New Mountains to Climb in Greenland

[tvashtarkatena]

Carl Egede Boggild, a professor of snow-and-ice physics at the University Center of Svalbard, said Greenland could be losing more than 80 cubic miles of ice per year.

“That corresponds to three times the volume of all the glaciers in the Alps,” Dr. Boggild said.

 

The Warming of Greenland (NYT)

 

[Dechristo]

80 cubic miles?!

[tvashtarkatena]

That's what floored me. For comparison purposes, when St. Helens went off, it spewed a total of ONE cubic mile.

[Bill Slugg]

In 1970, at age 17, with the permission of my parents,I was recovering from a summer of stumbling through the Alps. Icelandic happened to pass over the Southern end of Greenland. I took some photos. Later, I was able to correlate the photos with some maps I found in the library at Penn state. Thar's a bunch of good climbing thar boys.

 

edited 1-16-07 to correct spelling, add additional comments.

Edited January 16, 2007 by Bill Slugg

[tvashtarkatena]

I had that same pleasure in the mid 90s. Most spectacular landscape I've ever seen.

[kevbone]

Pictures?

[Bill Slugg]

kevbone

I got about 5 or 10 half slides in one of my boxes somewhere.

They were from 35,000 feet and basically show black on white. One slide might cover 10 miles by 10 miles. Of little climbing value.

I remember thinking - Damn, what would it be like to be down there in summertime with 20 hours of light, in good weather, on unnamed routes on unnamed peaks, just slammin' em out. (With, of course, daily helicopter supply of fresh fruit, hookers, and the Philadelphia Bulletin).

 

I remember a Nat'l Geo article about 10 years ago referencing a south facing granite (?) face on the northern tip of Greenland that was found to have plants on it.