The Team

Training in Norway

Hard conditions

Lovely conditions

Hi Everyone

last year Eric, Curtis & Sarah crossed Greenland in style…using a snowkite and had heaps of fun along the way. more and more experienced polar explorers are using kites to access and cross vast stretches of snow/ice.

Meet the latest group attempting this incredible crossing, over 2000km in distance powered only by their kites…..or legs when the wind won’t play ball! Greenland has Polar bears, vicious storms and endless snow cover to explore & cross. Its the ultimate commitment and heaven for these intrepid adverturers. Our best wishes to Michael, Corelius & Thierry.

The goal of the expedition ‘Wings over Greenland’ is to complete a south north kite ski crossing of the Greenland icecap from Narsaq to Qanaaq in full autonomy.

The frame of the expedition is the worlds largest island, reaching from south of Iceland up to the pack ice of the arctic ocean. The whole interiour is covered by the second largest icecap (after the Antarctic) featuring extreme conditions of wind and temperatures, providing an exciting playground for kite ski expeditions.

The choice of the route is the most logical one and follows our predecessors. Both the starting point in Narsaq as well as the village of Qannaq are easily reached by regular flights offering a crssing of 2300 km at a modest logistical effort. In addition there are different possible exit routes in case we run out of our time frame from 01/05/08 to 18/06/08.

The challenge is certainly technical: skiing for prolonged periods at high speeds, kiting in strong winds and withstanding the cold. But it is also a psychological one: facing the isolation, the monotony of the landscape and the unknowns of the progression.

The equipment plays a mojor role for the success of the project. Recent years have seen an explosion in speed and distances covered during kite ski expeditions. At the same time there has been a paradigm shift in the expedition world from kites as a progression aid in nordic skiing to the use as the principal means of progression. Accrdingly the choice of the skis has changed from nordic skis to radical freeride equipment. We are going to take along the Ozone Yakuza 12m, Acess II 10 m, Acess II 6 m and a Beringer skisail 8 m in order to cover winds in the range from 2 m/s to 15 m/s.
Michael Charavin (polar guide and photographer), Thierry Puyfoulhoux (graphic designer) and Cornelius Strohm (scinetist) all have a solid background to travel in remote regions. This year they have joined to realize their dream of a kite ski Greenland crossing.

Follow the progress of the expedition with Google Earth HERE

Sponsored by www.prevol.com  paragliding and kite

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