2024 Expedition: Commences on 23 April 2024 and ends 20 May 2024.
Start Point: Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland.
End Point: Isortoq, East Greenland.
Distance: 575km.
Duration: 28 skiing days in total. It is also possible for a fast moving expedition in favourable conditions to finish the expedition in 24-27 days. Our most recent 4 crossings have been completed between 24 and 25 days. These fast crossings are illustrative of our skill, experience and expertise.
Team Size: Minimum team size is one person plus guide. Maximum team size is eight people plus guide.
Cost: Please contact us for pricing.
Guide: David Paabo (6 crossings).
2024 DETAILED ITINERARY:
Pre-Expedition Day 1:
Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland
Saturday 20 April 2024
The team meets at our starting point, Kangerlussuaq in Greenland at 9.40am on Saturday 20 April 2024 following the arrival of the Air Greenland flight GL779 from Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen is the gateway to the west coast of Greenland. After lunch and meeting our fellow team members, we sort our equipment and prepare our sleds for the rest of the day. There is the possibility of seeing the northern lights at this time of year.
Pre-Expedition Days 2-3:
Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland
Sunday 21 April 2024 - Monday 22 April 2024
Finalise equipment sorting/sled packing.
Explore Kangerlussuaq, which is scenically located by a large fjord, with snow-capped hills and mountains all around.
Enjoy a scenic Greenlandic buffet at a lakeside buffet on Sunday evening.
Expedition Days 1-28:
Skiing for 28 days across the Greenland ice sheet from west to east
Tuesday 23 April 2024 - Monday 20 May 2024
Early on the morning of Tuesday 23 April 2024 we ski from Point 660 for 28 days completely across the Greenland ice sheet, from Point 660 to the small village of Isortoq, a distance of 575km. It is possible for fast moving expeditions in favourable conditions to complete the expedition in 24-27 days.
Midway through our journey, the only structure we will encounter is the eerie and abandoned US radar station known as DYE 2. We will spend time exploring this odd and mysterious relic of the cold war, the perfect setting for a science-fiction movie.
On reaching the east coast of Greenland, we will see the remarkable site of civilisation in the distance, being the tiny village of Isortoq, spectacularly situated on an island just off the edge of the ice sheet. If the sea ice conditions are favourable, we will ski into this quaint village, and be greeted by its population of around 40 people and several hundred husky dogs. If the sea ice is unfavourable, we will complete this short last section by boat. Our incredible journey will be at an end!
Post Expedition Days 1-2:
Inuit villages of Isortoq, Tasiilaq and Kulusuk (East Greenland), flight to Reykjavik (Iceland)
Tuesday 21 May 2024 - Wednesday 22 May 2024
These 2 days provide time for travel out of Greenland to Iceland.
From Isortoq, on the afternoon of Tuesday 21 May 2024 we take a 30 minute helicopter from Isortoq to Tasiilaq, the largest village in East Greenland. We stay a night in this interesting Greenland village, the largest in East Greenland. On Wednesday 22 May 2024, we take a morning 10 minute helicopter from Tasiilaq to Kulusuk, where there is a runway for international flights. From Kulusuk, we fly at 1.20pm with Icelandair to Reykjavik's Keflavik Airport, Iceland (the gateway to East Greenland), arriving Keflavik at 5.10pm.
Detailed flight information is contained in the Flight Logistics section of this website.
What to expect on the ice?
One of the beautiful things about skiing across the Greenland ice sheet is that a simple, effective and enjoyable daily routine develops as we move across the ice.
A typical day on the ice sheet will involve waking up at 6.00am, having breakfast, packing up our equipment, and setting off skiing at 8.00am. Usually we have 5-10 minute breaks each hour, with a longer break of 20-25 minutes at lunch. At 6.00pm we typically end skiing, then quickly set up camp, and relax as we prepare a hearty and much deserved dinner, melt snow for the following day's water, and enjoy a rest before falling asleep around 8.30pm in a very comfortable tent and warm sleeping bag.
The distances we will cover each day will vary due to the conditions. In the initial section of the crossing, being the first 25km through a section with glacial terrain, your pulk/sled will be at its heaviest (approximately 66kg), therefore the distances we cover each day will be the shortest in the first few days. After a few days, we get beyond the glacial section to reach the flat expanse of the ice sheet, and our distances will quickly increase to around 25km a day, and will then steadily improve towards a comfortable 30km a day by the end of the expedition, particularly after we reach the summit of the ice sheet, at a height of around 2600 metres and situated in the centre of the ice sheet.
Who will lead the expedition?
Ice Horizons founder and senior guide David Paabo will lead the 2024 expedition. Originally from Australia, David has over 25 years of expedition experience around the world, in all types of wilderness environments, and has made extensive expeditions in Greenland including six ice sheet crossing expeditions and is a highly skilled expert in polar ice sheet travel.
David was born in Sydney, Australia. His early childhood adventures in the Blue Mountains and Tasmania cultivated a passion for the outdoors that has stayed with him. Having completed a Law and Economics Degree at the Australian National University, he worked in Sydney and London, and presently works as a lawyer in Karratha, which he manages to balance with his outdoor passions. He maintains an operations base in the UK for expedition logistics purposes.
David has travelled widely and to many far flung locations where he has cultivated his ambition as an explorer, largely achieving his goals as a solo adventurer or in small groups. In addition to having conducted numerous hiking and canyoning trips in his home country, David has also been involved in many mountaineering and hiking expeditions, most notably in South America where he travelled for several years and developed a love for the Andes mountain range, particularly the Cordillera Real in Bolivia, the Colombian National Parks of Cocuy and Los Nevados, and extensive parts of Patagonian Argentina and Chile.
David has a particular love for the wilderness of Greenland and its people, and has explored numerous remote locations on trekking and skiing journeys there, as well as through lengthy kayaking trips.
David’s most enjoyed activity is playing with his three young children.
Start Point: Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland.
End Point: Isortoq, East Greenland.
Distance: 575km.
Duration: 28 skiing days in total. It is also possible for a fast moving expedition in favourable conditions to finish the expedition in 24-27 days. Our most recent 4 crossings have been completed between 24 and 25 days. These fast crossings are illustrative of our skill, experience and expertise.
Team Size: Minimum team size is one person plus guide. Maximum team size is eight people plus guide.
Cost: Please contact us for pricing.
Guide: David Paabo (6 crossings).
2024 DETAILED ITINERARY:
Pre-Expedition Day 1:
Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland
Saturday 20 April 2024
The team meets at our starting point, Kangerlussuaq in Greenland at 9.40am on Saturday 20 April 2024 following the arrival of the Air Greenland flight GL779 from Copenhagen, Denmark. Copenhagen is the gateway to the west coast of Greenland. After lunch and meeting our fellow team members, we sort our equipment and prepare our sleds for the rest of the day. There is the possibility of seeing the northern lights at this time of year.
Pre-Expedition Days 2-3:
Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland
Sunday 21 April 2024 - Monday 22 April 2024
Finalise equipment sorting/sled packing.
Explore Kangerlussuaq, which is scenically located by a large fjord, with snow-capped hills and mountains all around.
Enjoy a scenic Greenlandic buffet at a lakeside buffet on Sunday evening.
Expedition Days 1-28:
Skiing for 28 days across the Greenland ice sheet from west to east
Tuesday 23 April 2024 - Monday 20 May 2024
Early on the morning of Tuesday 23 April 2024 we ski from Point 660 for 28 days completely across the Greenland ice sheet, from Point 660 to the small village of Isortoq, a distance of 575km. It is possible for fast moving expeditions in favourable conditions to complete the expedition in 24-27 days.
Midway through our journey, the only structure we will encounter is the eerie and abandoned US radar station known as DYE 2. We will spend time exploring this odd and mysterious relic of the cold war, the perfect setting for a science-fiction movie.
On reaching the east coast of Greenland, we will see the remarkable site of civilisation in the distance, being the tiny village of Isortoq, spectacularly situated on an island just off the edge of the ice sheet. If the sea ice conditions are favourable, we will ski into this quaint village, and be greeted by its population of around 40 people and several hundred husky dogs. If the sea ice is unfavourable, we will complete this short last section by boat. Our incredible journey will be at an end!
Post Expedition Days 1-2:
Inuit villages of Isortoq, Tasiilaq and Kulusuk (East Greenland), flight to Reykjavik (Iceland)
Tuesday 21 May 2024 - Wednesday 22 May 2024
These 2 days provide time for travel out of Greenland to Iceland.
From Isortoq, on the afternoon of Tuesday 21 May 2024 we take a 30 minute helicopter from Isortoq to Tasiilaq, the largest village in East Greenland. We stay a night in this interesting Greenland village, the largest in East Greenland. On Wednesday 22 May 2024, we take a morning 10 minute helicopter from Tasiilaq to Kulusuk, where there is a runway for international flights. From Kulusuk, we fly at 1.20pm with Icelandair to Reykjavik's Keflavik Airport, Iceland (the gateway to East Greenland), arriving Keflavik at 5.10pm.
Detailed flight information is contained in the Flight Logistics section of this website.
What to expect on the ice?
One of the beautiful things about skiing across the Greenland ice sheet is that a simple, effective and enjoyable daily routine develops as we move across the ice.
A typical day on the ice sheet will involve waking up at 6.00am, having breakfast, packing up our equipment, and setting off skiing at 8.00am. Usually we have 5-10 minute breaks each hour, with a longer break of 20-25 minutes at lunch. At 6.00pm we typically end skiing, then quickly set up camp, and relax as we prepare a hearty and much deserved dinner, melt snow for the following day's water, and enjoy a rest before falling asleep around 8.30pm in a very comfortable tent and warm sleeping bag.
The distances we will cover each day will vary due to the conditions. In the initial section of the crossing, being the first 25km through a section with glacial terrain, your pulk/sled will be at its heaviest (approximately 66kg), therefore the distances we cover each day will be the shortest in the first few days. After a few days, we get beyond the glacial section to reach the flat expanse of the ice sheet, and our distances will quickly increase to around 25km a day, and will then steadily improve towards a comfortable 30km a day by the end of the expedition, particularly after we reach the summit of the ice sheet, at a height of around 2600 metres and situated in the centre of the ice sheet.
Who will lead the expedition?
Ice Horizons founder and senior guide David Paabo will lead the 2024 expedition. Originally from Australia, David has over 25 years of expedition experience around the world, in all types of wilderness environments, and has made extensive expeditions in Greenland including six ice sheet crossing expeditions and is a highly skilled expert in polar ice sheet travel.
David was born in Sydney, Australia. His early childhood adventures in the Blue Mountains and Tasmania cultivated a passion for the outdoors that has stayed with him. Having completed a Law and Economics Degree at the Australian National University, he worked in Sydney and London, and presently works as a lawyer in Karratha, which he manages to balance with his outdoor passions. He maintains an operations base in the UK for expedition logistics purposes.
David has travelled widely and to many far flung locations where he has cultivated his ambition as an explorer, largely achieving his goals as a solo adventurer or in small groups. In addition to having conducted numerous hiking and canyoning trips in his home country, David has also been involved in many mountaineering and hiking expeditions, most notably in South America where he travelled for several years and developed a love for the Andes mountain range, particularly the Cordillera Real in Bolivia, the Colombian National Parks of Cocuy and Los Nevados, and extensive parts of Patagonian Argentina and Chile.
David has a particular love for the wilderness of Greenland and its people, and has explored numerous remote locations on trekking and skiing journeys there, as well as through lengthy kayaking trips.
David’s most enjoyed activity is playing with his three young children.