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In April 2009 The ENDURE expedition will attempt to cross Greenland on foot and totally unsupported.
Greenland is the second largest island on Earth. Straddling the Arctic circle 80% of the country is permanently encased in ice creating the second largest ice cap in the world.
The ENDURE expedition aims to cover 600 km from east to west coast on foot and totally unsupported using a combination of forward thinking, revolutionary ideas and good old fashioned grit and determination. Even more challenging than this the ENDURE expedition aims to do the crossing of the ice cap in the style of an ultra distance marathon and complete the crossing as fast as possible.
NB: Simply attempting to cross Greenland is a massive undertaking and is one of the big three classic polar journeys. It requires braving sub zero temperatures, crevasses, polar bears and some of the harshest conditions on the planet.
The ENDURE expedition team will have to sled haul all the necessary food, safety equipment and survival equipment to make the crossing in the same way the first polar explorers did when they made the first attempts at the North and South Poles.
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The first crossing of Greenland was made by Fridtjof Nansen's team in 1888 when he led his team over to the West Coast in a daring attempt that set the course of 20th century pioneering expeditions.
“Death or the West coast”
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His pioneering 'sporting' style - using technique, fitness, daring and a relatively lightweight approach in tackling a big objective has since been a shining example for subsequent expeditions, one that is just as relevant today, and one which the ENDURE expedition will not only insist upon, but will adopt and aim to improve upon.
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A crossing of Greenland ‘normally’ takes around a month.
In 1995 the record for the fastest crossing of the Greenland Ice cap (not quite coast to coast) by ski was set by Norwegian Sjur Mordre when he travelled a distance of 550km (340 miles) from Isortoq on the East Coast to point 660 on the West in just 8 days 9 hours!
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