Håkon Mæland to be the first to snow kite across the icecap on snowboard. Accompanied by Camilla Ringvold on skis.
Camilla Ringvold is no stranger to expeditions. Previously crossing the Atlantic Ocean kitesurfing and crossing the Greenland icecap from Narsaq(south) to Qaanaaq(north) snow kiting. On her second journey across the Greenland icecap (first in April 2014, Narsaq/Qaanaaq) she brought along friend, photographer and college at kitekurs.no, Håkon Mæland.
The team walked up the icecap from Kangerlussuaq, with a total of 200kg weight. After navigating through the massive labyrint for four days, they could at approximately 1000m above sea level launch their kites and travel north. The initial plan was to kite down to DYEII first, but wind conditions wore not favourable for the time frame they had, so the decision was to continue to kite straight north.
Travelling at 2000m above sea level on the icecap for 1800km, the team reached the bottom of Bowdoin fjord after 20 days on the ice. Håkon had completed the first crossing on a snowboard with kites. A mean of transportation he does not recommend to others, nor that he will ever do again. The team assures that using skis is far more efficient and comfortable after being picked up by they friends friends from Qaanaaq who took them with traditional dog sleds into town.
The descent this year was quite easy. A lot of snow on the descent day (May 16th) and few rocks. A descent that can normally take days, took them team half a day. “We are looking to return back to the Greenland icecap next spring for new adventures.”- Camilla says. Join them at kitekurs.no for snow kite courses and mini expeditions on the Hardangervidda mountain plateau in Norway.
