Greenland trek wants to highlight
climate change, tourism, dog teaming

Source: Ole Jorgen / www.ipy.org
Ole Jørgen Hammeken wants to travel a new route that
crosses Greenland's icecap. Publisert: 21.03.07 03:08
Ole Jørgen Hammeken of Uummannaq is trying to stake out
a new route that crosses Greenland's icecap, something
he says will benefit Greenland's dog mushers, tourists
and the environment, reports Sermitsiaq.

Drawing attention to the changes that have made a
former route used by Knud Rasmussen's route unusable, he
says, will emphasize the need to speak out on climate
change.
No one has ever travelled between Uummannaq and
Ilulissat using an overland route, but with Disko Bay no
longer freezing over he told Sermitsiaq that "there's no
other way to get there from here by dogsled."
Hammeken's previous attempt to make the same journey
showed the trip has dangers. Last year, he and his team
had to turn back after cracks in the ice blocked their
way.
Hammeken has participated in scores of expeditions,
some of which have been filmed for broadcast on French
television.
"We've developed a significant amount of expertise.
That ought to say something about the seriousness of
this effort," said Hammeken, 50, whose dog team treks
include a five-week trip from Uummannaq to Thule.
The dream of opening a route between Uummannaq and
Ilulisaat dates back to 2003, when Hammeken and a group
of French filmmakers made the award-winning film 'La
longue Trace' (The Long Trail), which featured a program
that used sledding as an educational tool for troubled
young people.
The route taken by Hammeken during the film went from
Uummannaq to Saqqaq by crossing over the Nuussuaq
Peninsula. It was March, but Hammeken was surprised to
see that Vaigat passage north of Disko Island was
totally ice free.
"The route between Saqqaq and Ilulissat had been cut
off several years prior due to the lack of ice on Disko
Bay. But the story was now the same for Uummannaq. Their
sled route to Ilulissat has been cut off for almost ten
years. Today, everyone agrees that the mild winters are
a man-made problem - global warming. We've had bad
winters up here before, but the fact remains that we
haven't had so many warm winters in a row in living
memory. I started trying to find an overland route to
Ilulissat because of all these warm winters."
Last winter, Hammeken and a small group of dog
teamers tried to make their way over the icecap between
the two villages. After getting off to a good start they
had to turn back. A new attempt is planned for later
this year.
The initial attempt included a number of first-time
dog mushers, but given the demands of sledding through
unknown territory, the new expedition will include only
seasoned experts.
"Last year we did it together with kids from an
orphanage," he recalls. "I have to admit that that was
one of the toughest challenges I have ever faced.
Thinking back, it was irresponsible to have those kids
out there. You could say we were all novices in the
sense that it was our first time out on the icecap, but
there were just too many unknowns."
Overcoming nature is just one of the team's
challenges, says the article in Sermitsiaq. Financing
the trip could prove its greatest obstacle.
"We've got four sleds that are determined to give it
another try and there is a French filmmaker and one
tourist who's willing to pay the monthly salaries for
two drivers just so he can come along."
Despite the interest and the deep pocketed sponsor,
the team still needs funds. One source could have been
the state-funded Greenland Tourism.
But Hammeken, who envisions dogsledding as one of
Greenland's great tourist attractions in the future, had
his application for support turned down.
"You don't need to be a genius to see the potential
in this. You don't even need to think twice about it.
This is an obvious tourist attraction."
Hammeken said he is looking for a few more sponsors
to cover the rest of the costs of the expedition he
estimates will take between seven and 14 days.
Hammeken hopes the team's effort will serve as
dogsledding's own contribution to the International
Polar Year.
"The trail can serve as the flagship of Greenland
tourism. We can give the ultimate dogsledding adventure
- one that includes sea ice, mountain sledding and
icecap sledding all in one, and on a route that can be
covered in less than a week."
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