Helicopters and Quick Sand

"I have never landed on sand before so you will have to tell where looks best"

On a crisp sunny Sunday morning we met our Norwegian helicopter pilot on the landing pad. There are no helicopters stationed in Kangerlussuaq except a massive search and rescue vessel.

Search and Rescue Helicopter in Hanger

We had four potential stops picked out. The principle investigators (PIs) had scoured google earth looking for sub glacial drainage sites and found 4 candidates (one heavily researched by another team). Our pilot was new to flying in Greenland, his first summer. Because there is no helicopter in Kangerlussuaq he had to fly a B12 from Nuuk. The B12 is a much smaller helicopter than the Huey used in Thule. And in the Air Greenland colors it looks almost like a lady bug. With only 3 of us traveling this time, I got both a window seat and a headset! So it felt like a real helicopter mission. 

Kangerlussuaq: A whole new Greenland

Quick geography lesson. Thule is almost at the top of the globe. It is 750 miles North of the arctic circle. It is latitude 76 degrees. There is only one city in the world with more people further North and that is in Svalbard. Kangerlussuaq however is right on the arctic circle around latitude 67 degrees and is inland as opposed to on the coast. There is a large sound that connects the town to the ocean.

Totally stolen from mappery.com

While in Thule, I was technically still in the US. Being on a military base is still considered the United States. They didn't stamp my passport until I boarded the plane for Kangerlussuaq. And so most of the people in Thule are Danish or American. The prices for food, goods and postage are all heavily subsidized. 

Greenland however is expensive.

Thule by Helicopter

I had never ridden in a helicopter before. But I am a big fan of roller coasters, I am not afraid of heights and I love to try new things. So of course, I was super excited to go.

We arrived to the Air Greenland hanger on Thule Air Force base with 4 people and a truck load of equipment at 9am. Our plan was to collect two river samples and an ice sample and if possible land on the ice sheet. It was a large helicopter a "Huey", the same helicopters used in Vietnam. It could seat about 9 people not counting the crew  and carry cargo. Weather is always an issue for flying and in Greenland the weather can be fierce but we got a nearly perfect day. Partly cloudy and not so much wind. 

Strong winds, Cabin Fever, and the Long Hike

Strong Winds

Friday couldn't be more perfect but Saturday, Saturday was a windy day. When we left base in the morning the skies were clear and it was a bit breezy. We were headed out for our longest hike of the trip, a treacherous 3 mile hike (6 miles round trip) up and down large mounds of rocks to the edge of the glacier. However as we approached the ice sheet, the winds became stronger and stronger. By the time we got out of the car it seemed like perhaps we were the only thing holding the car down. This particular hike would require you to walk directly into the wind. That clearly wasn't going to happen so we drove to another location to sample for the day. This locations was not too far away and the hike was only 30-40 minutes in to the sight walking along the glacier edge.

Edge of said Glacier outside of Thule AFB, Greenland August 24, 2013

Sunny and off the grid in Greenland

The first day in Greenland was rainy and then snowy and then sunny. Of course by the time the sun came out it was 11pm and I really wasn't in the mood for sunny weather. Thankfully the sun decided to stay out all day. We decided to take a trip to one of the data loggers in the field. This particular sight was once located just off a road that lead to the Ice Caves. In recent years, global warming has left the ice caves in less than impressive state and the military is no longer interested in maintaining the road. Our research contact here in Thule said we could go but just know that if the truck got stuck we would be on our own, the military would not come save us.

Greenland: The adventure begins

You're on a noisy, crowded Southwest flight to Baltimore. Children are crying, people are complaining they can't sit together and for some reason you stop in Salt Lake City, just because. You end up in Baltimore, get your luggage and cross the entire airport to a solitary wing on the far side. The interior is new, crisp, with white metal framing and an all glass ceiling. It is 9pm and all the check in counters are empty but one. The only flight on the monitor leaves at 2:20am.

Restaurants in Nice

Honestly we have not had almost no bad meals in Nice. Our one bad experience was a cafe across from the Palais Justice that was so slow we almost left. Otherwise the meals were great. But here are the best (Papayou, La Baie d'Almafi, Farvola, King Kebap, Chez Mirabella, Voyageur Nissart, and La Voglia)

Papayou
date visited: August 12, 2013 dinner
location: Old town Nice

Mondays in Nice are a lot like Sundays, many places are closed. This was our last night in Nice and we wanted to go out for a good meal but all of our first choices (about 10 places) were either closed on Mondays or were on August holiday. So we ended up wandering around old town Nice at night looking for a place. We passed by this place a few times in our wandering, it looked good, it was busy and I vaguely remembered it having good reviews on trip advisor. However it wasn't until we saw the menu that I realized they served Thai food and traditional Nice dishes.