasiilaq.
The primary outreach goal is to inspire us all to go ahead, dream! Concoct a crazy adventure either by fireside, or on the back of a napkin at the pub... and make it happen.
Kangerlussuaq glacier is the largest glacier on the east coast of Greenland. It feeds into Kangerlussuaq fjord, which marks the southern limit of the Blosseville Coast. The area is rich in Inuit and exploration history.
It’s a tip of the hat to Lindsay, a dreamer, who was determined to explore despite his lack of credentials. Who was true to his motivations for exploring, simply because “one explores because for some strange reason, one gets a kick out of doing something that is difficult.” We aim to inspire folks that one does not need to be an accredited research scientist, an elite climber or super wealthy to live an adventure, to surround oneself in nature and grow ones awe and respect for our planet.
Lonnie has longed to return to this area, ever since his non-motorized circumnavigation of Greenland in 1997-2001; it made a lasting impact on him.
“During all of our circumnavigation, when we kayaked into Kangerlussuaq Fjord in east Greenland, it surpassed anything John and I have ever seen. Dark monolithic rock guarding the entrance, pods of harp seals around our boat. Rivers of broken ice coming off the ice cap between rock that is worn smooth. It was like we entered a prehistoric oasis unfounded in time.” - Dupre
A secondary objective of the expedition is to document this area of Greenland, as part of a larger film project, “Pulling for the Planet”, that is taking place in Northwest Greenland in 2022.
This East Greenland component provides a rare opportunity for Lonnie, who traveled this coast by kayak 20 years ago during his circumnavigation of Greenland, to do a then & now comparison of our rapidly changing planet.
Glacier travel consisting of 290km return with 2200m elevation gain and loss to discover cairn at Nunatak Camp
Anchor in Mikis Fjord. Trekking in the orange highlighted area and potential sail into Watkins Fjord via Uttental Sound if conditions allow for safe passage.
EXPEDITION TEAM
Lonnie Dupre - Expedition Leader | Minnesota
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Completed the first west to east, 3,000 mile winter crossing of Canada’s famed Northwest Passage by dog team
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Achieved the first circumnavigation of Greenland, a 6,500 mile, all non-motorized journey by kayak and dog team
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Pulled sleds on skis from Canada to the North Pole twice achieving over 22 million impressions worldwide on issues surrounding climate change
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First solo winter ascent of Alaska’s Mount Denali (20,340 ft) in the month of January
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Alpine ascent of Kyajo Ri (20,295 ft) in Himalayas, Nepal
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First winter ascent of Mount Wood (15,912 ft) in the Yukon, Canada
Josefin Kuschela – Director & Cinematographer | Germany
Josi has been working as a camera woman for more than 10 years. Her passion is in nature- and outdoor films, mainly in cold environments. This and her love for dogs and all animals has brought her to filming wolves, sled dogs, moose in Alaska, reindeer in northern Sweden and more. She likes the challenge of filming in tough conditions, the balance of getting the best quality and content while keeping things simple and flexible.
Josi and Lonnie will be directing our documentary. She's also in charge of the camera work, and is basically taking care of the whole production of the Greenland film.
Pascale Marceau - Scientist & Explorer | Canada
Pascale Marceau, a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society is a scientist specializing in risk and renewable energy start-ups. Marceau is also a cold-weather explorer and has recently become the first woman to summit a major subarctic peak in winter and has completed the first ascent of a peak in British Columbia.
Pascale focuses on winter mountaineering and first ascents in areas of Canada and the world that have seldom been explored. Pascale is happiest with a map and a compass in her hands!
Pascale aims to have a scientific component to her projects, a notable one being the microplastics sampling which produced an article in National Geographic.
Dave King - Captain | Sweden
Born in the UK, Dave has lived all over the World, from Afghanistan to India then the far north of Alaska and now in Lapland where he maintains a kennel of 40 sleddogs, some horses, and a red cat. His passions are dog mushing, mountaineering, kayaking, sailing and discovering the wild parts of our planet by these means. Dave's ultimate driver lies in protecting our global environment,
Dave runs an ocean plastics recovery project in Arctic waters www.artcicplasticproject.org in addition to operating a polar training school in Northern Sweden: www.polarquestexpeditions.com
Torben Diklev | Denmark
Archeologist specializing in the Polar Inuit culture. Torben was past director and curator of the Danish Polar Explorer Knud Rasmussen house in Denmark and Thule Museum in Qaanaaq, Greenland.
Tine Lisby Jensen | Denmark
Inuit Culture Tine has lived and toured in Greenland for many years and has a vast knowledge of the Polar Inuit culture.
Tine is also Owner of LISBY in Denmark, specializing in fine leather creations.