greenland/uummannaq fiord 08 SUMMARY

Journey’s never really come to an end. If it was a good one they can’t help spawn new ideas and continuations. After our Marcus and I did the ice cap crossing last October we were frostbitten and losing daylight as summer was sucked away by the encroaching winter. We postponed our proposed kayaking journey and left the equipment in little town called Ilulissat (69°13′N, 51°06′W).

Ilulissat (pop 4500) is the third largest settlement in Greenland situated 200 km north of the Arctic Circle and next to the famous Jakobshavn (Danish – Jacobs Harbour) Ice Fjord which is the most productive glacier in the northern hemisphere and deposits more than 20 billion tonnes of ice bergs into the ocean every year. It is a beautiful place in its own right and a great place to start a journey.

I’ll arrive in Ilulissat on July 4. I’ll be on my own. I plan to pick up my kayak, organize food and supplies, pack and head north out of Disko Bay to Uummannaq (heart shaped), a tiny village on a bare rock island and my favourite spot in Greenland. From there I am looking for rock walls to climb and valleys to hike. This area has huge potential and the weather is a lot more settled than the southern part of the island and the big walls of the Narsarsuaq region.

I plan to explore and climb in the eastern and northern parts of Uummannaq Fiord through the month of July.

Many people have asked “why am I going on my own”? Well the simple answer is that my usual team of Marcus and Jonesy were not available because of family and work commitments. The more complex answer is that there is a great deal to learn from a journey like this undertaken alone and is a part of Adventure Philosophy we haven’t really explored or discussed much. Stay tuned for updates as I attempt to throw some light on this side of adventure.

Graham Charles