By the beginning of April, the training was all but complete, and the main bulk of the equipment already awaited us in Greenland, having been sent out a month before. The team left UK on 7^th April, and flew in to Reykjavik, Iceland, for a night before boarding a small Fokker 50 to Greenland the next day.

Our first views came from the air in the form of hundreds of miles of sheet ice. In the distance loomed the mountainous outline of Greenland. Our arrival in the country was aided by fantastic weather and we were reunited with our freight and met by members of Nanu travel, a local tour operator who would be transporting us to our base camp by skidoo and providing the weapons for Polar Bear protection, and fuel. The journey to base camp was fantastic, with aggressive glaciated mountains lining the route. Several hours after biding farewell to Nanu, base camp was established and we were met with the blissful silence of the Arctic wilderness, along with -25 degree temperatures!

The initial stage of the expedition was supposed to be ‘shake out’ training, but we were soon taught a lesson in the changeable Arctic weather and were dogged by three days of bad weather, one of which left us tent bound for the entire day as a savage storm passed over us. On the fourth day we arose to clear skis and an extra foot of powder. The new snow was not a help, as the avalanche risk was now extremely high and ultimately stopped us summiting half the intended peaks. Over the course of the expedition we would see almost 10 avalanches on the surrounding mountains.

While it was not snowing, the weather was brilliant and the team successfully summated 3 peaks. The second of which was the most memorable, as it gave us phenomenal views out over the pack ice. Having spoken to the local Inuit’s, it is highly probable that 2 of the peaks were indeed ‘first ascents’, a feat that filled everyone with a deep sense of achievement. The team coped with the conditions well, with temperatures inside the tents averaging -13, compared to the -20 to -27 outside. All in all, there was not a single person on the expedition who was not pushed outside their comfort zone: it was extremely demanding both physically and mentally, with the worsened conditions adding further difficulties.

The expedition ended on a high with the third peak completed on the last day of skiing amid fantastic conditions and brilliant views. We reluctantly said goodbye to Greenland before flying back Iceland and then onto the UK after two days of R & R, making time to relax in the ‘Blue Lagoon’ geothermal spa.

Arctic Tiger was a brilliant expedition in a truly remote and extreme country. Most will find it hard to beat the 10 days we spent out there, and the sense of achievement and memories will undoubtedly last a lifetime.

2Lt Laurence Whittingham, Expedition Leader