Training Log Archive: nmulder

Well, we're finally leaving Greenland tomorrow morning before breakfast.

Spent the last free day out on the water on a quick cruise, got a few quick
glimpses of seals and a whale.

My legs are still swollen from all the pounding and my sunburnt legs are

still eina, but then I'm in very good company with almost all the racers.
We haven't measured the distance yet, but it looks like the trek on the
final expedition was over 100kms with 4200m climb. We had a total of 9200m
plus over all five days.

Some interesting tit bits from the last couple of days...

- After we left PC7 (top of a glacier) on the expedition day the weather

began to close in. Whilst we plodded on through the drizzle, it began
snowing up at that higher elevation. The marshals and camera crew were
subsequently stuck there for two extra days sans food before the helicopter
could come in and take them out. By then they had a 10cm layer of snow on
their tent.

- Tasiilaq, the town where we are based has a miniscule population of

1800. However, it is practically the capital of eastern Greenland. The whole
east coast is only home to 4000 people!!!

- Tasiilaq bay and harbour are ice bound for all but 3-4 months a year.

They receive 3 cargo shipments a year of supplies, the first one only
arrived 4 weeks ago.

- Since we finished, the wind changed to a southerly and blowed a whole

lot of pack ice into the bay. Were we now to paddle the final leg of the
expedition, we would have serious, serious navigation problems coming across
the bay due to dead ends and such caused by all the ice.

- We've been given a whole CD of race photos by the race photographer.

I'll try and con Peter into giving a talk and slide show presentation at the
next AR club meeting. Wish I'd be able to be there. We're also hoping to get
a copy of the Danish TV programme featuring ATC - will take some months
though.

Arctic Team Challenge Day 4/5 in Amasallik, Greenland

Team Cyanosis with Peter V, Arrie, and Philip S.

The final stage of the Arctic Team Challenge in Greenland was an

expedition race held over day 4 & 5. The race would start at the overnight
base camp at the abandoned hunting village of Ikkatteq, on a small island
off the west coast of Ammasalik Island and proceed over glaciers, along
coastlines and through the interior of the country before finishing back at
Tasiilaq on the south-east coast.

Overnight the weather had changed. A light low level cloud drifted over

the Atlantic Ocean some way out to sea whilst a moderate south-westerly
blowing in from the ocean added a good chill. The team pulled out their Palm
paddling jackets for the first leg, a paddle back to the main island.
Navigation on this first canoeing leg was simpler than the previous day's,
but a single mistake along the craggy coastline could end up costing a team
valuable placings on the early stages of the race.

Cyanosis, having built up a bit of a paddling reputation, went out hard

from the start on the 5km canoe and were first to arrive at CP1. Teams
poured in quickly and soon the beach appeared like a D-day invasion as teams
deflated and packed their canoes for later use. The route from here would
take teams back to a peak near the top of the Mittivakkat Glacier, which
Cyanosis had run down the previous day, before descending on another arm of
the glacier and returning to the coast. A 35km paddle would then take teams
up the west coast to the northern most point of the island, before a final
massive trek through the interior brought then out 3km from Tasiilaq for a
final paddle. On the interior trek check points 6 to 10 could be visited in
any order.

As per all the legs of the ATC, route choice was highly important in

crossing the broken and craggy terrain leading up to the Mittivakkat
Glacier. For 4km, the top 5 teams stayed within touching distance letting
teams Saab and Tscherning pick their way across the canyons, rivers and
hills whilst the others followed. On reaching the glacier, teams roped up
and quickly set off like a procession of worms for the 7km crossing to CP2
on a 931m mountain peak. The glacier allowed the teams to make this climb at
a steady rate and slowly the nature of the footing changed with altitude
from hard ice to refrozen snow and then loose snow. Every now and again,
when the glacier gradient dropped, a watery slush about ankle deep would
have to be crossed. Thankfully we were all wearing Sealskinz Waterblocker
socks that kept our feet dry and thus relatively warm.

Team Cyanosis inserted themselves into the procession in 3rd place just

behind Saab (GBR) and Tscherning (DEN) and just ahead of Greenlandic Team
Inu:IT. Peak Performance had dropped off the pace, good news for Cyanosis
who had to beat them by 48 minutes to make up the time deficit on them from
the first three stages to claim 4th place overall.

After only one crevass incident, where a Tscherning team member slipped up

to his waist into a hole, the four teams reached the top and crossed the
last few hundred metres of rocky outcrop to the 931m peak. Sprinting back to
the ice after checking in, the other 3 teams opened a gap on Cyanosis that
would begin to grow. The route down from the mountain involved descending
another arm of the glacier, this one to the north for another 5km or so to a
check point on some glacial morraine at its foot. Due to the chance of endin
g up in crevasses at any point, only when standing on firm rock again did
Team Cyanosis dare to unclip their Beal rope and Black Diamond harnesses.

Arriving at CP3 teams were surprised to be given updated instructions. The

light morning wind at the start had picked up and was now causing
significant waves on the fjord. The organisers decided that the long paddle
from CP4 to CP5 was thus too dangerous in an inflatable canoe and had
cancelled the paddling. Instead teams were requested to hike to CP5 on the
northern tip of Ammasalik via CP6, a small glacier in the central - northern
part of the island. From thereon teams could continue visiting the remaining
check points in the interior of the island in the order they had decided and
stated at the morning briefing.

The trek from CP3 to CP6 thus took the adventure racers through an

interior part of the island that the organisers had not planned apon. This
section was one of the most rugged of the entire race. Teams crossed rapids
and waterfall, kloofed up narrow gorges hewn out by spring floods and
scrambled across slopes of strewn boulders that were devoid of any
vegetation or even soil. The last part of the leg required teams to rope up
again to cross a small glacier to the check point at one end of a 40m high
ice wall overlooking a glacial lake.

The route from CP6 to 5 gave teams two options of using parts of the

islands hiking routes. Here Cyanosis opted for the eastern one after
crossing back across the glacier, where the 3 leading teams had chosen the
western one leading directly down to the coast, but then traversing along
the coastline. Team Cyanosis' option was probably technically easier on the
downhills, but slightly longer by a kilometre. The "hiking routes" however
are exactly that: routes and not trails. Do not expect markers, footprints,
any signs of a path or even terrain slightly more traversable than in other
places. As far as we can work out, these trails were laid out by someone
flying over the terrain in a helicopter!

Cyanosis had purposefully left a food resupply with our paddling

equipment, so it was with much relief that the team arrived at CP5 where the
flotilla of tranport boats had been moved to since the cancellation of the
35km paddle. Unfortunately our resupply bag must have been mixed up with
others after the first short paddle and could not be found at that stage.
The team left quickly however, in part pushed out by the swarms of mozzies
inhabiting that part of the island (Peter had about 25 on his back at one
stage when retying his shoelaces).

The route from CP5 to CP7 on a 800m high mountain col once again involved

a glacial trek from the base of the glacier to the top. Given the rockiness
of surrounding terrain, the team was all too happy to once again rope up and
ready ice picks for the gradual ascent of about 6km. Evening was approaching
so the team forced the pace, intending to get to CP7 and off the glacier on
the other side before the melted ice started refreezing and becoming
slippery. Significant stretches of the glacier had slowly been transformed
into a freezing slush during the day that was extremely unpleasent to walk
in.

Cyanosis got to CP7 just before 10pm, just in time to watch the sun set,

but also in time to see thick cloud rolling in from the south. The team had
also got a glimpse of Team Inu:IT in 3rd place at the check point, a mere 35
minutes ahead. The team also took a quick break to change into warmer
clothing. For the first 4 days the team had been racing in their First
Ascent shorts, but the time on the glaciers during day 4 had paid its price
and the team had heavily sunburned legs from the reflected glare. Team Ice
Cap (CAN) would have even further problems as their lady developed
snowblindness despite wearing UV sunglasses the whole day. Quite a few other
racers have had swollen eyes for the next few days due to the peripheral
glare.

The trek from CP7 to CP8 was more down than up. The CP7 glacier was

descended off the southern tongue and it was interesting to see that the
lower edge was about 300m shorter than shown on the map which was less than
5 years old. From here the trek to CP8 started going down a series of fjord
valleys filled with deep mountain lakes. Trekking past these picuturesque
reservoirs was difficult due to the steepness of the mountain slopes next to
the banks. Many points along the shore required the teams to climb up and
down the mountain slopes to avoid cliffs that ended at the waters edge.

CP8 turned out to be a hiking hut and the team was welcomed by a marshal

serving soup and spaghetti. The team made full use of the welcome relief
before setting off for CP9 and 10 which could be taken in any order. These
check points were located on the west and east side of a large lake, with
the teams approaching from the north and leaving to the south. Careful map
reading and route choice was thus necessary in order to work out which side
of the shore was more preferable to trek to get to the two CPs and then
leave for CP11. Cyanosis got to this stage at about 2am and were feeling the
effect of 14 hours of racing, 13 of which had been on foot across very
uneven terrain. Even with the help of Montrail shoes, ankles were stiff from
proprioceptive bracing whilst knees were feeling the effect of constant
step-ups. The temperature hovered around 5 degrees.

The two-and-fro between CP9 and 10 allowed Cyanosis to get a few split

times on some of the other teams. Inu:IT were still third and still only 45
minutes ahead whilst Peak Performance in 5th was sighted for the first time
since the Mittivakkat Glacier - now 3 hours off Cyanosis' pace. With 4th
position practically secured, the team headed off for the last CP, number 11
and the start of the final 4km paddle to the finish in Tasiilaq. On the way
the team had to cross the whitewater river flowing out of the series of
lakes they had been following. A crossing point was finally found that
allowed the team to cross a swift flowing 15m wide channel at mid-thigh
level.

In the meantime the weather had further deteriorated and a light but cold

drizzle had set in. Arriving at CP11, Cyanosis were surprised to find Team
Inu:IT still pumping up their inflatable canoe. With a new target in sight
the team feverously set about inflating their own canoe and packing their
equipment back for transport to the end of the leg. Cyanosis put into the
water 4 minutes after Inu:IT and were soon chasing them down across the bay.
The sprint race was keenly watched by packs of huskies that are kenneled on
various islands in the bay who howled their support. Entering the harbour
region, Inu:IT still had about a 50m lead but Cyanosis took the opportunity
to portage early onto a breakwater and run the boat slightly further. The
last 200m to the finish line also involved a moderate uphill but the team's
speed in exiting the boat had served them well enough. Team Cyanosis crossed
the finish line to finish 3rd on the expedition race in 42 hours, 46
minutes, about 1 minute

ahead of Inu:IT. Over all five days, Cyanosis placed 4th.

The race was long and extremely technical. Unfortuantely the cancellation

of the main paddling leg made the race predominantly mountain trekking, but
the importance of glacier trekking as a separate discipline should not be
undermined. In total I estimate that glacier trekking accounted for 35km
during the race and as such knowledge and experience on glaciers played an
important part for some teams, particularly when breaking new ground.
Although teams were required to carry a GPS with them, Cyanosis managed to
complete the whole race without using it. Although some teams used the GPS
when paddling to help them locate the island where teams finished at the end
of day 3, when on foot the mountainous terrain made navigation by map quite
easy as the surrounding mountains and lakes were easy and realiable features
in determining your position on the map. What a GPS would not have done for
teams in all cases is helped them to follow route choices, and this was the
real navigational

challenge on the Arctic Team Challenge.

Cyanosis are thrilled to have been able to take up the opportunity to race

in Greenland in the Arctic Team Challenge. It has definitely been the most
amazing experience. The team has gained a wealth of knowledge in a short
time. From a technical view point the team now has experience in glacial
traversing, descending and roping, the decent of scree slopes, bouldering,
mountaineering and paddling in canadian style canoes. At the same time the
team was able to observe some of the best teams from around the world:
Tscherning, Saab-Solomon, Inu:IT and Peak Performance all showed us what
sort of fitness levels and technical experience are needed to compete with
the best. The scenery: wow. no words or even photos can describe what it is
like to stand on top of a glacier and look out over the ice pack drifting in
the Atlantic, icebergs drifting in the fjords, the Greenland Ice Cap to the
north-west that simply dwarves mountains that rise 1500m out of the sea. Nor
can we describe what it is

like to drift beside towering icebergs in an inflatable canoe, to be woken

at night in your tent to the thunder of an iceberg breaking apart or to
traverse a barren, rocky wasteland of ice and rock that looks like it
belongs on Mars.

For making this all possible we must thank our sponsors First Ascent, RAM

Mountaineering, Adventure Inc, Scavanger and Robbie Herreveld's Canoe &
Kayak World. At short notice they helped us kit out with vital equipment
with brand names such as First Ascent, Montrail, Black Diamond, Palm
paddling gear, Backpacker, Beal ropes, Buff, HB climbing equipment,
Sealskinz and WXTex. Our thanks also go to WAI - First Aid Training for
financial support. On a personal level the team would like to thanks Jacque
Marais, Lisa de Speville and www.ar.co.za, the organisers of the ATC
(Anders, Hans and their band of eager marshals) for all their effort and
then our many supporters and well-wishers back in South Africa.

1st = Tscherning DEN
2nd = SAAB Salomon GBR
3rd = Inu:IT GRL
4th = Cyanosis (Total time 44:32:34)
5th = Peak Performance DEN

Arctic Team Challenge Day 3 in Amasallik, Greenland

Team Cyanosis with Peter V, Arrie, and Philip S.

Apologies for the Day 3 report being so late, but the race ended on a

small island off the west coast of Ammasalik Island, Greenland. This was the
base camp and start for the expedition race on days 4 and 5. The small
island is home to a hamlet of about 6 houses. Although now abandoned, the
village used to be a hunting base.

After another superb breakfast at the school where the racers are staying

in Tasiilak, on the south-eastern coast of Amassalik Island, the 9 competing
teams lined up for the 3rd day of stage adventure racing. The first leg was
mountain biking and would be done in pair relays. Once again, due to the
lack of roads and tracks on the island, organisers improvised and instructed the racing teams to split into pairs. One pair would head off uphill towards the hydropower construction works, 6km distant, before rounding the marshal there and handing over to the other pair. This would be repeated whereapon the entire team would set off as a unit for a final mountain bike leg to the construction site. Once there teams could drop there bikes for the last time in the Arctic Team Challenge and head off into the mountains on a trekking / glacial trekking leg.

Team Cyanosis paired off so that myself and Peter would ride first, then
Arrie and Philip. This would give Peter and myself time to recover before
the final leg. After starting off in 6th place, the team once again settled
into fifth behind Peak Performance, Saab, Tscherning and InuIT.

A pre-race decision had had to be made at the race briefing regarding a

route choice option on the main hiking leg. For safety reasons, the
organisers needed to know whether teams would opt for a glacial crossing or a trekking leg beside a series of lakes. The glacier was shorter, but
involved more boulder climbing to reach whilst the trekking beside the lakes was longer but considerably flatter. Although the glacier option required you to carry all the glacier equipment (crampons, 50m rope, ice axes, harnesses) from the start, the advantage was that once you had climbed up scree slopes to the top of the back of the glacier, a run down the length of it would bring you out to within 2km of the final check point prior to the paddle to the finish.

Only 3 teams opted for the steep climb up to the glacier. Peak Performance

(Den), Cyanosis and local Team Tasiilaq. Cyanosis were still lying 5th on
reaching the check point at the bast of the climb up to the glacier, 30
minutes behind mountain-biking specialists Peak. Different route climbing
options were however taken and upon summiting the glacier top at 880m the team could see they had made up about 20 minutes on Peak. The summit, once again gave the team a superb panorama to the north and west. The Greenland ice cap could be seen beyond the fjord on Ammasalik's west coast, where icebergs up to 60m across or 20m high lurked.

The 7km run down to the glacial tongue was high speed, but crevasses had

to be avoided at all costs. On two occassions both Peter and myself sank
knee deep into hidden crevasses, giving me a few wonderful scars across the
knees.

Exiting off the glacier, we continued to follow the glacial river down to

the western coastline, every now and again getting our legs wet and frozen
up to above the knees. From the check point along the coastline it was a
quick 5km paddle in canadian inflatable canoes to the small huting island
for the finish of day 3. The trick came in navigating along an island
studded coastline. Although Peak Performance started the paddle 15 minutes ahead of us, a detour around a few extra island plus a portage to the finish across the final island lost them time. In the end Cyanosis finished 5th, only 3 minutes behind Peak.

A hearty meal was served for dinner. A big barbecue was started and soon whale steaks were sizzling away (tastes like liver). The organisers had
provided each team a 4-person tent and most teams went off to bed early
before the 9am expedition race start the next day. During the night the
temperature dropped to 4 degrees, not ideal for camping!