Kalopalink 04 - online report

Kalopalink 04 - online report

Episode 2 - Kayak

Weather links

August 11th - Goal!

They arrived in Kulusuk, safe, soul and happy of the trip. We can guess how tired the arms are and good the shower will be. To celebrate, they will certainly eat a nice low fat whale steak.

August 10th - Whale watching

Day started with a little hike on a hill by the camp. Then they crossed the fjord (13 km). Weather was wonderful and they had the chance to see a whale. They paddle now in the direction of Kulusuk (the island at the southern end of the map) which is at a dozen of kilometers now.

August 9th - Fabulous

Sun all the day! and they paddled through a labyrinth of iceberg of all sizes and shapes to cross the fjord. They made a stop in the settlement of Kummit. It really has been a great day.

August 8th - Long day

Nice wake up, with a bath in a small lake by the camp. But the day was to be long. If we look at the map, we see that there is a point where the fjord is closed. Manu's intuition was that the map in not precise enough and that it should not be that bad: a small portage at most. Intuition was correct, they paddled 17km in a narrow fjord, and have to carry all the equipment, but only on a short distance. Night has fallen when they reach their camping position, but they made a big step towards Kulusuk. They send their best wishes tout everybody.

August 7th - Walking and moving

In the morning, they climbed a summit nearby the camp. View over the fjord, mountains and glacier must have been worth the tour. Back to the tents, they have waited so that the shower can pass by. Then they paddled 17 km, with head wind at the beginning, turning hopefully back. The settled the camp at one end of a desaffected US base airway.

August 6th - Glacier exploration

Place is so nice that they decided to spend one more day here kayaking by the glacier front. The glacier comes down from the icecap and falls directly into the sea, making an impressive ice wall in the water. There is not much sun, but the weather is OK. They had the chance of spotting an arctic fox.

August 5th - Surfing...

They made a very nice kayak tour by the glacier and could even make some... surf (!) over a wave launched by a piece of ice falling into the water ("a small piece of glacier" are Manu's word). They now camp much nearer to the ice in a prehistoric ambiance. All the night long, they constantly here ice falling into the sea (66N02.6' 36W28.3')

August 4th - A little tour

Wind has fallen, but there is still some little rain. They went out for a kayak tour to the neighboring village in a very calm sea, then back to the hut.

August 3rd - Start of the kayak trip

They been dropped by the boat by Sermiligaq. In the rain + high wind (piteraq), they have waited a little bit in a hut. Time for eating Manu's birthday pie. The fjord scenery is tremendous. (65N59' 36W23')

Episode 1 - Icecap

Weather links

August 1st - Back to Tasiilaq

Weather was good, but it was a long and strenuous day in the crevasses. They met the boat in Nagtivik to bring the back to a shower in Tasiilaq Red House. The postal problem is solved, they can pack everything for the second half ofthe trip: "paddle in the icebergs".

July 31th - on the way down

They finally turn back. Same crevasses, but the weather has slighlty improved. They could arrange a boat to pick them up on Sunday afternoon. (65N41.8' 38W51')

July 30th - Pushing it up

Or more precisely "pulling it up". Weather conditions were not fantastic, but they could make 8km. It's summer, snow has melt and crevasse are open. So they play the little game "jump over the crevasse" all the day long. Rain start again when they set up the camp. Snow is still quite far away, and they did not have the opportunity to use the ski; they decide to turn back to the boat tomorrow (65N45.3' 38W53.9').

July 29th - Rain again

As it can happen, rain has not stopped. So they stay in the tent, playing cards and reading books. Hopefully they have brought Pleiade editions, the best ratio weight/number of words - assuming you like the author, it can save your day. Weather forecast seems to improves a little on friday and make them possible to move on. In the morning, they tested the "peronin", a kind of food substitute used in some expeditions. It has been proven to be efficient, but not very good. Girls did not like it.

July 28th - Rain, rain, rain

They decide not to move, and remain in the tent because of rain. A 2 hours walk to a neighbouring weather station. they send their wishes to everybody

July 27th - Starting up

Camp 2. The team starts to climb onto the icecap. 10 kilometers to get on the way up, in a quite crevassed (eventhough safe) area. The ground is very irregular and the pulka rollover continuously. However, the sight over the sea and the surrounding mountains is great. The enthusiasm is at its highest level, and the clouds hiding the sun in the afternoon will not affect them that much. Position 65N41' 38W51.4'

July 26th - One foot one the icecap

After one day at the Robert Peroni's Red House, packing up everything (and waiting for the rain to stop), they could finally take the boat to be dropped southern, at their start position. The ride was totally fabulous, in the middle of icebergs. A short 2 km walk to warm up and finally set up the camp (65N37.317' 38W43.290').

The communication with the expedition is rather tactical. Eventhough they have an Iridium satellite phone that could be used for voice, we prefer short texte messages. They have 130 characters to send positions + weather conditions + what is happening; I have then 160 character for weather forecast. So no very much room for big discussion there.
These online reports have been made possible thanks to a highly specialized and costly technology: the satellite phone. If you liked these reports or have been relieved to hear news from the expedition team, you can help the Fram! association to support these newly aquired technology by doing a gift to:
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