{"id":1401,"date":"2014-09-01T18:55:41","date_gmt":"2014-09-01T16:55:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hallofernweh.de\/?p=1401"},"modified":"2025-09-12T13:54:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T11:54:25","slug":"groenland-inlandeis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fernwehmotive.de\/en\/groenland-inlandeis\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiking tour from the Eqi Glacier to the Greenland Ice Sheet on your own"},"content":{"rendered":"

Greenland, Eqi glacier and inland ice:<\/strong> As if spellbound, I look over the wide ice surface that rises up in front of us. I think of the many explorers and adventurers who were drawn to the ice sheet. To those who crossed it successfully and also to those who stayed here. A few more steps forward and I stand where great stories have been written. One of them is that of the French expeditions led by Paul-\u00c9mile Victor. Are you also infected by the polar virus and would you like to put your feet on the ice sheet? In my article I'll tell you where and how you can do a hiking tour on your own from the Eqi glacier to the Greenland ice sheet. You'll follow in the footsteps of polar explorer Paul-\u00c9mile Victor and discover a lot on your hike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

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The Polar Explorer Paul-\u00c9mile Victor<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Paul-\u00c9mile Victor (1907-1995) was a famous French polar explorer and founder of the Exp\u00e9ditions Polaires Fran\u00e7aises (1947). After the Second World War, he resumed French polar expeditions. He also involved Germany in active polar research. In 1967, the German Society for Polar Research awarded him its highest award, the Karl Weyprecht Medal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He organized his first expeditions to Greenland in 1934-1935. In 1936, he crossed the Greenland ice sheet with dog sleds from west to east. He then spent the winter with the Inuit on the east coast in Ammassalik. In 1939 he did ethnological studies in Lapland. During the war years he served first in the French Navy and then in the US Air Force. There he organized rescue operations for missing pilots in the Arctic regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Eqi-Gletscher
At the beginning of our hiking tour we have a great view of the Eqi Glacier, Greenland. Photo: Dr. Till Pasquay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From the Eqi Glacier (Eqip Sermia) Paul-\u00c9mile Victor led several expeditions on the inland ice between 1948 and 1953. From here the ice sheet is relatively easy to reach. In addition, there is a small natural harbour to land by boat. The way to the ice cap is relatively short and flat. Besides Paul-\u00c9mile Victor, other polar explorers started their expeditions from here and left their tracks, which we now follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The French Polar Expeditions 1948-1953 <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The French polar expeditions in the years 1948-1953 investigated the geophysical properties of the inland ice. They also carried out seismic measurements to determine the thickness of the ice and investigated the temperatures in the ice cap. The results were to provide information on the influence of the Greenland ice cap on the northern hemisphere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first expedition, in 1948, aimed to build a 10 kilometre long route from the bay to the ice sheet and a 200 metre long cable car. The cable car was to be used to transport equipment from the bottom station up to the edge of the ice cap. A total of 28 scientists and technicians were involved in this expedition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hiking
In the footsteps of Paul-\u00c9mile Victor to the Greenland ice sheet. Photo: Dr. Till Pasquay <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 1949 a group of 35 men built the winter station \"Station Centrale\" in the middle of the ice cap. Equipment was transported there by airplane. From the \"Station Centrale\" in the years 1950 to 1953 extended expeditions were started on the ice cap in the direction of southeast and northwest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Exp\u00e9ditions Polaires Fran\u00e7aises was the first organisation to introduce new techniques from the Second World War to polar research. Among other things, motorised tracked vehicles, air transport, the use of parachutes and new materials. Nowadays they are widely used on expeditions. Long-distance journeys with tracked vehicles over the inland ice were carried out and fixed stations for observations were set up. This was accompanied by the development of innovative techniques for polar research, for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n