The Greenland Sea Kayak Expedition 2007 took place on the North-West coast of Greenland. We completed the 600 km between the village of Uummannaq and Upernavik in 45 days. We did not take the route around the Svartenhuk peninsula but used an ancient inuit summer trail starting at the end of the long Uvkusigssat Fjord from where we pulled the sea kayaks over land for 40 km to reach the region of Upernavik further North. The goal of this expedition is to give others the possibility to discover this amazing part of the world that has unique natural beauty and in this way to sensitize people about the environment and global warming. The biggest challenge we faced was the wind and the ice conditions during the first two weeks. Two days of thick sea fog made our crossings between the icebergs a bit tricky. We were very lucky with the weather for the last three weeks of the trip and had almost 24 hours a day of sunshine and ideal paddling conditions. The expedition proved to be a fabulous lifetime experience. Our hearts are full of images and memories ... Imagine the absolute silence between the cracking of ice and the blow of whales; the coolness and freshness of the air; the simple way of living day by day to the rythme of the nature ... We could try to describe it all but I think the photos speak for themselves. Please check out the sponsors section below and their websites. Our sea kayak journey would not have been possible without their support. Click here to view the planned and effective route map of the expedition. You are currently on the "after return" expedition website. Click here to enter the "before start" expedition website.
Some of the best photos of the expedition are packed in this hypnotical 4 minutes trailer. To view with sound! Click on the picture below to start the photo trailer. QuickTime 7 and a fast internet connection is needed! Get the free QuickTime player 7 for windows here or for mac here.
Jean-Luc Grossmann confesses that the spirit of adventure is strong within his soul. Jean-Luc is born in Paris and has lived for the past 22 years in Switzerland where he works as a professional photographer. The passion of people and outdoor photography, the thirst of discovery and adventure have taken him on several journeys all over the world. His favorite destinations are Greenland, the Outer-Hebrides, Madagascar, Cabo Verde, Australia and Namibia.
Sylvain Grossmann has an incredible enthusiasm for exploration to off-the-beaten-path locations that have unique natural beauty. Sylvain is an experienced sea kayaker and shared several other expeditions and adventures with Jean-Luc. He claims to say that a kayak is the most versatile watercraft in the world and is the best way to discover remote areas. His favorite destinations are Greenland, Scotland, Vietnam, Australia & China.
Rafic Mecattaf was born in Lebanon but grew up in Zurich. It was in his new homeland of Switzerland that he discovered his passion for the mountains. Rafic is not only an experienced mountaineer who has climbed numerous summits in the Alps but also a fervid traveler of remote destinations. He likes to discover foreign cultures around the globe and feels just as home in the desert as on glaciers. His various trips have led him to countries as diverse as India, Finland and the Ukraine and of course many times to the Middle East where he likes to trace his roots.
Thomas Truninger has been an avid outdoorsman and globetrotter for the last 10 years. After having worked as a divemaster in the Caribbean, he discovered the beauty of the rough elements of the sea while working on the Galapagos Islands. Here he gathered experience guiding people through an ocean of sharks and wild waters. Thomas is also an active mountaineer, having climbed many mountains in the Andes, Alps, Himalayas and the Karakorum Range. He says that being out in Mother Nature gives him the ultimate feeling of being alive. His favorite destinations are Madagascar, Galapagos Archipelago, Northern Pakistan, India, Cabo Verde and Finnish Lapland.
On day 14, we enter the narrow fjord of Inukavsait under a sky of leaden clouds. The snowflakes, carried by the wind, whip my face. I pull energetically on the shaft of my paddle, staring into the dark horizon. A gull passes in front of my kayak before rising at vertiginous speed, her cry choked by the wind. In the distance steep cliffs border a mountainous chain of bizarre shapes - glacier tongues flow to the sea and an arch perfectly sculpted amidst the entrails of a huge iceberg. The atmosphere is surreal and we wish to stay a moment, observing the whims of nature, but we listen to our instincts, the small inner voice that warns of danger and demands care and action. Three quarters of the way through the great 40 km channel the cliffs still plummet to the sea, offering no opportunity to land. Huge, freshly formed, plates of pack ice threaten to block the way. In this labyrinth of moving ice we paddle as a group and stay close to one another and the shore. On several occasions the coastal ice is too thick to pass through and we have to pull our kayaks to the next ice-free channel. Exhausted, we finally find a place to camp. We don’t have the energy to cook and improvise a meal before quickly falling into a deep sleep. Yes, it was a hard day ... One of those days that makes you feel alive! (SG, JLG)
Greenland is the place to see ice in all its spectacular forms: pack ice, ice floes, icebergs, glaciers and the mighty inland ice - truly one of nature's wonders. Pack ice covers the fjords from December to May. Where the inland ice flows down to the sea in the form of glaciers, huge slabs break off to become icebergs, which then sail majestically off towards the open sea. Big, bigger and absolutely huge. From these floating mountains that appear so calm, large blocks of ice can crash into the sea making a thunderous explosion. Falling from several meters in height, these masses of ice can create breaking waves, full of giant ice cubes. Even if we felt attracted by the icebergs we always kept our distance! Little by little we were better able to estimate the distance at which to approach them. Unconsciously you move closer and closer because generally nothing will happen. But only one time in the wrong place at the wrong moment can be fatal! (JLG)
While paddling one has plenty of time to think and my thoughts often wander the Inuits. These arctic people have been living for thousands of years in this extreme environment. Their survival is a wonderful example of the human adaptability to such conditions. The Inuits have always extracted their essentials from the resources of the sea. Seal, whale and other mammal’s meat were used for food. The fat served as combustible, the skin for clothes and for the building of kayaks. In summer, the Inuk was living under a tent and hunted seal, walrus and narwhal from his kayak. Seal stalking is very difficult and delicate. The seal is a very mistrustful animal, has bad vision but compensates it with a very keen sense of smell and a very accurate hearing. It is used to all ice noises and for this reason the Inuits put a white skin on the kayak’s bow to simulate an ice block and approach silently to throw the harpoon. In winter, the seal was hunted at the breathing hole on the pack ice. The hunter sometimes had to wait stock-still during hours under icy temperature before an animal appeared. In polar nights, the igloo or stone shelter were used as protection. The nanoq or polar bear, was hunted with the help of a dog team. Once the bear was seen, the hunter released his best dogs, often by cutting their trace. The dogs ran after the bear, surrounded it, bit it, sometimes even at the risk of their own life, giving the hunter enough time to catch up. The bear fur was used for clothes as it is also a very good natural cold isolator. Today, only people living in the North of Greenland wear clothes made of polar bear fur. In the small villages we visit, the basic food remains the seal meat. We have the privilege in Nugatsiaq, to taste the fat and the warm raw seal liver. Howewer, it would be wrong to believe that the Inuits life consisted only of hunting. The beauty of the carved figures, their songs and tales, the legends transmitted through generations, and the complexity of their living rules, show us, that those seal hunters knew how to resolve the different problems in their daily fight for survival. The Inuit’s contact with the modern world has brought a lot of changes in their traditional way to day living but even so, they have known how to keep and preserve their values. Now, we live in a world which moves faster and faster, where our own interests prevail - we should take this generous and hearty people as an example. Despite the immense size of their country, everybody knows everybody. The Inuits like to meet to tell each other tales, or sing and laugh together. For them, mutual aid and sharing are essential values. On many occasions, during our adventure we notice that the real warmth within the ice of Greenland resides in the friendliness of the locals.(JLG)
After sitting out a storm on the island of Qingussat, we set course to the village of Nugatsiaq. As we arrive, groups of villagers gather. We ask if a guy called Rémy, a name that Pierre (a friend of Uummannaq) has given us, lives in the village. An old man points at a little green house at the end of the settlement. In front of the house pieces of seal dry in the sun. Minutes later, Rémy, a short, slightly chubby chap, seemingly emanating whisky opens the door. Rémy, who settled here from Denmark 30 years ago and is responsible for the village electric generator, turned his back on his homeland to follow his wife here, who recently sadly past away. We enter his home. On the walls fox furs, horns of musk oxen and a photograph show his 18-year-old son after killing a polar bear. Rémy offers us a beer, our first ‘drink’ since leaving Uummannaq three weeks before. Over drinks Rémy regales us with stories of village life; how his 12-year-old son, fishing from pack ice, managed to catch six sharks and pull them alone back to the village. Rémy explains the best technique to hunt seal and then jumps up and imitates one close encounter with a musk oxen as he was on the toilet of his hunting refuge with his trousers down... And finally he talks about the famous day in 1990 when the village generator worked for the first time and the scared villagers ran away as he started his vacuum cleaner! Soon it is time to get back to our kayaks. As we head back to our gear a group of villagers gather around two hunters. We watch with attention and respect as the hunters expertly skin their catch. One of the hunters suggests we cut up one of the animals. Rafic takes a knife and, careful not to damage the organs, opens the giant seals abdomen. One of the hunters removes part of the liver and raises it to us. Appreciating the gesture we accept the gift. In spite of the kindness and hospitality of our hosts, further adventure calls, and we slowly feel the desire to paddle and find nature again. The mind full of strong impressions, we take our leave, happy to be on the water again but also happy to have met Remy, his familly and the friendly inhabitants of this remote village, who welcomed us with open arms. (RM, JLG)
The entrance to the Uvkusigassat fjord is just 15 km away. After a good dinner we walk to the top of the island to check the crossing. We’re surprised to discover that large plates of ice block our way once more. Would the end of the fjord still be frozen? Next morning we decide to go for it and paddle around the plates of ice where seals rest. After almost three hours we reach the entrance without too many problems but, just 500 metres later, we’re soon stuck in dense pack ice. The wind starts to blow, bringing rain. We decide to wait and see what tomorrow will bring. Early the next morning we’re glad to see that while sleeping the wind has blown all the ice out and that a cloudless blue sky has replaced the rain. Our dream of paddling to the end of the 100 km fjord, full of untouched wilderness, clear water streams and hordes of seals, lives on. Three days later, having paddled the fjord and passed the marsh at its end we reach the mainland at midnight. Exhausted but happy we spend the next day prospecting the region before starting the long, 40 km walk through the J.P. Koch Land, to the region of Upernavik, further North. We start the four-day crossing four days that none of us will ever forget. As two teams of two, each team pulls one of the kayaks with a harness. Then we head back and do it again. Each of the kayaks weighs 100 kg; the effort is intense and not knowing when we’ll reach the next village we have to ration our food. Each of us is pushed to our physical and mental limits. We cross three, almost frozen lakes. From far away the second lake seams impassable, but when we get closer we notice a narrow channel. We get into it without losing time. We don’t want it to close in front of us. The points of our kayaks split the ice with a noise like a million crystal bells. By day three we are in tune, moving quickly forwards, we feel the sea is close. The next day we reach the river that we’d planned and hoped to paddle down but the river is a wild, continuous torrent of water to paddle it in our sea kayaks would be suicide. We decide to walk on fighting equal amounts of exhaustion and disappointment. Plains and hills pass by as we march on. Then, suddenly, at the top of a hill Sylvain raises his arms and shouts. We join him and an intense joy races through our bodies and suddenly all our pain has gone. Finally, the sea! The glittering meanders of the Laksefjord are contrasting with the surrounding islands like a black & white picture. A long moment, we stay here, side by side, the eyes fixed on the sea and we realise what we have lived. (RM, JLG, TT)
Our expedition took us exactly one and an half month to complete. We traveled a total of 600 kilometers and executed over 350,000 paddle strokes. But more importantly, we lived for 45 days, away from the rush of human civilization, and we witnessed the incredible power and beauty of our natural world, as we lived an intense and unforgettable adventure, navigating a sea of ice. (JLG)
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A good infrastructure is one of the keys for a successful expedition. The "sea of ice" expedition has been kindly sponsored by the following companies :
GREENLAND TOURISM is the national tourist board of Greenland and its aim is to promote environmentally and culturally sound tourism, which Greenland will be able to live with and of. Please visit www.greenland.com the ultimate site for your trip to Greenland.
PRIJON has left its mark on the kayaking scene and today offers a very diversified product-range which offers a suitable boat for every type of paddler. Prijon uses the world famous, very durable HTP for the PE production of its boats. For our sea kayak trips and expeditions we use the Kodiak 2006 because of its storage space, speed, comfort and durability. For more informations and a complete product range visit www.prijon.com
Since 1997, the EXPED Team has designed and built the highest quality, specialized gear for the active, outdoor enthusiast. Every user expects his equipment to meet exacting requirements. Exped build products intended to surpass those expectations!
• Ingenious simplicity. Multiple use. Lightweight. Function, not fad. • Integrate superb craftsmanship with superior materials. Emphasize durability. • Test in lab and field to enhance performance. Develop useful features. • Synergy of Partnerships: Customers, Retailers and Vendors involved to develop the best gear. • Simple, bottom line: Exped maximizes your outdoor experience with a minimum of gear.
For more informations and a complete product range visit www.exped.com
CASCADE DESIGNS continues to refine existing products and pioneer new ones. The single-minded dedication to quality has kept Cascade Designs atop the outdoor industry for more than 30 years. Cascade Designs has a full line of outdoor equipment including MSR, a pioneer in innovative backcountry gear; SealLine, maker of portable dry storage products; Platypus, specializing in water storage and hydration systems. For more informations and a complete product range visit www.cascadedesigns.com
ARTISTIC SPORTSWEAR are top specialists in kayak, rafting and canyoning equipment. Their business philosophy that has guided the production of sporting jackets, vests, and neoprene suits since 1987 is “Just a little bit more” in sophistication, function and design. For more informations and a complete product range visit www.artistic-sportswear.com
For a new dimension of pleasure from photography, NIKON develops and markets imaging products worldwide with various features using sophisticated digital imaging technology. Nikon support this expedition with equipment at cost. Jean-Luc Grossmann trust Nikon equipment for more than 15 years. For more informations and a complete product range visit www.europe-nikon.com
FUJIFILM supplies an exceptional variety of films for the professional photographer. Spanning the versatility and vibrancy of color negative and color reversal films, the convenience and quality of instant film, and the enhanced sharpness of high-speed films, Fujifilm elevates film to new levels of performance. For more informations and a complete product range visit www.fujifilm.com
The elevation ClimaCool is the latest in the adventure range from ADIDASeyewear. First model in the collection to integrate the unique ClimaCool ventilation technology. ClimaCool provides ventilation when both in motion and stationary. This multifunctional eyewear can be used for any arduous adventure and easily self adapted using all the top functional and exclusive features. Full eye rim shape along with strong wrap around design provides full protection and wide field of vision. For more informations and a complete product range visit www.adidas.com
DHL is the global market leader in international express, overland transport and air freight. It is also the world's number 1 in ocean freight and contract logistics. DHL offers a full range of customised solutions - from express document shipping to supply chain management. The Division DHL Freight of DHL Logistics (Switzerland) Ltd support this expedition with the transport of the sea kayaks from Zurich to Aalborg (DK) and back. With a strong global presence in all key markets, DHL is well positioned to support all of your road and rail freight transportation needs.For more informations about the DHL services please visit www.dhl.com
POCKETWIZARD - A New Age in Digital Wireless Freedom. For over a decade PocketWizard has been the innovator in design and manufacture of the best digital radio slaves available on the market. For more informations and a complete product range visit www.pocketwizard.com
POWERFILM, INC. is a developer and manufacturer of thin, flexible solar panels based on a proprietary low cost production process. For more informations and a complete product range please visit www.powerfilmsolar.com
PICTURE SERVICE GWERDER is a professional photo laboratory based in Zurich wich offers a complete range of modern image processing technics with a lot of know-how. Picture Service Gwerder support the Sea Kayak Greenland Expedition with the processing of the slide films. For more informations about the services please visit www.gwerder.ch
KATADYNis the global leader in portable water treatment. Further Katadyn offers since 2004 dry food products for expedition purpose. For more informations and a complete product range please visit www.trekking-mahlzeiten.de
SATELLITE-TELEPHONE.CH is specialized in satellite telephony. Sell and rental of IRIDIUM, THURAYA and BGAN. For detailed informations and a complete product range please visit www.satellite-telephone.ch
MARINE-ELECTRONIC.COM based in Morges, Switzerland is specialized in electronics for navigation (marine and land) and safety equipment. marine-electronic.com provides expert service and advice. The customer can expect to get top quality products at reasonable prices, get advice when needed and get reliable and trustworthy services. For detailed informations and a complete product range please visit www.marine-electronic.com
For over 50 years, MAMIYA has been a name synonymous with excellence and innovation in professional photographic cameras and lenses. Mamyia is represented in Switzerland through GraphicArt. GraphicArt supports this expedition with the loaning of equipment. For detailed informations and a complete product range please visit www.graphicart.ch
UK-GERMANY is a producer of underwater camera housings and support this expedition with a special housing for the Nikon F6 at cost. For detailed informations and a complete product range please visit www.uk-germany.com
FKM SINTERTECHNIK was founded in 1993 and is the first and biggest company in Europe specialized in the construction of prototypes using the SLS technologie (Selective-Laser-Sintering) For more informations about the services please visit www.fkm-sintertechnik.de
ACTIONCAMERAS.CO.UK is a a supplier of helmet and head mounted video equipment for extreme sports. The product range includes bullet cameras, which are both wired and wireless, remote controls, camcorders and specially designed mounts. For detailed informations and a complete product range please visit www.actioncameras.co.uk
SEEKAJAK.CH - Equipment, courses, travel and events around the world of paddling. For more informations about the services please visit www.seekajak.ch
