We invite you to join our unique expedition on “Peter-1” yacht to Greenland. We plan to sail through the southern fjords of Greenland in summer and to sail through the legendary Prince Christian Sound. This is the part of our long expedition through Spitsbergen, Greenland, South America (Chile fjords) to the Antarctica.
The number of people is strictly limited – only 6 people for this beautiful part of our expedition. The schedule of the trip is the same as for photo tour.
The classical tour to Greenland differs a lot from our style. You’ll be offered to sail on “zodiacs” only during some hours but we can always sail and hunt the light and best perspectives during the whole night and to stay mobile at the same time. The previous experience has shown that a good team and a maneuverable yacht give an incredibly beautiful result. Our timetable is more or less free. Ideally we want to go to the entrance of Prince Christian Fjord and Tasermiut fjords, but that’s not the main goal. The main goal is to shoot beautiful icebergs, fjords and high granite peaks of the region. That’s why we’ll work out our everyday timetable taking into account ice situation and the weather.
The advantages of traveling by arctic class yacht are obvious: big cruises are enormously expensive (about $10,000 usually), the yacht is more mobile and we can listen to every participant’s opinion what is difficult in a team of 30-50 people on board. Big ships can scare away the animals and can’t be as mobile as we are. The yacht has both rigs and a motor. Moreover, we have a quick and maneuver “Zodiac” which can be launched at any moment to get closer to the animals or to go ashore. Safety measures’ questions are paid special attention: satellite phone, navigational system and ice maps.
So what is the Prince Christian Sound? That is rugged terrain, lots of high amazing peaks. I call this place “Arctic Patagonia” because of numerous granite walls.
You can take a glance on the area we intend to explore by eyes of hikers:
1) 25-day hiking and packrafting expedition through extreme Southern Greenland. Pictures and Video. Trip report part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 and part 5.
2) Greenland hiking, 2009
3) Greenland Big Wall Kayak Trip – The Map
4) Stunning Tasermiut fjord photos
But instead of kayaks and hiking with all the gear and wear we have a yacht! So no need to hiking in wild conditions and rafting for weeks. We’ll see everything in comfort at best suitable times for photography. But this trip involves plenty of easy hiking. Some of hikes are radial one-day from the yacht. No need of camping! You will be always in comfort, and you can always charge your batteries. Although you should understand that you will live on yacht, it offers limited space (do not expect it to be spacious like hotel!). We have 1 quadruple, one single, one double (used as twin also) cabins.
There will be lots of hiking on the tour! But always there is a possibility to stay at the shore, near the waterfall etc.
We’ve chosen september as it is the best time for visit Big Walls: there is a major chance of solar activity and thus northern lights! But do not expect to see many icebergs on this tour. It is mainly about mountain landscape.
Air tickets: we will buy air tickets in the beginning of 2017, when the schedule will be out. Notice that flight to Greenland are expensive (expect the price around 1000 usd).
“Peter – 1” yacht
“Peter – 1” yacht is an arctic class yacht with a steel jacket equipped with modern navigation system. You can use the kitchen, WC, shower, the main cabin and living rooms – one single cabin, two double cabins and a bunk room. The yacht’s team is 4 or 5 people + 6 photographers on board. There is one zodiac (a motor boat) on the yacht. There are 220 V receptacles (they are sometimes turned off), freshwater supplies (700 + 200 liters). We went on Greenland photo tour with “Peter-1” team (usually it’s 4-5 people) brilliantly 2 years in a row. Several years ago the team set a world record and went on the Arctic world-tour in one season.
Dates are stated +-3 days! We depend on Air Greenland schedule!
Please note that photos stated here in the tour schedule are from various Greenland expeditions, so do not expect to see lots of icebergs! Instead we will see incredible granite peaks and autumn colors of valleys. More photos from my recent South Greenland trip coming soon!
Day 1 – 19 September
The start is September, 19 from Narsarsuaq, Greenland.
To reach Narsarsuaq, I recommend the Air Greenland flight departing from Copenhagen at 11:00 on 19 September. There will be 2 transfers at Kangerlussuaq and Narsarsuaq. The last flight from Narsarsuaq is incredible scenic 1-hour helicopter flight over fjords and mountains of South Greenland. Our yacht will be waiting us on the arrival of the airplane at 5 p.m.. The fjord is very calm, so you need no worry about waves: we will not go to the open sea. Once we are on the yacht we will start sailing towards inner islands and fjords of South Greenland towards Stordalens Havn.
Day 2
Today we sail at the gate of amazing Prince Christian Sound. We encounter the highest and most dramatic peaks of the whole Greenland in these fjords. During the evening we may take the optional hike to one of the ridges at Stordalens or Kangerdluk fjords. We may even bring a tent with us to the small lakes up the top to meet sunrise or wait for northern lights if the weather permits.
Day 3
Greenland ice shield is the second biggest in the world except Antarctic. Fjord system consists of many big glaciers from Greenland shield. These days we’ll sail into gorgeous mini-fjords. It’s here where you can see the most splendid icebergs. Many of them are pure blue pieces of ice which have just broken away from glacier’s terminal. We are at Prince Christian. Every day we will try to get to observation point above the fjord: mountains are very high here, so we need a higher point to achieve panoramic views.
Day 4
This day we spend travelling by land: we hike in the beautiful valley. We disembark at Stordalens Havn and start the hiking trail through Itivdlerssuaq valley, overnight in tent near beautiful lake. This is an optional hike. The alternative tour schedule is to sail by yacht through beautiful fjords and disembark only at the shore level, without any hikes. The alternatives will be every day for those who are not so bold to hike or prefers to stay in maximum comfort on yacht. While we are hiking through the valley the yacht will sail to meet us on the other side of the valley Itivdlerssuaq.
Day 5
The yacht continue to sail westwards towards the awesome Tasermiut fjord. We’ll see high mountains resembling Patagonia: granite peaks rise 200-300 meters above the mountain range and go high into the sky. We can sail close to the glacier fronts here. For the group of hikers, we continue our journey through the valley and meet with a group in the evening this day.
Day 6
Today we start to explore granite walls of Tasermiut fjord. Usually our hiking routes are flexible and the difficulty depend on the strength of the group. Of course, we depend on the weather as well. We start our hikes towards the “Big Walls” of South Greenland. They remind me world-famous Fitz Roy or El Capitan. They are the Ulamertorsuaq (1830 m, the Arctic version of El Capitan), the Nalumasortoq (2050 m, it is shaped like an open book, 900 meters tall with plane walls) and the giant granite peak of the Ketil (2,010 m).
The treks are really easy, about two hours long. Along the shore we should see remains of Viking settlements. These are completely wild and remote places. The Tasermiut glacier is amazing itself, descending 1400 meters above the water and it’s a hanging glacier.
Day 7
A spare day to shoot amazing granite peaks of Tasirmiut fjord: Ketil and other “icons” of South Greenland.
Day 8
Day of amazing hikes in Big Walls area
Day 9
We will sail in direction to the village of Saarloq, a village almost abandoned. We stop for a short hike. In the afternoon we will set off for Uunartoq through the complex system of fjords. In the evening we will have free time to enjoy a relaxing bath in warm springs of Uunartoq. It is the only thermal springs to which access is possible in Greenland, while icebergs float just outside of hot springs. Night near Uunartoq Island on the yacht.
Day 10
We sail further north back to Narsarsuaq and fly back home with incredible memories 🙂
Included in the price:
– Accomodation and transportation by yacht
– All meals (except alcohol and snacks) and meals in villages
– Instruction and master classes by professional guide
– Professional crew of arctic sailors
– Zodiac boat services
– Fuel
– Port taxes and fees
Not included in the price:
– Airfare to and from Greenland
– Visas (if applicable)
– Alcohol
– Snacks
Please check flights to Greenland at Airgreenland.com
We buy air tickets in the beginning of 2017.
What to bring
Gear:
– DSLR camera with tripod and remote shutter release
– A wide angle lens. For example, Nikkor 14-24 or Canon 17-40. Best lens for use in wide-angle scenes or architecture photography
– A middle-zoom lens such as a 24-70 mm
– A telephoto zoom lens, such as a 70-200 mm. 300 mm with 1.5 TC or 500 mm, 600 mm are recommended for wildlife and bird photography. Be sure to have additional tripod mount to this lens.
Wear:
– Waterproof and windproof jacket (consider the average temperature +5 – +10 C at nights and +8 – +15 C during the daytime)
– Waterproof pants
– Warm jacket and thermal pants
– Wellingtons or fishing boots
The full list will be sent by mail to participants.
What is the difference between workshop, tour and expedition?
Workshop: we have a very light schedule, and in between sessions we spend lots of time on lessons, processing instruction. We have time to teach each other in-fields. Suitable for beginners.
Tour: We bring you at amazing locations at exact time! We help you to setup cameras and travel a lot. We are short in time to make so many tuition sessions as we can do during workshop. Suitable for beginners.
Expedition: we use all our time to work hard on our photography! We have almost no time for tuition, but we work shoulder to shoulder, sharing our secrets and tips. You may always consult with a leader. You should know your camera settings very well, it is not suitable for complete beginners.
Tour leaders
Daniel Kordan
Daniel was born in Moscow area. In his childhood he graduated the art school. After that, he is studied in Moscow institute of Physics and Technology and became an optics physicist. During the study he gain experience not only in physics, but also in mountain climbing and hiking, guiding tourist groups in winter and in summer in Russian mountains. Right after graduation he became a guide of photo-workshops and chief editor of “Continent expedition” magazine. This magazine is about travel and adventures all over the world. He has got several awards in photography: Golden Turtle’ 13 Nature nomination winner, National Geographic Russia contest 2013 and 2014 finalist, Best of Russia’13 and ’14 winner, best photographer’13 finalist and others. He is spending most of his time in Norway, Lofoten islands and in Tuscany at villa Gaia, guiding groups of photographers.
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