Two articles about a new dog sledge route in Greenland from Sermitsiaq


A real sledging expedition
Now tourists can sledge all the way to Uummannaq

By Poul Krarup


'It's going to be a tough ride,' says Ole Jørgen Hammeken of the new dog sledge route between Uummannaq and Ilulissat in north-western Greenland. Hammeksen recently completed the first voyage over the ice sheet in two weeks, but he believes he can cut it down to seven days, making it attractive for tourists.

'The proposed route has everything that's needed for a real expedition,' Hammeken says. 'It has all the elements a sledge ride could offer: sea ice, mountain sledging and ice sheet sledging. It's a dangerous ride though, and that's something we will keep in mind if we turn this into a tourist route.'

The expedition's four sleds, each carrying one driver and one passenger, and pulled by a total of sixty dogs left Uummannaq on 25 March and reached Ilulissat on 6 April. One of the passengers, Bertrand Lozay, is a French filmmaker, who expects the footage he took during the trip to be shown on Canadian and French TV. Hammeken hopes it will also be shown in Greenland at some point.

The trip, according to Hammeken, was every bit as tough as he expected.'The toughest thing about it was the unknown element - glacial fissures. They are a nightmare,' he says. 'You need to be ready to use your deepest, most basic instincts if you want to survive the difficult situations you can get yourself into.

'It was difficult for the sledge teams to make it up the approach to the ice sheet and to cross all the fissures. At one point a sledge was on the verge of falling into a crevice - dogs and equipment and all. Fortunately they were saved.'

When the route itself wasn't giving them trouble, the weather was; a snowstorm stopped the expedition's progress for two days. Another of the expedition's big challenges was making up to the ice sheet. Dragging the heavy sledges up to an altitude of 1200 metres was especially demanding for the dogs.

A day out from Ilulissat the expedition was met by three local guides, led by Ole Thorleifsen. They led the group through the difficult pass at Sermeq Avannarleq.

On the way back, the expedition sailed to Qeqertat before sledging from Nuussuaq to Ikerasak. This leg can be made with an overnight stop and could be used by tourists, as it isn't as strenuous as the journey across the ice sheet, according to Hammeken.

'In retrospect, using modern equipment and lighter gear would have allowed us to travel twice as fast as we did,' Hammeken said. 'As soon as I make sure that it's possible to sledge in both directions, I plan to put together a proposal for an organised, well planned expedition that would be suitable for tourists and completed in a week.'

Hammeken recommends surveying the route during the summer months to find the path that crosses the fewest fissures. Other suggestions, such as using wind or solar power to heat traveller's tents or building a cabin at the top of the approach to the ice sheet at Uummannaq, would lessen the trip's environmental impact and make it easier on travellers, according to Hammeken.

'But no matter what, I can guarantee that anyone who takes a trip like this will get the experience of their lifetime.'



You get a little cocky
By Ole Jørgen Hammeken

Of all the types of expedition you could possibly name, a dog sledging expedition is the most beautiful of them all, especially when the driver has it in his blood and has had his expertise handed down to him through the generations. Only experts like those can cope with and overcome the obstacles and challenges that sledging presents with such impressive and supreme dexterity.

This was incontrovertibly proven on our recent and highly successful expedition across the Greenlandic ice sheet from Uummannaq to Ilulissat.

Whatever the driver may lack in discipline is made up for by his resourcefulness and intuition. He is constantly aware of any potential changes or danger and can, at the drop of a hat, find a solution that others might not see.

Personally, I came into the magical and secretive world of sledge driving at a later stage in my life, so I can't really be described as being a 'born and bred' sledge driver, but as an outsider I can be allowed to use my relatively objective powers of observation.

Initial thanks for the very successful expedition should therefore be directed towards the very capable drivers: Alberth Lukassen, Jakob Malakiassen, Marius Løvstrøm and Jakob Markussen, whose individual abilities are sublime and as a team, their abilities are superb. I would like to direct another big 'thank you' to the Ilulissat team who came to meet us when we were a day out from reaching our goal.

Not only would I especially like to thank the man who took the initiative, Ole Thorleifsen, but also the 'noble knight' of dog sledging, Ville Siegstad. A thank you also goes out to the captain of our ship on the home voyage, Niels Magnussen,

The expedition was a good slimming cure for me, on the thirteen day trip I managed to lose six kilos, the others also lost at least as much as me. Even though you spend most of your time sitting on the sledge, the icy cold air increases your metabolic rate and your body burns more energy.

Because the expedition was carried out on a shoestring budget, the preparations were not exactly optimal, as a result of this we miscalculated the amount of equipment we needed to take with us.

Completing such a maiden expedition makes you a little cocky, but you can't help feeling proud when you hear that you've generated interest and have gained the admiration and respect of the entire local sledging community, as well as being instrumental in representing Greenland and getting her off to a flying start in the celebration of International Polar Year.


New tourist attraction

Inuit Travel expects to begin offering sledge tours on the new overland route between Ilulissat and Unmmannaq

Ilulissat's Inuit Travel company is planning to begin offering trips on the new dog sledge route between Ilulissat and Uummannaq.

This new travel feature follows the first successful completion of the route of a team led by experienced dogsledger, Ole Jørgen Hammeken earlier this month.

Inuit travel will offer tourists the new, difficult and dangerous challenge of a one week sledge tour over the Greenlandic ice sheet to Ikerasak and Uummannaq.

Ole Thorleifsen, the owner of Inuit Travel, is planning to offer the new adventure tour to the US tourist market.




In the shadow of Greenland's fastest moving glacier, Sermeq Kujalleq, at the base of Uummannaq Fjord. The xpedition begins its ascent of the mountain range and its journey toward the inland ice sheet. In the background is


On the second day, the expedition experiences the dangers of travel on the inland ice sheet when a sledge is almost swallowed up by an abyss-like fissure.


As the gravity of the situation becomes evident expedition members they realise that the danger won't be over until they reach land and safety in Ilulissat.


The Chinook wind is freshening up and as the surrealistic landscape unfolds before your eyes, you realise that in the quest for greatness you shouldn't expect Mother Nature to be on your side.

There were cheers and cause for celebration when the two expeditions from Uummannaq ad Ilulissat met on the inland ice sheet on June 5.

Pictures: Bertrand Lozay

Ole Thorleifsen hopes to turn the new route between Ilulissat and Uummannaq into a tourist attraction.