One of the very best ways of getting out into Greenland's winter landscape is on a dogsled. Utilising this brilliant mode of transport in the Arctic, refined down through the millennia, is great fun and very exciting to experience! It's great to see the keen huskies full of a sense of adventure eagerly throwing themselves into their harness, taking up the slack in the reins and pulling the sled forward!
And it's just as great to experience the fantastic splendour when enjoying a break at a location with a magnificent view, watching the dogs settling down, eating a little snow and relaxing, before the almost deafening silence takes over. Dogsled driving can be experienced at the majority of destinations north of the Arctic Circle during the winter months.
Putting on a pair of skis and gliding over the snow in Greenland is one of winter's greatest blessings. In this way you experience the silent landscape at your own pace, and the feeling of warmth you experience when looking at the breathtaking scenery is complemented perfectly by the warmth generated by your own exertions. In Greenland you can try your hand at both alpine skiing and cross-country skiing. You can experience cross-country skiing all over Greenland provided that you’ve brought your skis with you. Almost everywhere in Greenland there's a good layer of snow during the winter and spring months.
In some places the cross-country routes close to the towns are even prepared, e.g. in Nuuk, Sisimiut and Ilulissat. Alpine skiing can also be experienced at several places. Near Nuuk, and Sisimiut, there are ski centres with lifts which are open in the spring season and where you can hire equipment. If more extreme skiing is your passion, then you can take part in the Arctic Circle Race, which is an extreme cross-country skiing event that takes place over three days.
Ice is one of the elements that define a winter holiday in Greenland. On the sea you experience ice in the form of sea ice and icebergs. The latter break off from the Ice Sheet at the head of a glacier and float out to make an attractive sight on the water. The Ice Sheet is created by billions upon billions of snowflakes that have been compacted in the middle of Greenland. During the winter the Ice Sheet can be experienced either by helicopter (e.g. near Ilulissat) or sometimes by vehicle near Kangerlussuaq. The sea ice consists of frozen seawater and forms a perfectly flat, white surface on which a dogsled can run. Experiencing Greenland whilst running on a dogsled between the icebergs on the sea ice or fjord ice is a wonderful experience which is possible near Qaanaaq, Uummannaq and Ilulissat, on the east coast or at other places. Finally, during the winter you can sail between the enormous icebergs on the sea on organised sailing trips.
On March 26, the all-female team of pro skiers Pip Hunt, McKenna Peterson, Meghan Kelly and Nat Segal, along with Pip's mother Martha Hunt will sail from Iceland to the west coast of Greenland to ski first descents and collect climate-change data for Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation. The Polartec Challenge Award provided $5,000 in initial funding for their trip, and the team is using crowd-funding site Indiegogo to make up the remaining costs associated with the travel and logistics and producing a video documentary.
