Berg

Hear Wally's Call from Greenland

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It's wonderful to be here. Probably the most notable thing to me is just the big shift in weather. I'm at a glacier, on a glacier at 7600' just as I was on Denali at Kahiltna Base and was flown out — very much milder weather and conditions though. We do have some wind coming down the glacier, but basically a very deluxe, mild, gentle scene compared to our trip on Denali in May which has been well documented now.

Twin Otter on a glacier landing approach Photo: Alpine Ascents International

We flew quickly through Reykjavik in our approach to this trip. We spent two nights in Akureyri, Iceland, at 66° north, on the north coast of Iceland, buying food and preparing gear and getting ready for our flight up to Greenland.

Wonderful city! Reminds me in some ways of Punta Arenas. It's a very clean, well-kept, small, port city that is pleasant and very civilized, but other than that, you constantly have the feeling, as you look out across the water, that you are at the end of the earth in one sense.

But today's flight to Greenland got us much further north obviously, and we're looking here across some glaciers and around a couple of bends at Gunnbjornsfjeld, which we will attempt to climb in a couple days. And perhaps more appealing at this time is just the prospect of great skiing in this area and climbing some peaks nearby that look very appealing. What a wonderful place to be and have a Base Camp.

I'll continue to keep Mountain Zone posted. We'll do dispatches as we can. We're very happy to be here, and we have a great Base Camp set up.

— Alpine Ascents Guide Wally Berg, MountainZone.com Correspondent

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