Greenland Expedition

Filled with breathtaking photos, this adventure epic of Greenland offers insight into the lives of the people who call this harsh land home and gives readers a feel for what the Inuit go through to survive daily existence. 135 photos.

"Euro-American explorers reached northernmost Greenland in the mid-19th century. Remoteness, desolate tundra, and persistent sea ice have ensured that many historic sites from early (non-Inuit) exploration remained undisturbed by man. Moreover, as the result of the dry polar climate, the physical remains from these expeditions - even cloth, leather, and paper - are generally well preserved. The hundred and two objects registered and described in this book were discovered at thirty-two sites stretching from Baffin Bay to the Arctic Ocean. They derive from nineteen American, British and Danish expeditions of geographical discovery that reached Greenland between 1853 and 1934. Ranging from commonplace to borderline unique, the artefacts give an insight to conditions, life and mere survival on these expeditions, an insight that adds authenticity to the written annals and to a history that is truly dramatic with at least fifty men losing their lives. Beautifully illustrated with no less than 600 images comprising maps, portraits, scenes from the historic sites and superb artefact photography, this book will appeal not just to students of historical archaeology, but to all interested in the exploration of the polar regions."--

Reprint of the original, first published in 1837.

As polar exploration reached its zenith, and in the same month that Captain Robert Falcon Scott perished in Antarctica, four young scientists from Zurich took ship for Greenland. Though they had little previous experience of arctic travel, their ambition was to achieve the first west-to-east crossing of the northern hemisphere’s largest ice cap, making scientific observations along the way. Few outside Switzerland have heard of this expedition or its leader, the meteorologist Alfred de Quervain, in spite of its success. In thirty-one days in the summer of 1912, the party sledded across 640 kilometres of untracked snow and ice. Nobody died or fell into a crevasse, although there were some near misses. The voyage was more than a well-executed feat of arctic travel: de Quervain and his colleagues collected data still used today by scientists researching the effects of climate change on Greenland’s ice cap. De Quervain’s popular account of his adventures, published in German in 1914, is both a minor classic of exploration literature and a sympathetic portrayal of life in Greenland’s remote coastal settlements in the early twentieth century. Published to coincide with the expedition’s 110th anniversary, Across Greenland’s Ice Cap includes the explorer’s original text, translated into English by his daughter and son-in-law; a historical and biographical introduction by Martin Hood; reflections on the journey’s scientific legacy by the geographers Andreas Vieli and Martin Lüthi; and a treasure trove of hand-tinted lantern slides reproduced in full colour.

National Outdoor Book Awards Winner Winner of the BANFF Adventure Travel Award “A thrilling and harrowing story. If it’s a cliche to say I couldn’t put this book down, well, too bad: I couldn’t put this book down.” —Jess Walter, bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins “Polar exploration is utter madness. It is the insistence of life where life shouldn’t exist. And so, Labyrinth of Ice shows you exactly what happens when the unstoppable meets the unmovable. Buddy Levy outdoes himself here. The details and story are magnificent.” —Brad Meltzer, bestselling author of The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington Based on the author's exhaustive research, the incredible true story of the Greely Expedition, one of the most harrowing adventures in the annals of polar exploration. In July 1881, Lt. A.W. Greely and his crew of 24 scientists and explorers were bound for the last region unmarked on global maps. Their goal: Farthest North. What would follow was one of the most extraordinary and terrible voyages ever made. Greely and his men confronted every possible challenge—vicious wolves, sub-zero temperatures, and months of total darkness—as they set about exploring one of the most remote, unrelenting environments on the planet. In May 1882, they broke the 300-year-old record, and returned to camp to eagerly await the resupply ship scheduled to return at the end of the year. Only nothing came. 250 miles south, a wall of ice prevented any rescue from reaching them. Provisions thinned and a second winter descended. Back home, Greely’s wife worked tirelessly against government resistance to rally a rescue mission. Months passed, and Greely made a drastic choice: he and his men loaded the remaining provisions and tools onto their five small boats, and pushed off into the treacherous waters. After just two weeks, dangerous floes surrounded them. Now new dangers awaited: insanity, threats of mutiny, and cannibalism. As food dwindled and the men weakened, Greely's expedition clung desperately to life. Labyrinth of Ice tells the true story of the heroic lives and deaths of these voyagers hell-bent on fame and fortune—at any cost—and how their journey changed the world.