GreenSpeed World Record
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26 July 2005
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08:17
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Green Speed Team Breaks Speed Record for the Fastest Crossing of the Greenland Ice Cap.
Imagine… 4 people, 22 kites, half a ton of supplies and a space the size of Texas and California covered in snow. . . .
The dream came to life in Antarctica this past January. Sitting on a plane flying to Chile after 3 months in Antarctica, we started talking about what’s next. We just couldn’t get enough. Paul and David had just completed a crossing of the continent - skiing to the South Pole and harnessing the katabatic winds to kite back to the coast. Eric and Sarah skied to the pole and kited back, breaking the world record for the fastest return journey - 17 days. Before touching down in Chile, we set our aim on Greenland and formed the Green Speed team. The challenge: a double crossing of the Ice Cap, a distance of more than 1,200 kilometers as well as an attempt to break the speed record for the fastest crossing (previously 8 days).
After a well deserved rest from Antarctica, we started planning. Our most important decision: *What kites to use?* We listed the best four snow kite manufacturers in the world and decided that each team member should fly kites from one manufacturer: David chose Ozone, Paul flew Flexifoil, Eric flew Concept Air and Sarah used Flysurfer kites.
On May 17, we landed on the eastern edge of the Ice Cap. After a three day wait, the winds blew from the right direction so we quickly packed up and started. We had decent winds during our first two days and shot across the Ice Cap covering 101 kilometers on the first day and 162 on the second. However our luck ran out, leaving us windless for two days. Bored, we skied to move camp, but we knew we would never make it without winds.
With 275 kilometers to go and only 48 hours left to break the record, the wind finally picked up. We kited for 13 hours before the wind disappeared. With no wind, we stopped for dinner and to refill our water bottles. Three hours later, the wind was back up so we managed to squeeze in another six hours of kiting before losing the wind again. Exhausted, we crawled into the tent for three hours of sleep. The trip was an emotional roller coaster, never knowing if we were going to make it in time. We were at the mercy of Mother Nature and the wind Goddess. When the winds blew, our hopes were up but died when the wind disappeared. With not enough sleep and 75 kilometers to go, we departed on skis. Four hours later the wind registered 14 kilometers, so up went the kites. Fours hours later, we packed them away for the last time. We were 23 kilometers from land; eight hours left.
The final push! With absolutely zero visibility, we started skiing towards the edge of the Ice Cap, knowing we would soon enter a crevasse area. But first we bumped into an unforeseen obstacle: melt ponds and running rivers of glacial melt. David went down to his knees in water and Paul fell in up to his neck! Cold and shivering but determined, we pushed on.
We stumbled across the abandon VW ice road 16 kilometers from land - our guiding path through the crevasse fields, rubble ice, rivers and melt ponds. Smooth sailing from here on. . . well that’s what we thought! Visibility was so bad that we lost the road 9 kilometers from the end. Eric managed to find it again using his ski poles as guides, taping the surface – the road had a harder ice surface and therefore a different sound.
At 12h40 on Friday May 27, we touched land, completing the traverse in 6 days and 23 hours, setting a new world record for the fastest crossing of the Greenland Ice Cap (previous record was just over 8 days).
Exhausted from the 48 hour push, we set up the tent to sleep for many, many hours. After a good sleep, we headed down to Kangerlussuaq (a small Greenlandic community) to shower, eat and drink lots of Danish beer. But the journey was not over yet…
We returned onto the ice for a second crossing – but this time for fun. We managed to set up camp early to spend several afternoons playing with our kites, going for speed and air. Fourteen days later, we descended off the Ice Cap to our original start point on the east coast and waited for the helicopter to shuttle us to Tassilak.
For more information please check our web site and for articles, contact Sarah or Paul.
Green Speed website: http://www.greenspeed.tv
Imagine… 4 people, 22 kites, half a ton of supplies and a space the size of Texas and California covered in snow. . . .
The dream came to life in Antarctica this past January. Sitting on a plane flying to Chile after 3 months in Antarctica, we started talking about what’s next. We just couldn’t get enough. Paul and David had just completed a crossing of the continent - skiing to the South Pole and harnessing the katabatic winds to kite back to the coast. Eric and Sarah skied to the pole and kited back, breaking the world record for the fastest return journey - 17 days. Before touching down in Chile, we set our aim on Greenland and formed the Green Speed team. The challenge: a double crossing of the Ice Cap, a distance of more than 1,200 kilometers as well as an attempt to break the speed record for the fastest crossing (previously 8 days).
After a well deserved rest from Antarctica, we started planning. Our most important decision: *What kites to use?* We listed the best four snow kite manufacturers in the world and decided that each team member should fly kites from one manufacturer: David chose Ozone, Paul flew Flexifoil, Eric flew Concept Air and Sarah used Flysurfer kites.
On May 17, we landed on the eastern edge of the Ice Cap. After a three day wait, the winds blew from the right direction so we quickly packed up and started. We had decent winds during our first two days and shot across the Ice Cap covering 101 kilometers on the first day and 162 on the second. However our luck ran out, leaving us windless for two days. Bored, we skied to move camp, but we knew we would never make it without winds.
With 275 kilometers to go and only 48 hours left to break the record, the wind finally picked up. We kited for 13 hours before the wind disappeared. With no wind, we stopped for dinner and to refill our water bottles. Three hours later, the wind was back up so we managed to squeeze in another six hours of kiting before losing the wind again. Exhausted, we crawled into the tent for three hours of sleep. The trip was an emotional roller coaster, never knowing if we were going to make it in time. We were at the mercy of Mother Nature and the wind Goddess. When the winds blew, our hopes were up but died when the wind disappeared. With not enough sleep and 75 kilometers to go, we departed on skis. Four hours later the wind registered 14 kilometers, so up went the kites. Fours hours later, we packed them away for the last time. We were 23 kilometers from land; eight hours left.
The final push! With absolutely zero visibility, we started skiing towards the edge of the Ice Cap, knowing we would soon enter a crevasse area. But first we bumped into an unforeseen obstacle: melt ponds and running rivers of glacial melt. David went down to his knees in water and Paul fell in up to his neck! Cold and shivering but determined, we pushed on.
We stumbled across the abandon VW ice road 16 kilometers from land - our guiding path through the crevasse fields, rubble ice, rivers and melt ponds. Smooth sailing from here on. . . well that’s what we thought! Visibility was so bad that we lost the road 9 kilometers from the end. Eric managed to find it again using his ski poles as guides, taping the surface – the road had a harder ice surface and therefore a different sound.
At 12h40 on Friday May 27, we touched land, completing the traverse in 6 days and 23 hours, setting a new world record for the fastest crossing of the Greenland Ice Cap (previous record was just over 8 days).
Exhausted from the 48 hour push, we set up the tent to sleep for many, many hours. After a good sleep, we headed down to Kangerlussuaq (a small Greenlandic community) to shower, eat and drink lots of Danish beer. But the journey was not over yet…
We returned onto the ice for a second crossing – but this time for fun. We managed to set up camp early to spend several afternoons playing with our kites, going for speed and air. Fourteen days later, we descended off the Ice Cap to our original start point on the east coast and waited for the helicopter to shuttle us to Tassilak.
For more information please check our web site and for articles, contact Sarah or Paul.
Green Speed website: http://www.greenspeed.tv
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