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GREENLAND 2002 - DISPATCH 7 A Night to Remember
Good morning,
early morning, from NHN! The weather is still
holding excellently, however, there are some
clouds building to the north and west of us. We're
getting weather spoiled for sure.
The two separate
parties have both returned safely to base camp.
The nunatak ski group reports amazing geology out
on the edge of the cap, but, unfortunately, no
better way up the unnamed unclimbed pyramid that
has so captured our attention. Paul and I have
discussed going back up the same route on the
pyramid as a pair, but we are both mulling the
risk of this effort. More to follow on that. By
the way, a nunatak is simply a mountain which is
mostly submerged beneath the ice cap with some
portion of its very upper bits protruding into the
atmosphere.
James and I have
just returned from a first ascent of two summits
on the opposite side of the cirque from the
pyramid. It was a nice ascent of steepening snow
and ice to mixed ground that I linked over to a
ridge which brought an snowy walk to the first
rocky summit block.
The sight from
the windless summit was one of the best in memory.
The time was 2 AM, and the alpenglow hung on the
peaks and glaciers for more than a hour. To the
southwest the highest peaks in north Greenland
stood out from a sea of peaks and ranges. We
carried on to a further point to the northeast
which offered equally dramatic views. These were
both special summits for me.
We roped-up to
cross a few crevasses on the way down, then we
were pushing easy ski turns in an inch of powder.
It was the best skiing so far, and a night to
remember.
After seven days
of long ski tours and climbs, we will consider a
rest day tomorrow. It's hard to rest when there is
still much to do. Out for now...
David
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