2000 Greenland Crossing

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2000 Greenland Crossing

Start date: August 10, 2000
End date: August 20, 2000
Start / end point: Narsarssuaq- Kangerlussuaq (Southwest-Northwest Greenland)
Total km: 600 km
Expedition days: 10
Challenges achieved: First WindSled trip, record of distance traveled per day on a polar expedition

WINDSLED PREMIERE

In August of year 2000, with the sponsorship of the TVE program “Al filo de lo imposible”, Ramón Larramendi performed the first polar crossing in Greenland with a polar eco-vehicle designed by himself: the WindSled. An expedition that will last 10 days and in which 600 km will be covered, on a south-north route through the southwest of the Arctic island.

The expedition, in which Larramendi, Juan Manuel Naranjo, Juanito Oyarzábal and Juan Vallejo participated, departed from the ‘plateau’ near Narsarssuaq at 2,800 meters altitude on August 10 with two WindSleds (then named ‘polar catamarans’), each with two people on board. On the first day, Larramendi and Naranjo managed to sail at 30 km per hour driven by the wind, but technical problems arose, the two teams separated and took some time to meet again. Finally, they decided to travel together in one vehicle.

ADVANCING WITH KITES

In the following days, despite the difficulties, a strong south-north wind pushed them northwards and allowed them to complete stages of 60, 70 and up to 90 km per day on very flat terrain, without large crevasses or obstacles. The last day they traveled 160 km in less than 10 hours of navigation, an authentic “flight” that demonstrated the possibilities of navigating the ice with the wind, but also made them aware of the risks of speed. Finally, on August 20 they arrived to the outskirts of Kangerlussuaq, where they were picked up by a helicopter.

Larramendi and his companions had traveled 600 km in 32 effective hours of travel, at an average speed of 20 km per hour, a revolution in the world of polar crossings, with a record never attained before: in a three-hour stage they covered 92 kilometers.

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