The Arctic Circle Trail Traverse is Underway!

We're excited to announce that our Arctic Circle Trail Winter Traverse team is doing great! We're also more than a little jealous of them :)

The roughly 90 mile journey from Kangerlussuaq to Sisimiut covers an incredibly gorgeous and endlessly fascinating region of Greenland, especially the Aasivissuit - Nipisat UNESCO World Heritage Site.

(L - R) Richard, Michael, Laurie, Jordan, and guide Taylor

As you may have heard, western Greenland has experienced a historically warm winter. Fjords that typically freeze solid remained open for much of the winter, and Kangerlussuaq was almost entirely snow free when the group arrived in town on March 10.

So how are they doing great if there isn't enough snow for a sled hauling cross country ski traverse? They have 3 things working in their favor:

1. Lakes: much of the early part of their route is across frozen lakes. They made need their microspikes for traction when there isn't much snow but sleds pull like a dream on sheer ice. Hardly any friction at all.

2. Changing topography: for the first few days the team is traversing lake and low hill country. Right when they start running out of lakes to traverse, the surrounding mountains grow taller. And taller peaks mean more snowfall accumulation.

3. WHEELS: we sent the team out with lightweight (roughly 6lbs) removable wheelsets for their sleds. And they put them to use right away. They spent the first couple hours of the journey towing wheeled sleds across bare ground. We're not sure yet if they'll need them farther into the journey, but the wheelsets are easy to install quickly whenever the need arises.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/786e10_41fd9b0841204b0998101d2fd9373474/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Testing out our wheelset prototype on the shores of Lake Michigan

The team is wrapping up their travel day now on the banks of a gigantic lake. So far they've covered about 13.5 miles miles total.

Tomorrow they're scheduled to pull their sleds for roughly 11 miles, and every step of the way will be atop that lake. No wheels required!

Thanks for following along :) See below for photos from the first couple days of last year's Arctic Circle Trail traverse.