Greenland suggestions?

[Conor]

I'll put a trip report together. No peaks were bagged, but there seems like there is at least some interest....I'll try to do it tonight...

[nomad_games]

pics! pics! pics!

[Conor]

Sorry, it took longer than I thought. I did a little trip report on it.

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... m=tripmine

[nomad_games]

Sorry, it took longer than I thought. I did a little trip report on it.

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... m=tripmine

thanks!! good writeup. Thanks for the pics etc, gives me a much better idea than i had about what I would be in for. Did you enjoy the trip overall? I've heard a few reports of greenland being kind of a bummer or "depressing".

[Conor]

Sorry, it took longer than I thought. I did a little trip report on it.

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... m=tripmine

thanks!! good writeup. Thanks for the pics etc, gives me a much better idea than i had about what I would be in for. Did you enjoy the trip overall? I've heard a few reports of greenland being kind of a bummer or "depressing".

Yes, we did enjoy the trip. Very much so. Greenland is a bit on the pricey, especially when it comes to air transportation. The cost of airfare alone is probably what turns most people off. The iceland connection is handy, especially from Denver, but if you make a trip to Copenhagen, the time and cost can go up. We routed ORD - ZRH - CPH. We flew business class, so it took a bit of the sting of jet lag out of the equation for us.

A few add ons I wish we would have done.

1) Icecap in Kangerlusuaaq. Not sure what you look at, and you'll need crampons to do any bit of significant walking on it. It didn't seem that fascinating to me at the time and looked less impressive than the Perito Moreno in Argentina based on pictures. Not sure if it is the novelty of saying you stepped on the ice cap, the views or what??? But, everyone that went highly recommended it.

2) Iluulissat - UNESCO heritage town. Supposedly beautiful.

A few considerations about time if you plan to hike the arctic circle trail. The standard is 8 nights, which is going hut to hut. I think that to be a bit unnecessary. I would put the hike between beginner and intermediate levels. I think the thing that spooks most people is they haven't done a trip of this time length before. Shaving off 10 miles between Kanger airport and kellyville makes sense to me. It's a dirt road, not really that scenic, not a lot to be gained there, imo. Others disagree with me, which is fine. We planned for 7 nights, we spent 6 nights. And we had the IT band issue that slowed us up. I'm not sure I could do the hut to hut thing if the huts were busy. What I'm getting at, if you have a little backpacking experience, you'll find the arctic circle trail pretty simple. If you're wanting to do a leisurely 4 day trip, catching a ride a sisimiut to ole's lakseelv is a good bang for the buck, as you'll catch the best scenery. There was a group of danes that did this very thing and they were at the huts with us, but always opted to sleep outside.

I did not find the country depressing or a bummer. I'm not sure what that means...we had a great time and do not regret the time spent there.

[XterraRob]

Sorry, it took longer than I thought. I did a little trip report on it.

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... m=tripmine

thanks!! good writeup. Thanks for the pics etc, gives me a much better idea than i had about what I would be in for. Did you enjoy the trip overall? I've heard a few reports of greenland being kind of a bummer or "depressing".

I think you just have to set your expectations correctly. Greenland suffers from Chronic Under-a-Mile-of-Ice Syndrome and a lot of the Glaciers haven't melted out to form crazy landscapes outside of the coastal regions. It's just a mellow piece of land but the thought is cool that the ice you're hanging around is super super old. In another 1000-2000 years, who's to say all of Greenland won't be under a massive sheet of ice again. IMO, I would have brought along a small teddy bear with a 14ers.com shirt and buried it somewhere up on the ice cap. Maybe if scientists 100,000 to 1 mil years into the future drill an ice core, they can find that nice gem buried within one of the layers and have it bring a warm smile to someone or something's face.

[nomad_games]

Don't get me wrong. I've spent a lot of time looking at pics and trying to get a sense of where to go, I'm madly in love with what I know and it's probably my top bucket list trip. I spent 3 months in Iceland in winter by myself getting into all kinds of situations in remote areas in a Toyota Yaris. The more extreme and beautiful and isolated the better. I'm just asking because I had a few friends tell me that their research turned up a lot of reports of it being a bummer or depressing (not sure what they mean either) and suggestions to go to the Faroes instead. Prob from people that don't travel like me (fly to MC on a whim, sleep in a tiny rentak car outside the gates to the Iztaccihuatl trailhead and climb it the next morning type) and expect comfort and museums. I'm aware of the expense. The thing I can't wrap my head around is exactly how to get around without planning every single flight or boat trip and binding myself to a tight schedule.

Good to know about the hike timeline. I want to do it but don't want to spend 10 of my 14 days doing it. Ilulissat is up there on my list. Especially the Eqip Sermia boat trip and lodge with glacier hike but holy s**t it's expensive. Also several other areas. Most seems to be either west or east so maybe two trips. Or skipping the ACT and doing a week of each.

[nomad_games]

Oh and if anyone is looking for more Greenland photos, this guy has some pretty amazing ones.

https://www.instagram.com/arcticwindow

[Conor]

I'm not sure how to get around on a whim either. All the flights are often booked in the summer. When I tried moving my flexible fare, there weren't any seats to be had. The polish guy we met on the trail was kind of piece mealing it together. I'll send you a screen shot of his Facebook page. He's nice, will most likely be helpful, bUT is certainly one of a kind. I watched him boil spaghetti noodles and drop about 4 or 5 cans of "spaghetti" sauce on the floor. When he opened it up, it was actually canned fruit, which he still poured over his spaghetti noodles. He did the same routine for breakfast the next morning, except he made a double batch. He ate 1/2 and left the rest in the stove top sauce pan with glass lid. Carefully wrapping the boiled spaghetti in the pot in random plastic bags, he packed his lunch into the top of his pack.

When we shared this story in town, everyone said, "we know Andrew!"

[nomad_games]

Ha! Amazing

[James Dziezynski]

Greenland is fantastic - I've been lucky enough to tour the east and the west side, and a little in the middle. There are ton of great scrambles. Last time I was there in 2011, I was able to get up a few nameless peaks that were a lot like Longs (exposed, solid scrambles, elevation gains over 4,000' from sea level). There are some more modest ones, too. One of the most accessible ones is in Tasiilaq, one of the primary tourist towns. It has a trail out of town, past a graveyard, and up a nice little summit -

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If you have any travel questions, please free to P.M. me!

[XterraRob]

@FireontheMountain - Greenland is calling your name.