HINTS and LINKS
In association with AMAZON.COM I suggest to visit
Click on the logo and search for many books about icebergs, ice caps, the arctic and Greenland
Please rate my site at home
Current Weather: (more at bottom)
Some advice for the future Greenland traveller:
The keyword in Greenland is PATIENCE: the landscape is too overwhelming to get stressed. Since you cannot travel on road between the villages, you must travel by plane or boat (or walk). Because of the constant weather-changes it is very difficult to plan your trip exactly on the hour. The national airline-system Grønlandfly is also called IMAQA (inuit for "MAYBE"), you understand why. I have always felt myself safe, both in the planes as in the helicopters. From above the country looks spectacular!
For anyone who travels for the first time to Greenland I advice you to go with a small group, not only because it is safer, but it is also cheaper, groups get considerable reductions in planes and boats, and traveling in Greenland is very very expensive.
Things you absolutely need are:
- a considerable amount of money. I had to pay 5500,- dutch guilders (= $2700,-), for 16 days, everything included: connections, food, tent. Life in Greenland is rather expensive, especially plane and boat. Food is expensive but payable. Sealfur is wonderful and very cheap ($50,=). Don't criticize the inuit with western arrogance for selling these furs. These are the only things they do not have to import. Seal and whale are eaten anywhere in Greenland, since agriculture is impossible and, apart for sheep in the very south, the are no cattle. But thanks to Greenpeace, the Inuit have lost a big part of their income: they can't sell their furs no more for a reasonable price. So most of the skins are thrown away now.
- a good sleeping-bag: comfort-temperature till -10 degrees C. The temperatures vary a lot. In summer it can get rather warm till 22 C , a few hours later it can fall down to 5 degrees. The normal temperature in summer is around 13 C. In the evening around 5 C. In the night we had always some frost (lowest temp. -7 C). Weather changes every hour, from clearblue sky to snowstorm.
insulating underwear, fleece, breathable (i.e. Goretex, but not necessarily) jacket and fast drying pants (NO jeans), two hikingsticks, terrainshoes.Sunglasses (preferably "glacier sunglasses"); because of the ice and thin air the reflection is enormous:
lipbalm: the air is very dry. It is said the humidity can be 0 %!
mosquito-net (around your head): mosquitoes are very annoying; they never give up attacking you; and they come with millions, especially when the temperature rises.
For those who want to know my route:
I went with organised campingtour (Nordwind Reisen, Maximilianstrasse 17, 87700 Memmingen, Germany) in group consisting of 8 people and a very experienced guide.
Arrival at Kangerlussuaq (Søndre Strømfjord international airport)
By helicopter to Sisimiut on the coast: from there hikings in the neighbourhood.
From Sisimiut back to Kangerlussuaq; from here a two-days walk to the inland-ice and back.Kangerlussuaq to Ilulissat (Jakobshavn): the Icebergparadise: several hikings and boattrips (also an helicopterflight over the fjord: very luxurious but unforgettable)
By boat to Qeqertarsuaq (Disko-island): several hikings and dogsledging.
By boat back to Ilulissat, from there back to Kangerlussuaq and from there to Copenhagen.
NEW: AIMSTAR-productions made a beautiful and interesting CD-rom for just $19,99 about the earth with information on 10 areas of earth phenomena: clouds, earthquakes, forests, global warming, great lakes, the ocean, ozone, volcanoes, and wetlands and of course POLAR ICE (with many pictures from this site).
Some interesting links concerning Greenland and the Arctic:
A high tech site with video's: Discovery Channel's ICEBERG 101
GREENLAND WEB RING, click on the flag
National Ice Center with many many icelinks and maps
Your gateway to Greenland Beautiful site about Greenland with a lot of interesting information and amazing pictures, made by a top photographer
Greenland's Coats of Arms Any, yes almost any National Coat of Arms, you'll find here, with excellent explanation. Visit this "incredible" site
Arctic Centre anything you want to know or to find about the polar regions.
Images of the Greenland Sea spectacular!
Greenlandic Links: other (official) links to Greenland
Programme Life-env GRIP official site of the GReenland Icecore Project.
Arctic Forum: an important discussion site with questions and answers about the Arctic.
"North " an intuitive Arctic exploration . Another fantastic site about the Arctic, with a very specific concept; Visit it.
ARCTIC-Adventure: a travel agency from Greenland
Some weather links to Greenland and the Arctic Region
Greenland weather from Wunderground: By far the most stations
Current ice conditions in the Arctic region : very fast and easy to understandAlaska-Polar Weather Links: just as it says
Current Weather Conditions for Greenland: One of the most informative site about Greenland weather. Gives information on the hour (if available): rather slow
WeatherLabs- Inc: 5 stations in Greenland: looks good.
Danish Meteo Institute : very good and beautifully presented weather report: a must for weather-addicts
please rate my site at home
home geography icebergs dogsledge for questions, requests or criticism: MAIL ME
