Greenland Adventure: Preparing for Extreme Cold

Preparations for the Greenland Expedition: a Day in the Life

Today was another particularly productive day in the run-up to our expedition to the Greenland ice sheet. I drove to Leusden, where Rab’s service center is located. Rab is the outdoor brand I use for many of my down items, such as my down jacket, down sleeping bag, and down trousers. What I love about Rab is that I can have my gear washed there and get minor repairs done. I had my down jacket and sleeping bag professionally cleaned so they’re completely clean and voluminous again for the expedition.

With Arctic Adventure, I’m also arranging the down jackets and sleeping bags for all participants. This means I dropped off not just one set, but a total of 21 sleeping bags and 21 down jackets at Rab. The car was completely full when I picked everything up and brought it to my storage in Soest. I kept one specific sleeping bag, the Rab Expedition 1000, separate as I’m taking that one myself.

The Right Equipment for Extreme Conditions

To stay warm in Greenland, a good sleeping bag is essential. In addition to the Rab Expedition 1000, I use an inner sleeping bag, which is actually a thin summer sleeping bag. I use this as a liner for extra warmth. This is especially handy when we have to walk at night due to the daytime heat from intense solar radiation on the ice sheet. In that case, we set the alarm for midnight and start moving around two o’clock in the morning. By ten o’clock in the morning, we’ve already covered about twenty kilometers and set up the tent to sleep during the day.

When we move further onto the ice sheet, around day twelve or thirteen, we enter colder areas. We reach the highest point of Greenland around day sixteen, which will also be the coldest moment of the expedition. Temperatures can drop to minus 35 degrees or even colder, so a good sleeping bag with extra insulation is crucial then.

Essential Equipment for a Good Night’s Sleep

While sleeping, I wear long underwear, long trousers with a shirt, a hat, and a neck gaiter (a buff for my neck). Earplugs are also essential to be able to sleep when it’s windy and the tent is noisy. Sleep is crucial during such an expedition. The days are divided into three eight-hour parts: eight hours of moving, eight hours of resting and doing other activities, and eight hours of sleeping.

Those eight hours of sleep are sacred; they ensure that you can keep going for a long time during expeditions that can last from ten to forty days. As long as you have enough food and fuel, you can keep going. But you shouldn’t neglect that sleep.

Good News: the Permit is almost Here

There’s good news: we’ve probably already received the permit from the Greenland government. The only thing missing is providing the satellite phone number. Once that’s arranged, they can send us our permit. I expect we’ll have it physically in our hands tomorrow or the day after, after which we can officially start our expedition to the Greenland ice sheet.

Although there’s still a lot to do before we leave, I feel well prepared. It’s now June 26th, and in about 38 days we’ll be standing on the ice sheet ready to begin this adventure.