The east coast of Greenland in late May. Yes, it's springtime. The days are endlessly long and the sun barely sets. But not a patch of 'green' land in sight. The landscape is still groaning under the snow and ice.
Along the coast and in the fjords, the seawater is frozen. Places like Tasiilaq and Ittoqqortoormiit can only be reached by helicopter or dog sled. It'll be another month before the first Royal Arctic Line cargo ship arrives, once the sea ice has melted.
But there's one ship that's already made it: Le Commandant Charcot, owned by the Ponant cruise ship company. This season, these conditions, are what this powerful ship was designed for.
We're a small group of nine people, on board to try out something really special: a “polar raid.” The idea is to leave the ship behind somewhere and camp for two nights in the wilderness. Only on the third day will we be picked up again – possibly in a different place – by Le Commandant Charcot.
I'm extremely grateful to Ponant for asking me to be one of their guinea pigs. I also happen to be the oldest of the group, so perhaps they were looking for someone who would be a bit closer to the profile of their typical passenger?
The group is led by polar explorer Nicolas Dubreuil and his Greenlandic friend and guide, Ole Eliassen. The team also includes a few Ponant people, two French Alpine guides, the on-board doctor and two fellow photographers.