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Exploring East Greenland — 1971

Date: 
Tue, 2018-10-23

Three LAM’ers (Don Liska, Larry Campbell, and Eiichi Fukushima) joined three others to attempt a possible ascent of Ejnar Mikkelsen Fjeld, the second highest summit north of the Arctic Circle as well as Gunnbjornsfeld, the highest, climbed earlier.  (Ejnar Mikkelsen was first climbed, except for the summit obelisk, in 1970, then repeated in 1998.)  We planned to go 100+ miles inland on Scoresby Sund, the world’s largest fjord that is ~30-40 miles wide, in motorized inflatable rafts followed by an overland traverse of ~100 miles.  The plans changed due to ice floes that jammed the final planned section of the fjord causing us to explore Syd Glacier, instead, which we ascended to the ice cap.  The return involved abandoning the rafts due to ice blocking our passage and resorting to a ~30 mile hike along the tundra, followed by an exciting outboard motorboat ride across an ice-clogged inlet that involved dragging the boat across ice between open water passages

Trip Location: 
United States
68° 53' 0.6648" N, 28° 35' 0.24" W
US

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