The target area of our 41-day expedition is the remote ice covered mountain ranges of East-Greenland. With skis and pulks (self-pulled sleds) we will advance across the outskirts of the Inland Ice to mountains, only a few people have ever seen. In order to cover the enormous distances on the ice we plan to also use snowkites.
Our first mountaineering goal is to climb Gunnbjørn Fjeld. With 3693m in altitude this is the highest mountain of the Arctic. Subsequently we want to climb the 3 next highest peaks of Greenland. Our objective is to be the first German expedition to reach the four highest summits north of the Arctic Circle and to be the first expedition ever to ski down from all four of those.
To get to those mountains we have to march 140 km, and cross a remote mountain range that is completely unclimbed yet. There we plan on doing several first ascents around 3000m. Our way back will lead us across the Gronau Nunatakker ranges to Paul Stern Land, another unexplored area with peaks nobody has ever set foot on. There as well we will aim for first ascents.
Illustration of our mountaineering goals (.pdf 353kB)
Greenland is among those regions where the climatic changes of our earth have it's most visible effects. During the International Polar Year 2007/2008, we would like to increase public awareness for the global warming and it's dramatic effects. In this context we want to use our expedition to promote the use of renewable energy resources.
During the course of the expedition we will gather geographical data of this largely unexplored area, wich will certainly be of great use for future expeditions.
