Parachuting

Packing Photos

Schedule

Packing

News Archive Reports - 03/05/2003 First editions of the expedition reports are online now in the reports section.   Parachuting - 25/06/2002 As a last fundraiser the team was privelidged to be able to do a sponsored tandem sky-dive. The experience was amazing and a great day out for everyone involved, though not all of us want to do it again! The trip raised the last few bits of money we needed to brihg the expedition back in to the black - thank you to all those who sponsored us! Photos of that event will arrive soon or after the expedition returns.   Packing Photos - 13/06/2002 Here's a set of pictures of us packing all the food and sorting the equipment - note the ones of us smoothing the runners on the pulks to make them glide freely over the snow! [Back to top]   Kit shipped - 11/06/2002 All the bits and pieces we want to ship out before us have now left Cambridge on their way to Greenland! We've checked and double-checked that we've packed everything so there'll be no surprises when we get there!   New Schedule - 28/05 2002 By popular request we've put some reasonably detailed timings for the expedition here so that you can find out when we should be in and out of the country and what we should be doing at what time - see the logistics page for more details. [Back to top]   Rifle Training - 28/05 2002 Another outing for the whole team, this time to give us all experience of using rifles to provide us with some level of defence against polar bears. Although we're unlikely to see them this far inland, it's still a possibility and as we move closer towards the coast at the end of the expedition the risk is increased. We spent the morning at CASP before being driven off to a secret location where we tried out our shooting skills in an underground base. Sam and Derek were declared sharpest shooters from the team but everyone was well within target and speed, giving us a small level of confidence that we could defend ourselves against bear attack if we had to. Of course we hope it won't come to that. The day was also a fine opportunity to meet up with a team from CASP who will be out in the area, surveying along the coast, whilst we are - which'll be helpful to let us put faces to voices when we hear them on the radio. They're also providing us with our lift home on the Zodiac boats - a much cheaper option than flying back.   Money - 14/05 2002 Just a quick one to say thanks for all the small donations and help we keep getting. Every little bit makes a difference to us and it's great to have so many individuals interested in the project. We're now very close to our target which is an amazing feat - thanks to everyone who'se helped out. Have a look at the sponsorship page for more details!   Packing Weekend - 11-12/05 2002 The whole team came together once again from as far away as Aviemore to put a serious weekend's effort in to sorting, laballing, rationing and filally packing all of the supplies that need to be shipped out to Greenland before we go. A total of over a million KCalories worth of food (thanks to Soreen, Peperami and Jordans for thir help here) was carefully weighed and sorted in to day-packs for the team. Then it was boxed along with some of the science equipment and all the heavy climbing stuff. We also managed to fit our skis and test out the tents (thanks to BSES!) in the centre of Cambridge - quite a sight for the passers by! Once all that was done we spant an afternoon polishing the runners on teh pulks we'll use to carry all our stuff so that they slide freely over the snow. All that remains now is to tape it and label it and it'll be ready to go to Greenland!   Scotland - New Year, 2001-2 Just after Christmas the expedition team went to Scotland to learn some new skills and practise working together. All except Natalie spent a couple of days picking up some skiing skills on the side of Aonach Mor. Everyone had a great time and learned loads. Then the whole team came together for 5 days camping on the back side of Ben Nevis whilst Sam recapped the training that the team members had done previously, and teaching a bit of ice climbing too. Again this was an experience to remember - the team worked very well together whether in camp or on the mountain which has to be a sign for the good! [Back to top]   Newsletter 3 Dear Patrons, Sponsors, Advisers and Friends,   Welcome to the third edition of our expedition newsletter. For those who haven't received one of our previous editions, since the beginning of last summer we have used this format to keep everyone who has expressed an interest in our expedition up to date with our progress. The general response to this has been very pleasing, so we are going to keep on doing it!   As a brief reminder, the Cambridge Greenland Glaciology Expedition 2002 is an expedition set up by five Cambridge University students. It is an expedition to a remote and previously unvisited area of North East Greenland, called "Louise Boyd's Land" with challenging scientific, climbing and ski-trekking aims in the summer of 2002.   Since September, things have really taken off and things are continuing to move very quickly on all fronts. I hope that you find a lot of the information below as exciting as we do!   APPROVAL After a rigorous interview, the Cambridge Expedition Committee have official approved the expedition, with which they were "extremely impressed". We can now use the charity number 311460, which, among other things, means that we can get gift aid on donations from UK source (see our website for more details).   SCOTTISH WINTER TRAINING Following the summer's training in the Alps where the five team members completed the BMC run "Conville course", the team spent just over a week in Scotland over the new year. The main bulk of this time was spent camping on Ben Nevis - much to the amusement of several other climbers coming up for a day's climbing! After a long day of hauling equipment and food we set up a camp of three tents, with the main objective of testing as much of the equipment and techniques that we will be using on the expedition as possible. This included everything from stoves, fuel, menus to exact roping-up and climbing procedures. The time proved invaluable in many aspects for not only did we get a large amount of climbing both on ice pitches and mixed ridges (as we anticipate finding on our climbs in Greenland), but we discovered (much to our disbelief) that you can get sick of Malt Loaf!   On a serious note, the vast majority of our equipment was well up to scratch. Some small possible improvements to individual kit were identified along with the merits of high quality fuel both in terms of efficiency and maintenance of the stoves. Clothing in particular proved to be more than adequate so we must thank Rab and Venturesport for their large discounts!!   Credit for the success of the trip must mainly lie with Sam who worked out all of the technical side and proved himself a very valuable, confident and sensible mountain leader.   SPONSORSHIP NEWS There have been some very big moves on the sponsorship front. Firstly Mike Kobold of Kobold Precision Chronographs has pledged some very helpful support, both in direct sponsorship and with general fundraising. He got in touch after coming across our website, and has been a pleasure to work with! Andy Whitham of CASP has offered financial support in return for providing CASP with moraine samples from three large glaciers. Nicky White of the Geology department has also been instrumental in getting our fundraising rolling! CASP have also offered very kindly offered to help provide us with much of the essential safety equipment (radio, rifle etc etc) as well as putting the team through a firearms handling course - for this we must thank Clive Johnson , the Logistical Manager.   We still however have a long way to go. At present it looks as though we will need around £8000 from sources other than trusts and funds and current pledges. We are following several lines at the moment and are confident that with continuing hard work we can make it, but if anyone has any suggestions, we will be very pleased to hear them!!   SCIENCE NEWS Much has happened in the area of our scientific research over the last couple of months. Ian Willis of the Geography department in Cambridge has been extremely helpful both with the practicality of the glacial research and maximising what we can expect to get out of it. To recap, what we hope to do is calculate the two principal strains, shear strain and components of down-glacier strain using a computer code that accounts for the exact layout of the stakes.   Dr Willis recommended that we get in touch with Dr Hilmar Gudmundsson (currently working at the British Antarctic Survey) who has considerable experience of working on Alpine glacier confluences and provided us with some very specific advice and criticism. Dr Willis has also been the source of many references for applications for approval and financial trusts and much general pestering and continues to be endlessly helpful.   As mentioned previously, we have slightly increased our science programme by agreeing to collect moraine samples for CASP (formerly the Cambridge Arctic Shelf Project). This will involve collecting samples of around 2kg of glacier moraine from 3 separate glaciers to be crossed on our trek south after leaving Louise Boyd's Land. The samples will be used in their research into sediment transport processes in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea.   Finally on the research front, Madeleine has been in regular contact with Tony Higgins of GEUS (The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland). Tony has provided us with advice on the mapping of our research area, practical limits, expected results and current knowledge. The resources that he has provided us with have been fantastic: maps (topographical and geological) aerial photographs and again numerous references! In addition to simple, ground-based lithological observations, we hope to determine the intrusion relationships of some igneous sheets and the nature of fold structures. WHAT'S NEXT? Fundraising, fundraising, fundraising. Much of the background research has now been completed, and all the aims and methods are clear. There are of course lots of logistical jobs to sort out, but the main focus over the next couple of months has got to be money!   I hope that this goes some way in describing the stage that we are at in our planning. If you are left wanting to know more, please visit www.greenland2002.org.uk, which is updated regularly, or email any member of the team (email addresses are on the website). Plus, if you have any advice, contacts, suggestions or criticisms, please get in touch.   Best regards   Chris [Back to top]   Newsletter 2 Dear Patrons, Sponsors, Advisers and Friends,   Welcome to the second edition of our expedition newsletter. We had a very pleasing response to the first edition so we have increased the mailing list slightly and have included a few other friends that we have made since the end of June.   As a brief reminder, the Cambridge Greenland Glaciology Expedition 2002 is an expedition set up by five Cambridge University students. It is an expedition to a remote and previously unvisited area of North East Greenland, called "Louise Boyd's Land" with challenging scientific, climbing and ski-trekking aims in the summer of 2002.   There have been several developments over the summer, both practical and logistical:   ALPINE TRAINING The five team members all completed the BMC run "Conville course" aimed at Alpine safety and techniques. Although specifically aimed at Alpine competence we all believe that a lot of the skills we have gained will be invaluable in Greenland next summer. We thoroughly covered the areas of crevasse rescue and numerous rope techniques. Probably the most importantly we gained experience of working together and in a variety of groups to begin to get a feeling for how we can move together and work together in terrain similar to that which we will experience in Greenland next summer.   Everyone on the team managed to improve their climbing ability and general know-how both during and after the course. After the course Derek was put through his paces in the Austrian Alps, Sam and Chris stayed in France for as long as money would allow to complete a number of summits and routes (amongst attempting/planning many more). Natalie is still currently reaching dizzy heights in Nepal and Madeleine returned to France with Chris to do the "Haute Route" from Chamonix to Zermatt.   SCIENCE NEWS Madeleine has been researching into the Geology and Glaciology of Louise Boyd's Land in recent weeks and has had some very welcome news from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. During the preparation of a 1:500 000 scale geological map of Greenland in 1997, the survey spent three weeks in two separate camps in the southern areas of Louise Boyds Land, and did some helicopter mapping. The area of Louise Boyds Land we are going to visit occupies a complicated and strategic geological position, and we have the opportunity of complementing their findings with some more detailed work in the northern area, which could be used by the Survey in future publications.   THE NEXT FEW WEEKS The next few weeks will see us homing in on the exact details of the research areas of the expedition. Hopefully we will be able to identify our practical, time and equipment limitations so that we can have a better picture of both the quantity and quality of the work that we will be able to carry out.   We will also be winding up our fundraising and attempts as well as seeking both CUEX and RGS approval in November and December. Following that we aim to have a team trip to Scotland in Christmas time to really test out our snow and ice techniques and living procedures and hopefully iron out any floors in arrangements.   Again, I hope that this goes some way in describing the stage that we are at in our planning. If you are left wanting to know more, please visit www.greenland2002.org.uk (many of you have been mentioned), or email any member of the team (email addresses are on the website). Plus, if you have any advice, contacts, suggestions or criticisms, please get in touch.   Best Regards   Chris [Back to top]   Newsletter 1 Dear Patrons, Sponsors, Advisers and Friends,   The team of the "Cambridge Greenland Glaciology Expedition 2002" have created this first edition of what we hope will be a monthly newsletter, to keep everyone that has shown an interest in the expedition up to date with our current situation and plans. I hope that it makes a light read, and its contents are both interesting and informative.   For those who are not aware, or who may have forgotten, this expedition has been set up by a group of four Cambridge University undergraduates (Chris, Madeleine, Natalie and Derek) and one (very recent!) graduate (Sam). It is an expedition to a remote and previously unvisited area of North East Greenland, called "Louise Boyd's Land" with challenging scientific, climbing and ski-trekking aims in the summer of 2002. The team has many diverse skills, with each member coming from a different technical background. We have set ourselves some very big targets, from which we hope to get a useful and adventurous experience of a lifetime. Our Patrons are Prof. Michael Hambrey from the centre for Glaciology Research at Aberyswth University, Dr. Peter Friend from the Geology department here in Cambridge, and last but by no means least, Mr. David Hempleman-Adams OBE, climber and explorer.   The Team After around 6 months of basic planning, identifying the aims and location of the expedition, the team was finalised just before the Easter vacation. The five members have gelled well and achieved a vast amount (especially around the hassles of exams) since they have been together. For example, Derek has created a fantastic website, which has been an invaluable resource already; Natalie's financial planning has allowed us to create a comprehensive schedule for our fundraising efforts; and Sam's enviable task of pouring through piles of kit catalogues has enabled us to work out the most efficient combinations of purchasing, borrowing and hiring equipment (although his mental arithmetic does sometimes leave a lot to be desired!).   Training We have been very lucky in the number of places that we have been allocated on a BMC (British Mountaineering Council) course this summer. Heading off to the Alps to complete this course will allow us to fulfil the first phase of our training, not only to ensure that we all have the technical skills required to climb, and for glacier mobility and safety, but so that we can build the confidence in each other that will be required for a successful stint in Louise Boyd's Land.   Sponsorship We have started early, and it seems to be paying off! Several people have complimented us on the organisation so far, and as a result we have had a very pleasing response to our first wave of sponsorship requests. Firstly, we are very grateful to Schlumberger Recruitment in Cambridge, who have loaned us a laptop computer for the duration of the planning of the expedition, and for the field itself. This has already been incredibly useful to help complete large amounts of letter writing and administration, and when it comes to data-collection in the field, I am in no doubt that it will become invaluable. We have had a very good response from equipment suppliers, many offering large discounts on their usual selling price. Some of this equipment has already been acquired so that we can make use of it this summer; the rest will be purchased/borrowed/stolen as and when it is needed. Finally, we have had our first money donations, well before we expected: £50 from Sam's local rotary club and a fantastic £800 from the Cambridge Expedition Fund, with the option for applying again in a year's time.   Science The initial focus on our scientific objectives and how to carry them out saw a collaboration between research members of the Geography and Geology and Engineering Departments in Cambridge, as well as members of the Cambridge Arctic Shelf Project (CASP) and our friend in Wales, Mike Hambrey. Our exact aims can be seen on the website.   I hope that this goes some way in describing the stage that we are at in our planning, and that it puts into perspective just how useful all the help and advice that we have received has been. If you are left wanting to know more, please visit www.greenland2002.org.uk (many of you have been mentioned), or email any member of the team (email addresses are on the website). Plus, if you have any advice, contacts, suggestions or criticisms, please get in touch.   Until after the Alps,   Chris [Back to top]   ©Derek Marshall for Cambridge Greenland Glaciology Expedition 2002