Peary in late nineteenth century, but mainly Nansen and his fellows, during the first Greenland crossing in 1888, have used sailed installed on their sledges with a mat. We have choosen kites designed for traction, small paraglides with 25 meter lines and wich can be easily driven.

Equipment

Each of us had two sails (one 5m² and one 4m²), Q2000 models supplied by Quadrifoil - Active People.

Distances

Despite some training in the Alps (mainly at Cran-Montana (CH) Kite Center), we have needed some adaptation time in Greenland.

During our first two attempts, we did not cover more distance than skiing. We spent long time repairing the sails, before learning how to pilot them very softly. We had to use techniques to lower the strains on the kite, mainly during the take off.

But the third days we covered more than 50km, and 100km on the fourth attempt. The wind was blowing between 18 and 50km/h, coming backward (approx 45°). With the 4m² Q2000 (the 5m² were broken), our speed was ranging (GPS info) between 15 and 50km/h. The latest speed was far to dangerous (when falling, the sledge comes really fast and weights 90kg).

Flying in the fog

Remaining close to each other was a key point, mainly when the fog was out. Despite it was rather thin (clear distance of a few hundreds meters), if one of us had been separated from the other, it could have turned into serious problem (to face such a situation, the equipment was splitted in the best way among us).

But our strategy was to pre-define rendez-vous GPS point every 15km, as each of us had a GPS receiver. Hopefully, we have always remained together.

Preparation

Of course, a proper training before the expedition is important and saves a lot of time and energy (setting up the kite, with mittens, in cold conditions, can quickly become tricky). Often, finding a place where trying the sledges in not easy, but a good knowledge of the sail behaviour is important.

Beside the training, the kite must be prepared to face the arctic conditions. The lines must be reinforced wherever possible (mainly at the junctions). Some standard strings should be replaced by more reliable ones (specially on a Q2000 like sail). The piloting sticks should be modified (change the outgoing ropes as well as the junction one) to support the high strains. An important point is to have colored lines, much easier to manipulate.