Our trips | Ski touring |

GREENLAND SKI TOURING WEEK

The finest summit – sea ski touring from our lodge in arctic East Greenland.
Trip length // 8 days

Wilderness ski touring and exploration in arctic East Greenland

Vast backcountry ski terrain: alpine summits to the icebergs of the frozen fjords

Comfortable ski lodge: experience life in a remote Inuit community

A partnership of the most experienced IFMGA mountain guides and Inuit elders

 

In East Greenland, one of the wildest coastlines on earth, in vast alpine ranges that extend thousands of kilometres, we have found a paradise for ski touring. Heavily glaciated mountains, offering many lifetimes of stunning ski lines and exploration, rise from the icebergs of the frozen fjords. In the small Inuit village of Kulusuk, we have built our ski lodge and home. Exploring these mountains on skis and experiencing life here is our passion.

 

A partnership of local IFMGA mountain guides, Inuit ice pilots and dog sledders, our aim is that these trips pay respect to this place – an immersive experience of life in this wild arctic environment and subsistence-hunting community. Each week is unique; we closely follow the conditions to find the best skiing, using our snowmobiles, boats and dog sleds to access the mountains. For much of the week, we will be based from our comfortable lodge in Kulusuk. For several nights, we plan to visit our remote mountain hut on the north shores of Apusiaajik, opening access to many northern aspects. For over 20 years now, we've been captivated by this region and enjoy sharing what we've found here with folk who come to ski with us each season.

East Greenland Ski Touring, Mountaineering & Trekking Specialists

TERRAIN AND SKI OBJECTIVES

From the lodge, we have access to a huge area of alpine peaks that rise directly out of the frozen ocean, bounded to the west by an icecap second in size only to Antarctica. This is one of the richest areas for exploratory backcountry skiing on earth.

The mountains of East Greenland are heavily glaciated and surrounded by a complex of fjords. They offer a myriad of great touring and descents, fall-line skiing directly from the summit to the shore. The terrain is classically alpine, lines linking peaks and cols with mellow glacier runs right up to couloirs and faces. We look to find suitable objectives for each group and will discuss with you the type of skiing you like best. There are countless classic lines to be skied and we are always on the look-out for first descents. Many of the region’s fjords are frozen, allowing us to tow in by snowmobile or ride dog sleds to the base of our tour. Other waterways remain open throughout spring. Conditions allowing, we will utilise our powerful motorboats to access some of the many stunning objectives that start and end by the saltwater of the fjords.

 

Vertical height gain from sea to summit starts at around 700m and rises to over 2000m further inland. Ascents/descents closest to the lodge average between 800m and 1000m of vertical, allowing us to link multiple descents.

East Greenland Ski Touring, Mountaineering & Trekking Specialists
East Greenland Ski Touring, Mountaineering & Trekking Specialists

THE PLAN

In this wild and remote region, the state of the sea ice, snowpack and prevailing weather dictates everything that we do. All plans work from there and no two weeks are the same.

 

Flying into Kulusuk, East Greenland on Saturday, we'll meet you at the snow strip and skin around 30 minutes to the lodge whilst all kit is taken by snowmobile. After lunch and an update on conditions, we cover a detailed avalanche exercise, if time allows as part of a short ski tour. Sunday is our first full ski day. Early each morning, we will check the state of the sea ice, snowpack and weather before confirming our objective, sometimes skiing classic lines, others exploring new ground. We ski each day, either from the door or more normally using snowmobiles to tow in over the sea ice; other days we may travel by dog sled or boat to reach our mountain. Of the six full days of skiing, we plan to spend two nights at our mountain hut before returning to the lodge again. After a full week, we skin back to the snow strip on Saturday in time for your prop-plane flight to Reykjavik, Iceland. 

OUR LODGE

A traditional wooden cabin we have built ourselves over the years, our lodge is nestled in the tiny Inuit village of Kulusuk, home to 200 people.  

 

A comfortable and practical base to explore East Greenland, our lodge provides cabin bedrooms, running water, hot showers, and flushing toilets, a rare thing in this cold climate.  There’s a drying area for kit, a sitting room heated by a stove and a big table we all gather around each evening.  Cut off by sea ice 6 months of the year, our stores and freezers are well supplied to provide a plentiful and varied menu. Whenever possible, we eat locally caught fish, from salmon to arctic char, cod and halibut. 

East Greenland Ski Touring, Mountaineering & Trekking Specialists
East Greenland Ski Touring, Mountaineering & Trekking Specialists

ABILITY

We work hard to build compatible teams who will have a great week together. Whilst many folk have skied with us before, for first-timers, we ask that you are a competent backcountry skier comfortable making ascents of 1000 – 1400m (at up to 400m/h). Whilst we will be looking for soft snow, you should be comfortable skinning and kick-turning on hard surfaces. On the descent, you should be able to safely ski variable snow on classic touring terrain. Basic use of a mountaineering axe and boot crampons is necessary on short sections of steeper ground (eg. cols and summit slopes). We will lead a detailed avalanche training exercise and cover any rope work required whilst on glaciated terrain. Please contact us if you have any questions about your suitability for this trip.

GUIDING

We are a small and dedicated team of internationally qualified IFMGA/UIAGM mountain guides who are also passionate skiers. As East Greenland specialists, we encompass over 20 years' experience in this region. We have great respect for these remote mountains, carefully managing the unique risks this arctic environment presents. Our safety record is a result of this focus. 

 

We are happy to help folk keen to refine ski touring technique, from glacier travel and avalanche safety to technical ski and mountaineering skills.

East Greenland Ski Touring, Mountaineering & Trekking Specialists

SNOWPACK AND CONDITIONS

Sandwiched between the world's second-largest icecap and an icebound current flowing from the Arctic Ocean, our mountain weather and snowpack comes from the complex interplay between inland high pressure and maritime influence. Most snow arrives on storm fronts arriving from the sea, avalanche risk typically high during the event, but afterwards settling quickly. Persistent weak layers are uncommon.

 

SNOW

March normally arrives with the highest snowfall, storm fronts pushing in from the sea; we search out powder on sheltered aspects. By April, high pressure tends to dominate, a stable, cold snowpack allowing access to more aspects. Spring snow cycle begins towards the end of the month, gaining in strength into May, corn conditions opening up many lines. Long hours of light and our high latitude mean that optimum conditions can last for many hours.  For all our trips, we recommend a versatile touring set-up suitable for European alpine winter conditions, with the addition of some warm- and storm- layers.

 

TEMPERATURES AND LIGHT

In the first half of our season, daytime temperatures of around - 7 to -15 degrees Celsius are common - but can drop as low as -20 degrees. By late April/early May, the warmest part of the day is often a little under freezing. There are 10 hours of daylight in early March whilst by late April, it never gets dark.

GETTING TO GREENLAND

To come visit us on this remote coastline, we’re best reached via Iceland, only 1 hr 40 mins away by turbo prop-plane.

 

Keflavik, Iceland’s international airport is a hub for North America and Europe and also the starting point for flights to our local airstrip in Kulusuk.

 

Seats on these Icelandair-operated flights are in short supply and book out early. Whilst we don’t organise flights ourselves, travel agent VR Travel aims to reserve tickets for all our trips and can assist with international connections. You can also book direct with Icelandair.

East Greenland Ski Touring, Mountaineering & Trekking Specialists

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