How to get there:
The mountain (which is rather a small nunatak)
is located on the main Greenland Icecap
west of Martin Knudsens Nunatakker at approximately
North: 73 ° 06' and West: 29 ° 15' .
From our general area this trip involved a crossing
of Victor Madsens Glacier. Route description:
The nunatak itself is an easy scramble. The significance
of this trip was the long skiing tour exploring a large
area in a single day.
The route was as follows: First south-west from Base Camp
towards Torstind. Then down the glacier between Torstind
and Hybens Bjerg (north of Torstind). The ski descent here
was easy and good, thus this route can be recommended also
for parties pulling sleds. At the bottom of this glacier
Victor Madsens Glacier flows in a north-south direction, one can
also see some of the starting points (arms) of the huge
Nordenskiold Glacier. I subsequently crossed Victor Madsen
with difficult snow conditions. The sun had repeatedly
melted the surface (every day) which
then had frozen (every night) forming icy
formations all pointing south at a
30 to 50 degree angle. The skis would tend to get caught, it was hard
to ski below/between, but also next to impossible to ski on top
of these structures.
My route proceeded just north (right) of the southernmost Martin
Knudsen Nunatak and up the glacier towards a pronounced pyramid
shaped peak. There was partly little snow and therefore quite
icy conditions, partially also with water on the surface.
The route continued on a wide turn towards north-west, curving
below (east) of the pyramid mountain and north of it. Here the
snow and therefore skiing conditions became excellent, solid, firm
surface with a few centimeters of new snow on top. I climbed out
of the valley and continued west onto the flat, main Greenland
icecap, finally! I was here, sensing the vast, flat ice stretching
to the horizon and beyond. All that remained was a few small scattered
nunataks, then no more rock, only ice. I climbed the nunatak, called
Revet (the reef, just a small sign of "land" in the vast ocean
of ice..). Enjoying the late evening sun from the north and planning
a route back to camp. This was quite an extensive solo skiing trip,
the feeling of being here, close to midnight, so alone, so quiet,
in a landscape perhaps never crossed by skis before, well it cannot
be described it must be experienced. I guess, very few people
can share this unique type of experience, it was quite a trip! .
In order to maximize the exploratory aspects as well as making the
trip more interesting, I decided to ski further north on my return
to Base Camp. Thus, I skied north of the Martin Knudsen Nunatak that
had been to my north (right) when skiing west. In this way, I
would completely circle a substantial mass of mountain. The skiing
down this glacier valley was very nice, the snow was better and the
slope made for a nice run at acceptable speed. I stayed a bit
on the south side in the valley, but ran into a crevassed area
further down that made me shift more to the center. At the very
base of this valley where this glacier meets Victor Madsen,
there was an ice lake with further features that looked less
attractive for a single skier. I therefore stayed well to the
north (left) of these details as I started the long crossing
back to the east side of Victor Madsen. Upon reaching the east
side I climbed around the southern tip of Ulvekam towards the
west side of Pålsryg. My route continued north between
Ulvekam and Pålsryg after a careful crossing of a serious
crevasse about half way up the slope. This crevasse was completely
covered by snow, but I probed the area and my ski pole made the
whole thing collapse with a long lasting, somewhat scary sound
of ice and snow tumbling down for quite some time.
Emerging around the northern tip of Pålsryg, more care
was still needed while navigating through another crevasse area
on the way back to Base Camp. Comments:
This trip will always be remembered as a unique experience, that
only very few can ever do. I returned to camp in the early
morning hours.
A fantastic ski tour in an unparalleled
landscape combined with excellent skiing conditions across
virgin glaciers between unclimbed mountains. A lone man in
this enormous park. The silence and grandeur have an impact
on your mind and memory that is beyond words.