2024 East to West Expedition: Commences on 16 August 2024 and ends 14 September 2024.
Start Point: Isortoq Fjord, East Greenland.
End Point: Point 660, Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland.
Distance: 575km.
Duration: 30 skiing days in total. Full east-west crossing of the Greenland ice sheet. We allow a few extra days over the west to east crossings as conditions can be a bit tougher.
Cost: GBP 15,000 per person.
Guide: David Paabo (6 crossings).
2024 DETAILED ITINERARY:
Pre-Expedition Day 1:
Tasiilaq, East Greenland
Monday 12 August 2024
The team meets at our starting point, Tasiilaq in East Greenland on Monday 12 August, having flown from Keflavik, Iceland with Icelandair through to Kulusuk, Greenland. From Kulusuk we take a short boat road to Tasiilaq.
Pre-Expedition Days 2-4:
Tasiilaq, East Greenland
Tuesday 13 August 2024 - Wednesday 14 August 2024
These two days are spent finalising equipment sorting/sled packing and exploring picturesque Tasiilaq.
Thursday 15 August 2024
Early on the morning of Thursday 15 August 2024 we take a boat to Isortoq fjord, our start point on the ski crossing of Greenland. The boat ride is a spectacular journey past icebergs and through fjords.
Expedition Days 1-30:
Skiing for 30 days across the Greenland ice sheet from east to west
Friday 16 August 2024 - Saturday 14 September 2024
Our ski crossing of Greenland commences Friday 16 August 2024. We ski across the Greenland ice sheet to Point 660 near Kangerlussuaq on the west coast, a distance of 575km. It is possible for fast moving expeditions in favourable conditions to complete the expedition a few days quicker than the time allowed.
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 west coast of Greenland, we will enter a maze of melt water streams and frozen lakes as we approach, before reaching land at Point 660, about 30km from Kangerlussuaq. Our incredible journey will be at an end!
Post Expedition Day:
Flight from Kangerlussuaq to Copenhagen.
Monday 16 September 2024
Flight from Kangerluusaq to Copenhagen.
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 75kg), 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: Isortoq Fjord, East Greenland.
End Point: Point 660, Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland.
Distance: 575km.
Duration: 30 skiing days in total. Full east-west crossing of the Greenland ice sheet. We allow a few extra days over the west to east crossings as conditions can be a bit tougher.
Cost: GBP 15,000 per person.
Guide: David Paabo (6 crossings).
2024 DETAILED ITINERARY:
Pre-Expedition Day 1:
Tasiilaq, East Greenland
Monday 12 August 2024
The team meets at our starting point, Tasiilaq in East Greenland on Monday 12 August, having flown from Keflavik, Iceland with Icelandair through to Kulusuk, Greenland. From Kulusuk we take a short boat road to Tasiilaq.
Pre-Expedition Days 2-4:
Tasiilaq, East Greenland
Tuesday 13 August 2024 - Wednesday 14 August 2024
These two days are spent finalising equipment sorting/sled packing and exploring picturesque Tasiilaq.
Thursday 15 August 2024
Early on the morning of Thursday 15 August 2024 we take a boat to Isortoq fjord, our start point on the ski crossing of Greenland. The boat ride is a spectacular journey past icebergs and through fjords.
Expedition Days 1-30:
Skiing for 30 days across the Greenland ice sheet from east to west
Friday 16 August 2024 - Saturday 14 September 2024
Our ski crossing of Greenland commences Friday 16 August 2024. We ski across the Greenland ice sheet to Point 660 near Kangerlussuaq on the west coast, a distance of 575km. It is possible for fast moving expeditions in favourable conditions to complete the expedition a few days quicker than the time allowed.
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 west coast of Greenland, we will enter a maze of melt water streams and frozen lakes as we approach, before reaching land at Point 660, about 30km from Kangerlussuaq. Our incredible journey will be at an end!
Post Expedition Day:
Flight from Kangerlussuaq to Copenhagen.
Monday 16 September 2024
Flight from Kangerluusaq to Copenhagen.
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 75kg), 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.