How Greenland became the world’s hottest ski destination
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Over one thousand years after a fiery red-headed Viking by the name of ‘Erik The Red’ landed on the shores of southern Greenland, I found myself pressing my forehead against the window of a twin-prop Bombardier, eyeballing the endless expanses of ice below.
I was travelling to Kulusuk, Eastern Greenland – albeit under slightly different circumstances to Erik. The aforementioned Viking crossed this ocean to start a new life after being exiled for murder – I was there to tick off a destination on my ski bucket list.
For many years, the isle was only known as a cruise ship destination – cruise liners still deliver over half of the country’s visitors – but as word of Greenland’s rugged appeal has spread, it is becoming a thriving destination for adventure tourism, welcoming over 55,000 tourists a year. Commercial airlines now fly into the heart of Eastern Greenland’s wilderness, allowing visitors to explore the world’s largest island in the best way possible – by ski.
Most who visit the country gravitate towards the island’s developed west side, close to the capital city of Nuuk. I was heading to the much less populated, and much more rugged Angmagssalik mountain region on Greenland’s remote east coast.
A trip to Greenland is as far from a conventional ski holiday as it is possible to get. There are no ski resorts – the appeal of being off-grid had me hooked – and ski touring (travelling both up and down unpatrolled mountains without the use of ski lifts) is the only way to access the mountains.
After a bumpy touchdown, I was welcomed by Matt and Angela, the duo behind Expedition Engineering. Their Canadian outfit works with Greenlandic tour operators to be hosts on the ground. The duo immediately felt like family, welcoming us with warm smiles and tangible excitement for the days to come.
To continue our journey, we squeezed ourselves – and our skis – onto a wooden toboggan, which was tied to the back of a snowmobile, for an hour’s commute to the edge of the ice sheet. We giggled the whole way, drifting left and right as the snowmobile carved through the snow. At the icy shore, a small boat was waiting to transport us across the inky black water, dodging icebergs, towards our final destination, Kuummiut – a traditional Greenlandic village deep in the coastal fjords.
Kuummuit had a comforting rhythm – fishermen always coming and going, semi-wild dogs howling, and jaw-dropping views extending for 19 hours of sunlight each day. The village is perched on the edge of the sea ice, providing access to our daily mountain ascents.
We were staying in a local guesthouse that was basic but comforting, providing everything we needed to support our week of ski touring. Each morning we donned our skis and set off with a summit objective in mind. Unlike in traditional resorts, where your route is mapped for you, the adventure each day was in figuring out how best to get there – the advent of spring meant we were constantly trying to out-manoeuvre the shifting ice, as it oscillated between melt and freeze.
As the week progressed, an exquisitely simple routine began to unfold. Each day began with a walk across the vast sea ice that was laced with dark fissures – enough to get your heart pumping. After a kilometre of walking, we would climb into a small fishing boat driven by our captain, Eli, and head out into the fjord. After choosing a spot safe to disembark, we took turns gingerly lifting a leg over the side of the boat, bracing ourselves with one hand, skis in the other, trying not to let the boat drift away.
Before arrival, our guides had advised “good fitness required,” and whilst studying the contour lines on the map at breakfast on the first day I realised why. Over the week, the sound of my own heavy breathing became a fast friend. On most days, we climbed about 1,300 metres of elevation, travelling around eight miles, before enjoying perfect spring corn down to the ocean’s edge.
In pictures, Greenland’s backcountry terrain looks spectacular, raw and empty. In person, it’s all of that and more. I’m still chasing the feeling of being stood atop an unnamed peak, enjoying the 360-degree views of glaciers, fjords and sea ice converging together in an epic fashion. It was hard not to feel like the main character of a ski film as we headed down towards the ocean, whooping and hollering at the joy of skiing in such untouched surroundings.
After such adventurous days, the evening routine was simple: remove boots, shrivel noses at the smell of said boots, inspect feet for blisters, attend to said blisters, crack a Tuborg and sink into the sofa to compare our statistics on Strava. Over expertly dehydrated (and rehydrated) dinners from Angela, Matt recounted tales from Fridtjof Nansen’s The Farthest North in between anecdotes from the day’s adventures. A nightcap of Icelandic whisky and we were in bed by 9pm, ready to do it all again the next day.
By the end of seven days in Kuummiut, we had seen no tourists other than at the tiny Kulusuk airport. Here, Greenland’s wild and desolate landscapes reminded me just why I love skiing, and more specifically ski touring – you can find the sense of solitude that most people crave. When your only companion is the glide and crunch of your skiis on snow, gorging on views as far as the eye can see, it’s hard to imagine that skiing can get any better.
Essentials
Expedition Engineering, working with Greenlandic operators on the ground, offers an eight-day trip in April and May to Kuummiut from €4,500 (£3,843), full board, excluding travel to Greenland.
Fly to Reykjavík from the UK with British Airways from £60 one-way. It’s recommended to arrive in Reykjavík the night before you fly onwards to Greenland to allow time for any delays – stopover at The Retreat at the Blue Lagoon, close to Keflavik airport, or Hotel Ranga, at the doorstep of some of Iceland’s most breathtaking scenery. To get to Kulusuk, fly from Reykjavík with Air Greenland or IcelandAir from £500 return.
Christie Fitzpatrick was a guest of Expedition Engineering.
