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DIARY GUNNBJORNS FJELD 2010SUNDAY 6. JUNE - FLIGHT HOME We slept long, dried clothes and equipment, packed for the trip home and had a pleasant day in Reykjavik. At night we had another nice meal. We went to sleep early in the morning. FRIDAY 4 JUNE - WE ARE HEADING FOR HOMEAnother fantastic day. The ladies enjoyed life in the camp. Trond went skiing alone and climbed a nameless peak close to Gunnbjørns Fjeld. He has not told us if he will try to get the top named after him. Jan and Christian went skiing on the glacier to a viewpoint. We have been informed that the weather will probably not change to worse. Nevertheless we have decided to end the tour now. We were picked up by a Twin Otter at 9 p.m. It was a special experience. With some extra weight from another group the aircraft struggled for approximately one km on the glacier before it barely took off from the snow. We had another great flight. And then the memory cards of the cameras were full. We are now in Isafjordur in Iceland. We have had a light dinner at "7-11". Flight tickets for Reykjavik tomorrow are booked. In Reykjavik we will have a nice dinner and dry our clothes and equipment. Some of Christian's equipment will be returned to Norway and some to Greenland to Hans Christian Florian to be stored until the next Greenland crossing. You will find photos from the tour today will be inserted (here) in the diary tomorrow. THUESDAY 3 JUNE - RELAXED BREAKFAST OUTSIDE THE TENTS IN SUN Our camp has been very nice and convenient. We have a toilet area, underground food storage, dining area with furniture made of snow, wind screen and three tents. The heat destroys the camp. The tents sink deeper into the snow, the wind screen Today's trip was an exciting climb on glaciers and a peak of 3266 meters. On the way back we enjoyed a fantastic descent in 10 cm powdersnow. Jan finished the last 4 km of the trip wearing shorts - a very unusual outfit in these surroundings. How long will it last? The camera batteries are almost empty and the memory cards almost full. We also wonder how long the good weather will last. We have heard that the weather probably will change Saturday afternoon. We have therefore asked the airline company to pick us up Saturday morning. None of us appreciate the idea of being stuck here next week. WEDNESDAY 2 JUNE - WE'VE BEEN ON GUNNBJØRNS FJELD We walked and smiled all through the day in fine weather. The 360 degree view from the top was fantastic. Below us lay razor sharp edges all around the horizon. Gunnbjørns Fjeld is frequently called the Eighth Summit. The view is extraordinary compared with the view from Dome and Cone. Waiting to climb Gunnbjørns Fjeld as the last was teh righet chilce. The descent was challenging for some of us. Again the day ended with a delicious meal in the sun at 9 pm. Diana and Silje are very impressed with the culinary skills of the guys. We send our greetings to all at home. We enjoy life with intence experiences in wonderful weather and pleasant environment. The image is borrowed from Paul Walker. TUESDAY 1 JUNE - PANCAKES IN BASE CAMP We had a quiet day in BC. We slept long, ate a lots good food, enjoyed the nice weather and the sun, considering our next days destinations.
Trond's pancakes really made the day. Tomorrow, Greenland's highest peak, Gunnbjørns Fjeld - 3693 m, is the target. We shall enjoy the tour ! The weather forecast is good. MONDAY 31 MAY - CLIMBED THE 3RD HIGHEST ON GREENLAND
Cold weather and some wind from start turned into clouds. The last metres to the top the sun changed with snow all the time. We were walking in the upper part of the clouds. It was a very special atmosphere. Downhill from the top through the clouds, some tunbled and fell. Alltogether today's trip was 10,5 hours (just like the day before). A gourmet dinner followed in the camp - fish, wine - and very social. It was close to midnight before we hit the sacs. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we plan to rest, upgrade the camp with a sun shield and eat pancakes. We all send greetings to you at home - "this exceeds all our expectations!" SUNDAY 30 MAY - CLIMBED THE 2ND HIGHEST ON GREENLAND It has also been a long day. We returned late to BC, rather worn out. We had a delicious meal; lamb chops, red-wine sauce and mashed potatoes. The washing-up was large. Tomorrow we plan to climb Cone, the 3rd highest - the mid-peak on the left picture. If the conditions are like today it will be within reach. To us if seems strange that this territory of Greenland, with all its glaciers and peaks, is so seldomly visited.
SATURDAY 29 MAY - ON OUR WAY TO GREENLAND Silje, Diana and Jan arrived on the first flight from Reykjavik. At last we are all together. After a final check of the equipment, purchase of frozen food and fresh bakery, we were ready for take-off. Gunnbjørns Fjeld is about 600 km from Akureyri. 4 a.m. (Norw. time) we are under way to Greenland. We had a short stop at Isafjordur for refuelling. The flight to BC was fantastic. I have never taken so many pictures on such a short time. The approach to BC was overwhelming. We felt that the Twin Otter was a bit unstable as we moved from side to side in the plane taking pictures. The landing on the glacier was perfectly soft.
The BC was established in a perfect weather and the dinner, fish casserole, was eaten outside the tents. Numerous magnificent peaks surround us and it is hard to describe the scenery in words. We really enjoy life. More people should have the opportunity to see this. Tomorrow we plan to climb Cone (3669 m) and Dome (3683 m), the nos. 3 and 2 of the highest peaks on Greenland. Position base camp: N 68.89075 - W 29.71057 - 2280 meters above sea level (mas). FRIDAY 28 MAY - WE ARE IN ICELAND Lots of food were purchased. We will bring food for 12 days although we plan to be away for only 7 days. The reason for bringing extra food is that we may expect bad weather for flying. The plane may also be delayed several days due to difficult landing conditions at BC. Akureyri is the second largest town in Iceland situated in Northern Iceland with a population of approximately 17.500 people. We have not yet got to know people, but it seems that there are still many who are pretty well off. We observe many expensive cars with four-wheel drive. We made a short trip to the mountain outside the town a very welcome break in the food packing. There we met cross-country skiers and even more noisy snow scooters. Snow scooter driving is obviously very popular around here. What is most striking about the mountains here is that they look a lot like the mountains at Svalbard. They are flat on top and one can clearly see the marks from a high water line from several thousand years back. We plan to fly to Gunnbjorns Fjeld BC in a Town Otter Saturday morning. If we can do that we will be one day ahead of schedule. However, as mentioned above, the weather conditions are unpredictable. At this moment the weather is super - approx. 600 km from the Gunnbjørns Fjeld BC. The picture below shows some of the view from the mountain outside Akureyri.
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made of snow gets thinner and the furniture melts. Yes, we have problems !
Jan's sun shield, made at breakfast, was popular. Except from the stunning scenery, it was little that reminded us of being at Greenland, sitting sunbathing in T-shirts.
