Expedition Outline
Greenland is a wild and desolate place; it truly is one of the world’s last great unexplored wildernesses. The few towns that exist are served by some modern
facilities, but beneath this veneer lies the strong traditional Inuit way of life. This is a land where the modern and ancient worlds co-exist; it is not uncommon to see a child chewing on the raw blubber of a freshly slaughtered whale whilst watching satellite TV. The area chosen for Ex Midnight Sun is Evighedsfjorden (Eternity Fjord). This Fjord is approx 90km long, running roughly west to east along Lat 65˚ 50’ N. Whilst the mouth of the Fjord is only 10km from the fishing town of Kangaamiut, it remains relatively unexplored, unexploited and unspoilt.
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Main Base Camp
The expedition main base camp will be established at Kangaamiut. Like the vast majority of Greenlandic towns, 
it is a brightly coloured village, which clings to the side of the rocky terrain. It has approximately 300 inhabitants who work mostly as fishermen and subsistence hunters (of musk ox, whales and seals). The locals are shy and only have a limited knowledge of English; however get to know them and they will show the true warmth of their hearts in ways that busy Westerners have long since forgotten how to do.
Advance Base Camps
Once the advance party have established the Main Base Camp, several advance base camps will be set up along the shores of the Fjord. Breathtaking in its beauty, Evighedsfjorden is guarded by high peaks on either side, with huge, broken glaciers sweeping menacingly down to its shores. Sit for a while and you can appreciate the thunder of the ice, as chunks the size of small houses break off into the waters. Further along the Fjord, the cliffs of Inurersut Peak rise up sheer for 1800m, with the 
breaking ice causing mini-Tsunamis as they tumble into the depths. If you’re both patient and lucky whilst travelling along the Fjord, the whales will become curious at the unusual phenomena floating at the water’s surface, and raise their great heads above the water to take a closer look at your boat.
The first advance base camp will be at Tasiusaq Bay, on the south shore of the Fjord, with the others at Nuua Point, Ice Camp and Christmas Tree. Ice Camp in particular is spectacular, being nothing more than a flat area near the base of a moraine wall, with the glacier and high peaks rising up to its right heralding a world of challenge and adventure. There are no human habitats within the Fjord and, at only 30 minutes by boat from the mouth of the Fjord, many of the peaks await their first ascent, unnamed and untouched by human feet. Christmas Tree bears the local fame of housing what is recorded as being the only tree in western Greenland, a small spruce planted by an adventurous visitor, perhaps nostalgic for home at a time normally associated with festivity.
Mountaineering
If you decide to join the expedition as a mountaineer, you will be placed in one of 3 groups, arranged by ability and fitness. One group will go to each of the 3 closest advance base camps, where you will pitch your tents in the shelter of the boulders, collect fresh water from a nearby stream and supplement your diet with crowberries, blue berries and fish that you catch from the waters of the Fjord. During the first few days you will embark on day treks, familiarising yourselves with a harsh and unforgiving terrain that lacks any evidence 
of previous human passage. The lack of detail on the few available maps makes a sense of courage and adventure the most important item on your checklist! Although these mountains are but dwarves compared to the better-known mountain ranges, rising only to 2211m at their highest point, underestimating them would be a foolhardy thing to do. Each night you will return to your base camp, and cook on an open fire at the water’s edge.
Once familiarised with your environment, each group can then go further afield, with the leaders selecting peaks, ridges and valley routes, depending on ability. Whilst nothing of an extreme technical grade will be attempted, even a long valley route or a scramble along a ridge will present huge challenges, and ensure that the pleasure felt at the end of a successful day will be immense.
If your group is at Tasiusaq Bay, you may attempt the long ridge of Amaasuaq, the peak that stands guard over the bay, or one of the many routes on the group of peaks known as Qinnguata Qaqqai. Equally, you might circumnavigate the whole of the small range to the south, linking up valleys and lower ridges.
If you are with the group at Nuua Point, you have the whole of the peninsula to your north and west to explore. With few of the peaks named and many of the ridges trailing down to the water’s edge, you can use the boats to access any number of routes, or perhaps you will move up the Sermitsiaq Glacier to access routes further inland.
Or perhaps you will be with the group 
at Ice Camp, where you will have a less gentle introduction to the terrain. You will find your camp surrounded by steep, challenging peaks, few of them climbed before. Maybe you will attempt some of the ridges just behind the camp, or maybe you will move up the Taateraat Akilersuat Glacier and attempt to forge routes on some more remote peaks, that seem so high above where you pitch your tent.
No matter which group you are in, you can use the boats to access routes along the Fjord’s edge, or to change advance base camps half way through the expedition phase. You may be in the group that moves along to Christmas Tree, further along the Fjord,
and ascend the long south western ridge of Inurersut. Once at the summit you can pear gingerly over the western face, over a yawning gulf of 1872m virtually straight down to the waters of the Fjord.
Regardless of your allocated group, you and your team mates will come to know the thrill of a simple existence, being at one with the power of nature, breathing the cold, crisp air of the Artic, and sharing the experience and challenges of a lifetime.
Sea-Kayakers
There will only be one group of sea-kayakers per expedition phase. If you are part of this group you will be dropped off by boat at Tasiusaq Bay, where the kayaks will have been pre-placed. 
You will be based out of this bay for the first two days, conducting day paddles around the bay and along the immediate shores of the Fjord. This will familiarise you with the icy waters of the Fjord, at times beautifully calm under the Arctic sun, at times more menacing as a storm approaches and the waves threaten the boats. With the clear blue water plunging to uncharted depths, small ice bergs floating past and ice walls the size of 15 storey buildings at the foot of huge glaciers that snake down from the mountains, nature will dwarf your tiny boats.
Once embarked on your 7-day continuous expedition, you will kayak eastwards 
along the Fjord, rough camping by night and exploring Sammisoq and Kangiusaq Bays, before reaching your furthest eastern point at Christmas Tree. Kayaking further than this is too dangerous to be permitted, as the 1800m cliffs prevent escape, and the Taateraatsiaat Sermiat Glacier is particularly vicious in shedding large chunks of ice, causing Tsunami-like waves that would capsize a kayak.
At this point you will turn back and explore the northern shores of the Fjord, again selecting small beaches for rough camps as you see fit. Your kayak will be your means of exploration; with nothing other than the sound of your paddles in the water to disturb the total calm, you can go where you want, when you want, utterly at one with one of the most stunning environments on earth.
Are you a Joint Services Canoe Instructor Level 3 (Sea) / Canoe Instructor Level 2 (with Sea Kayaking Progression)?
If so, get in touch! Even if you’re neither R Signals nor TA, we’ll still be glad to hear from you. If your skills are rusty, don’t worry; instructor training will also be carried out over the coming year, prior to our arrival in Greenland.
Sailing
The Ocean Sailing element of ex Midnight Sun is entitled "TERRITORIAL CHALLENGE". A crew of 14 will sail a Challenge 67 yacht over 2200 nautical miles from Gosport to Kangaamiut in Greenland, the world’s largest island. A second crew will fly to Greenland to sail back.
The expedition will give Territorial Army officers and soldiers the chance to develop their sailing skills on a large steel hulled yacht. The journey will be arduous, challenging and remote; therefore volunteers must be mentally and physically fit, highly motivated, with stamina and able to operate in restricted space during extreme weather.
Having sailed across the North Atlantic Ocean into the prevailing winds, the yacht will work her way up the Davis Strait on the West of Greenland enjoying the magnificent views of the fjords whilst being cautious of the sea ice and icebergs that present a severe hazard to shipping. The West coast is mountainous with deep fjords, raised beaches and scores of promontories and islands. The Davis Strait is an important feeding ground for salmon, walrus, narwhals and other seals, with whales living offshore.
The summer weather is influenced by the prevailing high-pressure system and is normally dry and sunny. At sea, however, the air temperature is low and the wind chill factor serious, with fog another hazard – particularly in association with ice. Some fjords are noted for strong katabatic winds descending off the ice cap, although these are infrequent in summer. Intense Föhn winds are characteristic of SW Greenland and can be equally severe on occasions, lasting one or two days.