Greenland - 7 - Glacier Walk

15-22 August 2025

In the morning of our last day in Greenland we had the opportunity to take a glacier walk near Kulusuk. For most of us, this was our first experience with crampons. (Crampons are strapped to your hiking boots and provide metal spikes to help with footing on ice.)

22 August

The glacier was a short (20 minute) boat ride from Kulusuk. Our first challenge was to climb a short, but steep slope up to a landing where we could put on our gear. We had a rope to assist us on the climb.

The glacier was shrouded in fog.

For me, the highlight of the trip was a visit to an ice cave at the edge of the glacier.

Inside the ice cave.

Ice cave.

Looking back at the entrance.

The entrance to the ice cave is very unassuming.

The fog was beginning to lift as we started our return to the boat meeting point.

The edge of the glacier that we walked up - it's not very white! And a background mountain appeared as the fog lifted.

One of our boats coming to pick us up - and a moored sailboat.

And, of course, we had to descend the steep slope again - the rope was far more useful going down than climbing up. Even with the help of the rope, I slipped and fell twice.

Greenland - 6 - Wildlife

15-22 August 2025

Wildlife was surprisingly sparse - for two reasons. First, Greenland is a harsh environment and does not support a lot of animals. Second, it was near the end of summer and most birds were starting to migrate to their winter home.

16 August

Raven in the cemetery in Tasiilaq.

21 August

Raven and fish(?) on the beach.

18 August

We saw three ptarmigans on a walk.

The three ptarmigans above can be found in this photo. They are well-camouflaged. Can you find them?

Answer key for the previous photo. It's amazing that a relatively large bird can be so hidden in plain sight.

20 August

We saw an arctic fox at least twice on the trip, but I never managed to get a good photo. This one is courtesy of our guide, Alex. There was also a fox at Base Camp that was sometimes seen in the early morning.

19 August

Seagull and minke whale in Sermilik Fjord. We saw a minke on two different days. On this day we watched for nearly an hour as the whale feasted on fish in the fjord.

Greenland - 5 - On Land

15-22 August 2025

Everyday at Base Camp we had at least one hike. The most annoying part of a walk/hike, was having to change out of Mustang suits at the beginning (mostly easy), then put them on again before we got back into the Zodiacs (difficult - especially getting boots on when you can barely bend in the suit.

18 August

When we went on land from the Zodaiacs, Alex and Anthony had to go on shore first and make sure there weren't any polar bears around. They've never encountered a polar bear, but there's always a first time.

Rock, water, ice, and a little bit of moss - that's the Greenlandic landscape.

A glimpse of the Greenland ice cap in the distance.

20 August

At the end of "Long Thin Fjord" was the remains of a Viking camp.

Looking down Long Thin Fjord to Sermilik Fjord.

21 August

On our last day at Base Camp we hiked the valley behind camp. This was also the valley we flew down on our helicopter ride to Kulusuk.

18 August

Most of the time the water near shore was very clear.

There were always icebergs in Sermilik Fjord.

20 August

Icebergs in Sermilik Fjord near the abandoned sod hut. The hut had been occupied until about 1970. We had a long conversation with Anna who had lived in a sod hut when she was young, and eventually went to university in Denmark, then returned to Tasiilaq as a teacher. What a journey!

Cottongrass was everywhere. It was particularly useful for making wicks for oil lamps.

21 August

Glacier in the distance as seen from the Kulusuk airport.

16 August

Moon over Tasiilaq

Sunset clouds over Tasiilaq.

Greenland - 4 - Icebergs

15-22 August 2025

Nothing spoke Greenland to us like icebergs. In Sermilik Fjord most of the giant icebergs calved off the Helheim Glacier, in Helheim Fjord at the north end of Sermilik Fjord.

Only 1/10 of the mass of the iceberg is above water, so there's an immense below-water part that is pretty much invisible. With large icebergs, smaller pieces falling off can be a hazard. With smaller icebergs there is the danger of the whole iceberg rotating vertically in the water as melting changed the center of gravity. I saw one iceberg turn over on our walk to Kulusuk town.

It is a challenge to choose which icebergs to feature - I have a couple of hundred iceberg pix!

18 August

20 August

It was amazing to see how an iceberg could seem totally different on each side. This is the same iceberg as in the previous photo.

21 August

The view from Base Camp to Sermilik Fjord. The large iceberg in the middle of the photo is the same one that appeared to block our way up the fjord the day before.

22 August

This iceberg at Kulusuk looked like a Viking ship.

15 August

An iceberg in the bay at Tasiilaq.

Sometimes a wrong command in Photoshop can give an unexpected persepective. This is the same  photo as above, but given the "Inverse" command, it now looks like a floating piece of rock with a red glow of lava below. More appropriate for Iceland, I suppose.

Greenland - 3 - Base Camp

15-22 August 2025

Nat Hab's Greenland Base Camp is in a protected bay just off Sermilik Fjord. It is a collection of a dozen-or-so platform tents, one yurt, and two storage sheds. During the day electricity is provided by a diesel generator. We had four nights at Base Camp.

17 August

Base Camp. The yurt (left-most structure) is the lounge and the only place to charge devices. The next two tents are staff sleeping quarters. The large tent is the dining tent and kitchen. Behind that is the shower house - both the tent and the showers are heated. Half of a guest tent is seen in the foreground at the right.

Guest sleeping quarters.

Inside the tent: two beds, storage shelves and hooks. The door at the back opens to a bathroom with a toilet and washstand. There's a heater on the floor near the mirror which keeps the tent at a comfortable temperature (about 60°F) through the night. We also got a hot water bottle every evening to help keep our feet warm.

We were issued Mustang suits (survival suits, shown above) for traveling in the Zodiacs and dry suits for kayaking. They are not made for small people and were difficult to walk in. Hardest of all was getting boots on after donning the suits.

Base Camp also has a helipad.

Base Camp sunset.

19 August

Lon takes the "polar plunge". (I declined the opportunity.)

Yes, it's as cold as it looks!