This being my first Bedstone College Expedition I decided to target an area that I already knew well and one in which I had a good few contacts. This seemed doubly important given the exacting nature of my new job – a Deputy Head does not seem to have much free time in which to organise expeditions! Indeed being the only leader, working at the school, meant that virtually all the organisation had to be done by myself – an abrupt change from last time when I had enjoyed the luxury of three others, close at hand, to delegate to.

I had already led two school expeditions to East Greenland and had also visited the area myself once prior to this. It is definitely an area in which prior knowledge and contacts help enormously, particularly when considering a school group. This group being small, it was only possible to take a small leadership team of two and this is obviously a major consideration in any mountain and wilderness area and probably more especially so in East Greenland. My last expedition comprised fifteen pupils and five adult leaders. Clearly a group of six pupils and two adult leaders involved a good number of alterations and special considerations both on the credit and the debit side.

The group, this time, were far more introverted than the group that I took last time and thus the trip was characterised by being much quieter and reserved. It is the nature of such ventures that so much of the appreciation ends up, for a variety of reasons, being retrospective and thus it proved - perhaps even more so than normal.

Taking school trips, in today’s climate, is not easy and I feel that it can be potentially nerve-racking to take a trip from a new school where you are an unknown quantity and your past record is, to some degree, irrelevant. I was incredibly fortunate to be able to call upon the help of Mike Bagshaw as the other leader. Although Mike had not been to East Greenland before, he is a very experienced leader of school groups in his role as Deputy Head of North Yorkshire’s Outdoor Education Centre at East Barnby near Whitby. He is also used to Greenlandic and Icelandic conditions, having spent many months in the mountain and glacial wilderness areas of Iceland and South Greenland. Most important of all, he is an old friend of mine and one in whom I have the utmost trust. This is absolutely vital in areas like East Greenland, especially when you are responsible for trying to give a group of young people, an adventurous (and hence exciting) yet ultimately safe, experience.

I would like to record my thanks to Mike for giving up his time and expertise to the venture and for the effortless way in which he fitted into a group, that he had barely met, prior to leaving for Heathrow.

The expedition proved to be a tough challenge – both mentally and physically. I know that the group would mirror these sentiments wholeheartedly. There were, as always, highs and lows during the course of the month and undoubtedly the group were in many ways pleased to get home but I feel sure that they will all have gained much from the experiences. When the pain and worry has been forgotten there will remain just a series of amazing memories and distant dreamlike feelings.

As always in Greenland, things did not always go as planned, and it is necessary to have a flexible approach and to not adhere rigidly to pre-planned arrangements. Thus we tried to formulate a series of plans and this multi-layered approach served us well. Patience is also a required virtue in Greenland in that travel is not easy and the weather can make it even more of a potential problem. Time can seem to drag as you wait for a boat or for the mist to lift – however it makes you slow down and to move away for that western disease of wanting everything here and now! Not for nothing is the Greenlandic travel motto “Imaqa” or “maybe”.

We were blessed with the weather. We experienced one day of storm (although it did last 20 hours!) and a couple of dull days but the rest were dominated by the sharp, brilliantly sunny weather that only the Greenland ice cap and its attendant anticyclone can ensure. Indeed I feel grateful that the weather did break momentarily whilst we were camped below the Apusiajik glacier. The resultant wind and rain-lashed storm showed everyone just how lucky we had been throughout the month of the expedition.

The superb sunlight did have one down side; the insects! Unfortunately arctic mosquitoes enjoy warm, sunny weather as much as we do - and they did. The Greenlandic population is certainly a healthy one and the incidents of bites that some people suffered certainly mirrored this. We carried head nets and repellent, one girl who was known to be hypersensitive, was even placed on a course of anti-inflammatory medicine prior to departing from school. Many others had recourse to take “Piriton” at some stage during the course of the trip.

Research now seems to indicate, not that some people are less likely to swell up when bitten, but that some people are far less likely even to be bitten. Research is now ongoing to establish exactly why this is the case. I am lucky – I am totally unpalatable to mosquitoes! They do stop people socialising outside the tents, except in exposed windy sites next to the sea, and this is a shame. Iceland does not have mosquitoes and the midges don’t bite – at times, in Greenland, Iceland appeared as a distant Mecca!

In terms of our objectives then, I suppose the expedition would be gauged as a great success, although this is a narrow method of measuring success. Our chosen final objectives were:
OBJECTIVES
1. To gain an insight into the hunting society of the Inuit, past, present and future.
2. To go whale watching in East Greenlandic waters.
3. To explore Dodemansdalen as far as Sermilik.
4. To ascend a number of glaciers in Dodemansdalen.
5. To ascend the pinnacle ridge of Aammangaaq on Angmagssalik Island.
6. To explore Mittivakkat on Angmagssalik Island and ascend peaks 916m and 894m.
7. To explore the Apusiajik glacier.
8. To travel, co-operate and live self-sufficiently in the wilderness.
9. To produce a record of the expedition; written and visual.

The first of these objectives I felt was completed most ably. The combined influence of our museum visit in Tasiilaq, of travelling with the local hunters in their boats (and of seeing them actually try to kill seals!) and of interacting with the local population in the settlements Tasiilaq and Kuummiit allowed us to gain some sort of insight, however incomplete, into the hunting society, past, present and some perception into the future. We were even privileged to watch a seal being expertly flensed on the rocks on the shore of King Oscar’s Havn below Tasiilaq. I think that one of our party, given her strong vegetarian feelings, will long remember the little Greenlandic girl chewing merrily on the freshly excised seal rib! The museum, in particular, is an evocative place. This is due especially to the incredible collection of black and white photographs depicting the life of the Inuit in the years immediately after the establishment of the Danish presence in 1894. A haunting vision into a Stone Age Culture not long since departed.

We arranged with Inge Weber, at the Red House, to divert our boat journey from Tasiilaq to the island with the Apusiajik glacier on, so that we could go whale watching out in the loose pack ice on route. This made it cheaper than doing two separate journeys and this together with the fact that Inge decided not to charge us for two extra nights camping at the Base Camp meant that we could actually afford to go whale watching. The group, will, I am sure, be eternally grateful to Inge for her kindness given that we were lucky enough to follow three Fin Whales, two Blue Whales, a Humpback and a Minke! The Inuit hunting boats, being fast manoeuvrable speed boats were able to, not only follow the whales, but to do so in a way that allowed you to become wet from the spray from the blow holes and even to look into their eyes! Indeed we were informed by Tobias, the driver of the lead boat, that this was only the second time that Blue Whales had been sighted during this year.

We explored Dodemansdalen as far as Sermilik and were rewarded by surely one of the great views of the world – looking across Ningerti towards the huge front of the Midgard glacier. On our route to Sermilik, and during the return journey, we managed to ascend a total of three glaciers and experience the wonders of travelling on ice. One of these glaciers featured a magnificent ice labyrinth composed of dozens of séracs – a truly magical place!

On Angmagssalik Island we ascended the pinnacle ridge of Aammangaaq and traversed about half way along it before being stopped by a ‘bad step’. This would have involved a fairly serious abseil down a rocky gully and obviously this was not the right decision and so we retraced our steps. This ‘bad step’ was much worse than the last time I traversed it and I can only think that the weight of winter snow had caused a fairly major rock fall in the interim time.

We spent a glorious day exploring Mittivakkat on Angmagssalik Island and after ascending peaks 916m and 894m we “sunbathed” on the tops for a couple of idyllic hours. This was, for many, the highlight of the entire trip. The views were astounding in all directions. We were able to look across to the base camp area of the British Arctic Air Route Expedition from the 1930’s – led by one of my heroes, Gino Watkins. This was across Sermilik, the ice fjord, a massive fjord that is visible on even the poorest scale world atlas! Behind this rose the start of the inland ice cap; stretching away as far as the eye could see. All around us soared the peaks of Angmagssalik Island and in the distance rose multitudes of triangular peaks on the mainland. Out to sea we could make out many large ‘bergs moving serenely past in the East Greenlandic current. It was a “never to be forgotten moment”.

Our final physical objective, to explore the Apusiajik glacier proved to be illusory. We reached the island, upon which the glacier can be found, and we even set foot on the glacier (literally – one foot!) but the weather then turned. We decided to retreat to our camp and then spent the best part of twenty hours holed up in our tents, as the rain lashed down driven by a force seven wind. Even toileting outside produced a thorough soaking and the more experienced made more use of their Trangia sets! The evening provided a lesson in campcraft as those who had poorly pitched their tents had to get out and sort out their storm guys and weigh the tents down with rocks.

The girls were light years better than the boys in terms of their campcraft and consequently managed to stay drier. Two of the boys also managed, earlier in the trip, to have a vomiting episode. This was most likely brought on by poor camp hygiene involving leaving unwashed billies outside the tent (despite warnings!) and the presence of local stray huskies undoubtedly helped to clean the billies. These were then presumably reused without the addition of any cleansing water!!!

This delayed our departure, from Tasiilaq to Mittivakkat, for one day but the rest of the group did not waste the time and accomplished an ascent of Sølmansfjeldet on Angmagssalik Island – to give super views of Tasiilaq and the surrounding area.

The group did travel, co-operate and live self-sufficiently in the wilderness. It was difficult and especially so when you are the first people from your school to attempt such a venture. Future groups always benefit from the experiences of those who have gone before. Undoubtedly all will have learnt a great deal about themselves from the experiences.

Our final objective that of recording the details and experiences of the expedition, in written and visual form, involved producing an illustrated expedition report and also an audio-visual presentation involving many of the digital images set to music.

Judged by the objectives completed then the expedition was undoubtedly a success but that this is a somewhat glib way of measuring success and I would hope that any “success” is better measured by the effects, of the venture, on those who took part. If the individuals concerned view themselves and the world around them in a slightly different, more enlightened way then that is “success”. East Greenland certainly has the ability to stimulate in this way; that is why it is one of the planet’s special places.

Nigel Bidgood FRGS – Leader Bedstone College East Greenland Expedition 2003.

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