The journey to Summit Station takes several days and follows the same route as Von’s trip last summer. Starting in Spokane we traveled to Albany, New York. From there, the New York Air National Guard 109th Airlift Wing (ANG) flew us to Greenland on a C-130. The plane stopped halfway in Goose Bay, Labrador to refuel and then continued on to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland (67 N 51 W). “Kanger” is a small town (~600 people, mostly Inuit and some Danish) and a commercial airport near the west coast of the island just north of the Arctic Circle. Kanger is where I am now. We stay here for a day awaiting the final leg of the trip to Summit. At the moment, we are experiencing some considerable wind which has blown up a lot of dust. I was planning to hike to a nearby lake, but I’ll have to wait inside for a while. I’ve decided that this is a good opportunity to fill you all in on the Idaho to Summit journey.
While in Kanger we are staying with Kangerlussuaq International Science Support (KISS). Until the wind picked up an hour ago, we have had pretty nice weather. It’s been mostly overcast, but the temperatures have been around 50 F. Last night after dinner we took a walk along the river that empties into the Kangerlussuaq Fjord at the edge of town. The river is pretty low right now, but will pick up considerably as the summer progresses.
Earlier today I traveled to Kellyville about 20 km away (to the end of what was, and still may be, the longest road in Greenland). A large radar run by the Stanford Research Institute International (SRI) is there. Some ICECAPS collaborators are testing a LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) at the site which will come up to Summit next week.
Tomorrow morning, weather permitting, we fly (again with the ANG) to Summit 250 km or so to the north east.
Back on the plane in Goose Bay.
The KISS building (red) in Kanger.
Kangerlussuaq Fjord
These are scattered about Kanger. They are empty rockets that were attached to C-130s for snow take-offs in case the snow is sticky. Presumably they are now used for spent cigarettes, or maybe just for decoration.
Looking into Kanger from the north side of the runway.