For the first time in history the team, including
a participant with limited physical abilities, who uses
a wheel chair in his everyday life, has crossed Greenland.
For the first time in history the Russian
team has crossed the ice shield of one of the most large
islands in the world.
Description of the expedition.
The route of the length more than 600 km
had connected the region of the Ammasalik settlement at
the east coast and the Sondre Stromfjord settlement at the
west coast, following approximately the latitude of the
Polar Circle. The team, consisting of three participants,
passed the whole route in forty three days. All this time
the group was completely isolated from civilization. Igor
Kuznetsov, one of the participants of the team, uses a wheel
chair in his everyday life. In Greenland he wasl travelling
in a special sport device: a wheel chair, adjusted to skis,
pushing off with ski poles from snow surface. The other
two participants were hauling sledges. The weight of each
sledge was 140 kg. Approximately at the half of their route
the explorers reached its highest point – the mark 2530
m above the sea level.
The main dangers, which were encountered by
the participants: a hurricane wind at the coast (the rate
up to 38 m/sec), crevasses at the glacier, low temperatures
(up to -30° C).
Greenland is an ice plateau with the area
2176000 squire km, stretched from the north to the south.
For the first time Greenland was crossed in 1888 by Fridtjof
Nansen, a famous Norwegian polar explorer. His route passed
to the south of the Polar circle. Nowadays, a crossing of
Greenland, as well as expeditions along drifting ice of
the Arctic ocean and the glaciers of Antarctica, is one
of the most difficult endeavours, which can be carried out
in the polar regions of the Earth. Among famous explorers
who crossed Greenland there are such famous explorers as:
Naomi Yemura, a Japanese, Reinhold Messner, an Italian,
Bill Steger, an American, Borge Ousland, a Norwegian.
The Danish government gives an official permission to travel
along Greenland from March 1 to October 1. Annually several
expeditions try to cross the Ice Cap during this period.
Not all of them are successful. Despite the fact that modern
means of communication and rescue have reached the pink
of perfection, there often occur tragedies. For example
– a group of Finish skiers had perished, trying to cross
Greenland.
