Muhler
Imperial Majesty
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2010
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- Eastern Jutland
- Country
- Denmark
Summary of article in Billed Bladet #19, 2015.
Written by Ulrik Ulriksen.
As you know M&F went for a little outing to East Greenland recently.
They touched down in the small airport at Nerlerit Inaat. And this is where most, if not all, of the pictures are from.
From here they flew with a twin engined propeller plane to Danmarkshavn, further north. Here a team from (almost certainly) the Sirius Patrol waited for them. (Because there are hardly anyone else around at all in this area!)
And they went out for a couple of days on the ice on sledges.
It's springtime in Greenland now so the temperature in Nerlerit Insaat was a balmy minus 10 degrees C = 14 F.
Further north the temperature dropped to minus 20 degrees C = - 4 F.
According to the article they trekked between Danmarkshavn (*) and Daneborg, which is the HQ for the Sirius Patrol.
The area is also a nature reservation, so apart from the occasional hut used by the Sirius Patrol, there are literally no humans around.
The locals at Nerlerit Insaat were pretty delighted to see M&F and that is evident from the photos.
(*) That is basically a supply base for researchers, equipment supplies for the Sirius Patrol and last but by no means least a weather station. The weather stations is a goldmine! Because so many routes pass the North Pole so the airlines pay handsomely to get the very latest on the weather in order to save fuel.
There are permanently some six-eight people stationed at Danmarkshavn. And in the winter months they are utterly alone, perhaps visited once or twice by a team from the Sirius Patrol.
In the summer, things get busy! Researches fly in, supplies fly in, even the odd tourist and film crew and sometimes the DRF.
The Sirius Patrol, consisting of some 14 men, maintain Danish sovereignty by their physical presence. During the brief summer months they patrol in cutters but during the long winter months two-man teams patrol a coastline that is equivalent to the US-east coast. The aim is to visit every cove and valley every five year - if the weather permits! So there are here and there entire generations of birds, seals, moscus oxen and wolves that have never even seen a human being, because there have been no one in the area for perhaps ten-fifteen years.
The Sirius Patrol itself is under the navy and the individual members come from all branches of the military and they serve for two years, only interrupted for a brief visit to Iceland, for a check up with a doctor and a dentist. The teams consists of a one year veteran and a rookie, who next year will be the veteran of a team.
After two years they return to Denmark, but quite a few opt to return for another two year tour. They rarely stay on in the military upon returning to Denmark, because they have become too independent and too self reliant. It's difficult for them to become a part of a larger team and to have someone telling them what to do.
The Sirius Patrol don't use planes. The weather is simply too unreliable and where should they get fuel anyway? Nor do they use snowmobiles.
Snowmobiles don't warn against polar bears. You can't eat a snowmobile. If a snowmobile breaks down you are in deep trouble! If one dog breaks down, you move on anyway.
Since there are no photos of M&F on the ice, let's have the next best thing, some scenery from the Sirius Patrol:
Here with Frederik back in 2000: http://www.bt.dk/sites/default/file...0-kronprins-frederik-billeder-og-beretnin.jpg
The dogs look cute. They ain't! And being working dogs they are put down at age five: http://maugstruptidende.dk/wp-content/uploads/Morten-Hilmer.jpg
Here are three researchers outside a cabin where hunters lived, sometimes for a couple of years without human contact. Nowadays some of them are used as a pit stop by the patrols. That is if a polar bear hasn't pushed in a wall, to get to the supplies inside: http://xsirius.dk/files/images/518_19_20040802_DSCN1955.JPG
Inside such a cabin: http://multimedia.pol.dk/archive/00466/_____Intet_navn_____466511a.jpg
Nice view from the office, eh? http://sermitsiaq.ag/sites/default/files/media/1-1.jpg
The feeling of freedom, complete freedom! The horizon is 100 kilometers away or ten, it doesn't matter: http://a.bimg.dk/node-images/435/8/2200x/8435235-efw.jpg
Time for a break. It could be noon or midnight, in the summer you can't tell without a watch: http://kronch.dk/files/47810013.jpg
Written by Ulrik Ulriksen.
As you know M&F went for a little outing to East Greenland recently.
They touched down in the small airport at Nerlerit Inaat. And this is where most, if not all, of the pictures are from.
From here they flew with a twin engined propeller plane to Danmarkshavn, further north. Here a team from (almost certainly) the Sirius Patrol waited for them. (Because there are hardly anyone else around at all in this area!)
And they went out for a couple of days on the ice on sledges.
It's springtime in Greenland now so the temperature in Nerlerit Insaat was a balmy minus 10 degrees C = 14 F.
Further north the temperature dropped to minus 20 degrees C = - 4 F.
According to the article they trekked between Danmarkshavn (*) and Daneborg, which is the HQ for the Sirius Patrol.
The area is also a nature reservation, so apart from the occasional hut used by the Sirius Patrol, there are literally no humans around.
The locals at Nerlerit Insaat were pretty delighted to see M&F and that is evident from the photos.
(*) That is basically a supply base for researchers, equipment supplies for the Sirius Patrol and last but by no means least a weather station. The weather stations is a goldmine! Because so many routes pass the North Pole so the airlines pay handsomely to get the very latest on the weather in order to save fuel.
There are permanently some six-eight people stationed at Danmarkshavn. And in the winter months they are utterly alone, perhaps visited once or twice by a team from the Sirius Patrol.
In the summer, things get busy! Researches fly in, supplies fly in, even the odd tourist and film crew and sometimes the DRF.
The Sirius Patrol, consisting of some 14 men, maintain Danish sovereignty by their physical presence. During the brief summer months they patrol in cutters but during the long winter months two-man teams patrol a coastline that is equivalent to the US-east coast. The aim is to visit every cove and valley every five year - if the weather permits! So there are here and there entire generations of birds, seals, moscus oxen and wolves that have never even seen a human being, because there have been no one in the area for perhaps ten-fifteen years.
The Sirius Patrol itself is under the navy and the individual members come from all branches of the military and they serve for two years, only interrupted for a brief visit to Iceland, for a check up with a doctor and a dentist. The teams consists of a one year veteran and a rookie, who next year will be the veteran of a team.
After two years they return to Denmark, but quite a few opt to return for another two year tour. They rarely stay on in the military upon returning to Denmark, because they have become too independent and too self reliant. It's difficult for them to become a part of a larger team and to have someone telling them what to do.
The Sirius Patrol don't use planes. The weather is simply too unreliable and where should they get fuel anyway? Nor do they use snowmobiles.
Snowmobiles don't warn against polar bears. You can't eat a snowmobile. If a snowmobile breaks down you are in deep trouble! If one dog breaks down, you move on anyway.
Since there are no photos of M&F on the ice, let's have the next best thing, some scenery from the Sirius Patrol:
Here with Frederik back in 2000: http://www.bt.dk/sites/default/file...0-kronprins-frederik-billeder-og-beretnin.jpg
The dogs look cute. They ain't! And being working dogs they are put down at age five: http://maugstruptidende.dk/wp-content/uploads/Morten-Hilmer.jpg
Here are three researchers outside a cabin where hunters lived, sometimes for a couple of years without human contact. Nowadays some of them are used as a pit stop by the patrols. That is if a polar bear hasn't pushed in a wall, to get to the supplies inside: http://xsirius.dk/files/images/518_19_20040802_DSCN1955.JPG
Inside such a cabin: http://multimedia.pol.dk/archive/00466/_____Intet_navn_____466511a.jpg
Nice view from the office, eh? http://sermitsiaq.ag/sites/default/files/media/1-1.jpg
The feeling of freedom, complete freedom! The horizon is 100 kilometers away or ten, it doesn't matter: http://a.bimg.dk/node-images/435/8/2200x/8435235-efw.jpg
Time for a break. It could be noon or midnight, in the summer you can't tell without a watch: http://kronch.dk/files/47810013.jpg
Last edited:
(we need a tyre-kicking smiley)
