Oh yes, it has.
This is Frederik being relaxed and talking about something he is passionate about and you can tell.
https://www.billedbladet.dk/kongelig...vild-oplevelse
The journalist points out that they were 1.000 km away from the nearest human being during the Sirius 2000 expedition.
Frederik starts out by inflating himself a little, because the expedition started out from the remote Quaanaq village, but the dogs had not been teamed up properly before setting out, so within moments the dogs were fighting among themselves and the reins holding the dogs were hopelessly entangled - to the great amusement of the locals!
That's when the locals came up with an alternative name for the expedition: Failure 2000...
From 00:20- 01:00.
Then he talks about there really not being an opportunity to talk about things and exchange deep thoughts at the end of the day. They were wasted needing 7.000 calories a day! The cold and physical strains takes it's toll.
(It's normal for a Sirius patrolman, who is in peak physical condition to lose some 10-20 kilos during a standard trek lasting a couple of months.)
Notice the stunning looking Greenlandic family at 01:27. I think I have seen the father before.
Frederik's expression at 02:01 is explained by the need for a transition before going straight from Daneborg (the HQ of the Sirius Patrol) to Denmark, otherwise he would hide in a corner in one of the palaces like a frightened animal.
The relationship with the Sirius Patrolmen and their dogs is legendary!
They are big, intelligent and immensely strong - and half wild. They have to be. Domesticated dogs rely to much on their pack-leader, their human, and that can make the difference between life and death in an emergency.
The human steer the pack alright and is in charge of distributing food and such, but it's the most intelligent and strongest dog, that is the executive pack-leader.
The dogs are sentries in case a polar bear gets too close and they will attack a polar bear without hesitation and before being ordered to do it by their human.
Some yeas ago Frederik, Mary, QMII and PH visited Greenland, and Frederik was to demonstrate how to drive a sledge. He started out by kicking and yelling at the dogs, because there must be no question as to who is in charge.
It is normal, perhaps even crucial, that the patrolmen form a very strong bond with one dog in particular. The dog is a close friend and psychologist and the dog will accompany the patrolman when he goes to the privy. Both to stand guard but also to eat he feces. That's good calories that shouldn't be wasted and it strengthens the bond between dog and man.
And protects against polar bears. Dog feces = trouble. But human feces, now that might be worth investigating!
The dogs of the Sirius Patrol are put down at age five. By then they are worn out and it would be an act of cruelty to bring them on a trek. They would have problems keeping up, and a weak dog is bullied mercilessly by the other dogs.
So the patrolman takes his favorite dog away, say goodbye and shoot it. That's not something you leave for others to do.
This photo illustrate how big the dogs are:
https://karriere.forsvaret.dk/global...er/sirus_3.jpg
It's unconditional love though:
https://artebooking.dk/wp-content/up...de-forside.jpg
The view from the office is great:
https://karriere.forsvaret.dk/global...er/sirus_2.jpg
Also at night:
https://www.kanalfrederikshavn.dk/ty...d7ba7a2b7e.jpg
During a trek they sleep in tents, but sometimes they have the luxury of sleeping in one of the old hunters-cabins dotted over Eastern Greenland.
Being perhaps 10-15 square meters, this is where a pair of hunters lived for a year at a time, sometimes two or three years, if the annual supply-ship couldn't get through the ice.
https://www.udogse.dk/wp-content/uploads/fangst4.jpg
That is if a polar bear hasn't knocked down a wall in order to get inside...
AFAIK the Sirius Patrol still use bolt action rifles. They work in the cold.
https://laststandonzombieisland.file...-2048x1366.jpg
Frederik:
https://bt.bmcdn.dk/media/cache/reso...g-beretnin.jpg
https://bt.bmcdn.dk/media/cache/reso...ig-vovse--.jpg
A Sirius man is a professional soldier who signs up for two years in Greenland, interrupted by two weeks leave in Iceland, for dentist visits and such.
Some opt to stay for longer than that. But most leave the military afterwards. They have become too individualistic even for the special forces.
Upon arriving at Daneborg, they are teamed up with an experienced Sirius man, who teach them all they know, and the next year, they are in return teamed up with a new man, whom they teach what they know.
So far no woman has been a member of the Sirius Patrol. The physical demands alone are so taxing that few women can pass. There can be no lowering of standards or they die - and risk the lives of others. Because if you end up in trouble during a patrol you are on your own.
No helicopters can reach you, even if there were any around. The only way to get help is by another patrol, that will be hundreds of kilometers away. And AFAIK it has happened only once that a patrol was rescued by another patrol.
Planes you say? The nearest planes are in south-east Greenland, at the very least a 1.000 kilometers away. Even if a plane can reach and find you, it has to land - perhaps twenty kilometers away. That is, if the weather is good.
Ships? At best days away, if they can even come anywhere near you, due to the ice.
Because the Sirius Patrol make their big treks during late winter early spring when the ice is firm. And during the winters there are no one else there. No scientists, no tourist, no one.
Apart from upholding Danish sovereignty of North East Greenland, by presence, the Sirius Patrol during the summer double as police officers, paramedics, guides, civil servants, advisors, nature guides and all the other multitude of services of a state apparatus to scientist and tourists as well a a few Greenlandic hunters.
Why not snowmobiles?
They need fuel. If a snowmobile breaks down you are in trouble!
If a dog breaks down, you continue.
And in an emergency you can't eat a snowmobile.
handsome with the glasses.
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