Safe and Sound
1 July 1998
Constable Point, Greenland, N 70º44.604', W 22º38.724'.
We are back in the relative civilisation of Constable Point. The expedition has been a success. We have explored a previously unvisited area of the world, skiing over 200 km, reaching the summits of 14 peaks (out of 16 attempted) and surviving 4 days of Arctic storm.
The map page has been updated to give a rough idea of where we went. We will put together a more datailed version for our full report when we return.
Simon -
Ten hours before our flight out of the wilderness and Mark and I are at the apex of our last ski tour - reviewing the last three weeks' activity from a new valley. Ten kilometres from base and we head down onto a new glacier. Roping up for the crevasse field turns out to be a good idea. A snow bridge collapses under my heels and a few minutes later another crevasse appears and swallows a ski on seemingly smooth snow. The level of intensity increases and we tentatively zig-zag out of trouble. Four hours later we were chased back to camp by threatening dark clouds.
The onset of bad weather almost provided a sting in the tail. We woke to snow, rain and cloud, and for a while it looked as if we might have an extended stay. We placed items of gear ten metres apart, down the glacier to mark the landing zone and give some shape to the featureless white. When the plane did not arrive on time we wondered if the weather was too bad for it to land, and tried not to think of another 4-day storm. Forty-five minutes later the Twin Otter appeared over a distant mountain. It would take a lot to phase these Icelandic pilots. They landed first pass and taxied between the tents.
