Call of the wild: Adventurers team up to brave subzero temperatures and 100km winds as they ski across Greenland in just ONE month!
Two Polish adventurers are hoping to cross Greenland in 30 days on foot to re-enact the first Polish expedition of the world’s largest island, completed 85 years ago.
Experienced explorers Mateusz Waligóra and Łukasz Supergan will be walking the 600km distance from the west to the east of Greenland on skis, with a plan to complete the arduous journey in just one month.
Experienced explorers Mateusz Waligóra (top) and Łukasz Supergan will be walking the 600km distance from the west to the east of the world’s largest island on skis, with a plan to complete the arduous journey in just one month.
No strangers to daring journeys, both have previously completed impressive solitary expeditions: Waligóra becoming the first person in history across the Mongolian part of the Gobi desert and Supergan having amassed over 20,000 km across Europe and Asia over 12 years of solitary walks, amongst others a walk across Iceland in winter.
The pair have now joined forces to try to conquer Greenland.
Starting at the beginning of May, the two men are now on the 14th day of their trek, have already covered just over 200km and overcome their first problems: crevasses equipment malfunctions, strong winds and snow.
The Polish Greenland Expedition A-22-750, as it is officially called, will see Supergan and Waligόra having to face difficult weather conditions including temperatures of below minus 25 degrees Celsius and winds exceeding 100 km/h.
For Waligóra, the Greenland expedition will be preparation for a planned expedition to the South Pole at the end of the year.
Before leaving for Greenland, he told RMF24: “Conquering 600km across the Greenland ice sheet when you are dependent solely on your experience and abilities is still a big challenge.
The pair are each carrying 80kg of equipment, which they are pulling on special lightweight sledges called pulkas.
“On our journey we will encounter only one place which you could call a sign of civilisation. It’s an old American base from the time of the Cold War”.
Starting at the beginning of May, the two men are now on the 14th day of their trek, have already covered just over 200km and overcome their first problems: crevasses equipment malfunctions, strong winds and snow.
Each of them is carrying 80kg of equipment, which they are pulling on special lightweight sledges called pulkas.
Before setting off, Waligóra said: “Conquering 600km across the Greenland ice sheet when you are dependent solely on your experience and abilities is still a big challenge.”
Speaking to National Geographic Poland, Waligόra said: “Firstly, the pulkas ran over my foot. I was worried about my ankle being broken. Then Łukasz’s sledge fell apart. I then fell into a crevasse up to my thigh. And after that, at night, the zip in my sleeping bag broke.”
Despite these issues, the two adventurers are making good progress, on Monday the 9th of May, they completed a walk of 18km and on the 18th of May, a walk of over 20km.
Until recently, their route has led them at a slight incline and over two weeks of walking they reached a point of 1,800 metres above sea level and will soon reach their highest point, after which the journey will be downhill.
Supergan and Waligóra are hoping to join 10 other poles who have completed it and pay homage to the first Polish expedition to the arctic which set out 85 years ago from Lwόw.
Maintaining regular contact with the world by satellite phone, the pair are updating the world about their journey with daily posts on Waligόra’s Facebook profile.
In setting off on the Greenland expedition, Supergan and Waligóra are hoping to join 10 other poles who have completed it and pay homage to the first Polish expedition to the arctic which set out 85 years ago from Lwόw.
Included on that journey were future professors of the University of Wrocław and organised and supported by Henryk Arctowski, a pioneer of research into climate changes.
