Arctic Traverse: Alpefjord

On September 13, 2022, the Endurance reached Alpefjord, at 72° 15' North. Low clouds and mist from the night's rough weather were dissipating. This was the view from the bridge (click on the image to enlarge).

The morning was dedicated to extensive zodiac cruising in the fjord. Off we go!

The air was cold, but we'd dressed warmly. Mountains, glaciers, and mist filled the view.

Getting a closer look.

This zodiac zoomed down the length of Alpefjord.

The sun began to peek at us through the mists.

Here's a glance back at the Endurance.

Now, down at the far end of the fjord.

On the way back, we spotted a harbor seal,

and he spotted us.

We drove slowly through some brash ice on the cruise back to the ship.

On board, we saw clear evidence of glacial retreat.

After lunch it was time to go ashore and stretch our legs. A group of musk ox had been sighted in the distance,

so the staff set up a landing spot well away from the herd. (In Greenland, the shore excursions are always scouted out ahead of time, and the guides carry flare guns and rifles as a precaution.)

Then the guests came ashore.

Our musk ox observation post was set up well away to avoid disturbing them. But I bet you can't see the musk oxen in this photo ...

They are tiny black dots at the visible edge of the plain. (Click on the image to enlarge.)

With my camera at maximum zoom ...

And pointing my camera thru the spotting scope ...

Then it was time to take some hikes. The "long walkers" took off first.

Joan and I joined the "medium walkers," and came across evidence of human activity, an old fox trap. When the critter took the bait, the rock-laden boards would slam down on it.

From our high point we could gaze down on the Endurance.

We returned to the ship before the light faded. Shadows crept up the mountains as evening drew near.

Joan and I lucked out; one of the guests at our dinner table was having a birthday today. The celebration included singing staff and a cake presentation followed by individual slices. Yum!

Joan reported good aurora viewing after midnight, especially during session #2 of three. I slept instead 😴.

Arctic Traverse: Ittoqqortoormiit

On the morning of September 12th, 2022, the Endurance anchored off the town of Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland. (Click on the image to enlarge.) It is frequently described as the most remote settlement on earth, and sits at 70º 29' north.

We went ashore by zodiacs in a light drizzle; Joan and I stopped first where the sled dogs were kept. These are working dogs, not pets, and we were instructed to avoid getting close.

Joan and I then began moseying through the town site. A company there offers various nature tours by prior arrangement.

Many of the buildings are private residences, of course. A centerpiece for us wanderers was the church.

Inside the church, the curved roof beams reminded me of whale ribs.

We watched a demonstration of spinning musk-ox wool, a valuable terrestrial resource.

Ittoqqortoormiit has an airport. Like for many small villages (Ittoqqortoormiit has a population of 324, as of 2020), service is strictly by helicopter.

There is a memorial to the explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot, who explored Antarctica at the beginning of the 20th Century and explored eastern Greenland and Iceland from 1925 to 1936, when he and his ship perished in a storm off Iceland.

Next, Joan and I began walking up the road to the weather station, where we were told a balloon would be launched for measurement-taking. Looking back, we beheld a panoramic view of Ittoqqortoormiit.

At the top of the hill sat a radar dome.

A cluster of us waited for the balloon launch at the appointed time. We anticipated a brief description of it would accomplish, how far it would go, etc. Instead, it just suddenly leaped into the air from behind a building. I grabbed a snapshot as it rapidly disappeared.

Kathy Sullivan, the ex-astronaut, explained that the instrument box would be about the size of a one-pint carton, measuring temperature, humidity, and perhaps location (thus describing the wind speed and direction) until the balloon burst at about 120,000 feet.

 

Returning by a different route, we found this monument. Ejnar Mikkelsen founded Ittoqqortoormiit in 1925.

Next, we stopped at the local museum, hosting artifacts and historical documents and images--labeled in Danish--no photography was allowed. The last zodiac back to the ship was at noon. Joan and I hopped aboard.

 

By that afternoon, two more COVID cases had been confirmed; we hoped that would be the last. The naturalist Serguei gave a presentation, "How to read the Arctic landscape," as icebergs floated by.

Another iceberg, before the seas began to grow rough, and we saw arctic skuas heading south.

Overnight the sum of the headwinds and ship's progress totaled 50 knots. Joan and I could feel the ship's pitch and roll, but it was much milder on Endurance than on earlier Lindblad ships. We slept just fine.