SKI GREENLAND 2003
Traversing Greenland on Skis 2003
An
expedition to cross Greenland's ice cap
from the east coast to the west coast,
skiing while pulling pulks ( sleds)
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THE TEAM
David Dow and Mike Darrah have been close friends for twenty years, sharing many outdoor adventures and uncomfortable bivouacs! They have both traveled and worked from Antarctica to Alaska. They've found that the key to long trips in close quarters is having a great companion, who you can have complete faith in, as well as the depth of experience to tell one the raw truth under stressful environmental conditions. We have chosen to undertake an expedition of this magnitude as a small team because we believe "less is often more" on expeditions.
"Beware of obstinacy and foolhardiness.
For a strong man there is
a great danger in resistance and contradiction.
It takes a superior man
to allow himself to be convinced in the heat of argument by the logic of
another."
Nansen
WHO ARE WE?
Mike Darrah has worked in Antarctica twelve times with a
cumulative total of over 60 months on that ice cap! He and his wife Gayla have winter-overed at McMurdo Station. He has been Camp Manager for large
remote field camps with up to 60 individuals. These have included two
international science projects; the only joint Russian-American Antarctic sea
ice drift project Ice Station Weddell-1 and a joint Argentine-American
project on Seymore Island. His last season was running a project analyzing a new
overland tractor-sledge route to the South Pole Station.
Mike has climbed extensively, including many overseas mountain ranges. He has
climbed several big wall routes, including El Capitan and Half Dome. In
Colorado he has climbed 5.13 on rock and has many 5.12 first ascents to his
credit. He has climbed many frozen waterfalls including a solo of the Rigid
Designator. In college he nordic ski raced in the NCAA and lettered in that
sport. He also loves sea kayaking and has kayaked on the west coast of Greenland
in 2000 and 2002. When he's not seeking outdoor adventures, Mike manages a
commercial real estate portfolio.
David Dow also has worked in Antarctica. His love of backcountry skiing has led
him, his wife Karen, and their four sons to build and run ski cabins in the San
Juan Mountains of Southern Colorado www.skihuts.com
. David is a Registered Nurse who's real job is as the team leader of a heart
surgery program.
David is an experienced climber both on rock and ice. He and Mike pioneered
a first ascent on a desert spire, culminating in a cramped bivy on a single man
"Port-a-ledge." Only best-friends suffer through a night like
that! David and Mike climbed Mt. Cook together, as well as did a grueling
ascent on the East Face Mt. Sefton (alpine grade V) while 'down under'.
Together Mike and David have spent most of their lives voyaging through the backcountry on skis, bikes, foot, boats or on the end of a rope.
"The first great thing is to find yourself,
and for that you need
solitude and contemplation: at least sometimes.
I tell you, deliverance
will not come from the rushing, noisy centres of civilization.
It will
come from the lonely places."
Nansen
We would like to thank the following sponsors
for helping
to provide us with the best equipment in the world
