Greenland crossing 1913

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Map showing the routes of Greenland crossings up to 1913

The Greenland Crossing in 1913 was a Danish expedition to explore the Greenland Ice Sheet, which was carried out under the direction of Johan Peter Koch . The expedition was officially called "The Danish Expedition to Queen Louise Land and across the Ice Sheet of North Greenland 1912-13" and was the sixth crossing of the Greenland Ice Cream. However, it is considered the most important and first central crossing of Greenland.

Attendees

Johan Peter Koch
Drawing: Achton Friis , 1907
Alfred Wegener
drawing: Achton Friis, 1907

In addition to the Danish expedition leader Johan Peter Koch, Alfred Wegener was also particularly involved in the planning and implementation of the expedition. The two men knew each other from the Danmark Expedition (1906–1908) and had already discussed the idea of ​​crossing North Greenland from east to west in 1911. They were supported in their project by the Icelander Vigfús Sigurðsson (1875–1950). The Danish botanist Andreas Lundager (1869–1940), who had already taken part in an earlier expedition through Greenland, was also supposed to support the expedition. But Lundager realized during the preparation that he was not persevering enough for such an undertaking, and was therefore replaced by the Danish sailor Lars Larsen (1886–1978).

16 Icelandic horses were bought to transport the 20 t heavy expedition  luggage . Sigurðsson also brought an Icelandic dog named Glói with him.

preparation

The expedition started in June 1912 with a preparation in Iceland. Above all, it should be tested how the use of horses for crossing proves itself. Little information was available about the suitability of Icelandic horses, as sled dogs had mainly been used for such activities . However, the Danmark expedition from 1906 to 1908, in which both Koch and Wegener had participated, had shown that especially the passage of the stony coastline of Greenland, which was free of snow and ice in summer, caused enormous problems and that dogs were worthless here .

In the two-week test, the participants made surprisingly fast progress and overcame some mountains and volcanoes. Icelandic lava deserts did not present any problems either, so that the test expedition could be mastered with little effort. The horses had proven themselves and passed the test positively.

Crossing and wintering

On July 7, 1912, the team left Iceland for Greenland and reached the port of Danmarkshavn , which was chosen as the starting point for the expedition. The first mishap happened during the unloading and most of the 16 horses that had been brought with them ran away. The first days were spent trying to catch the missing horses. Two, however, remained missing.

The expedition luggage was first brought as far inland as possible in a motorboat, so that it could then be transported further with the help of horses. During the trip to the originally intended wintering site, a three-week break had to be taken, as one had to wait for a fjord to freeze over. The research participants also experienced a glacier calving on the trip , which almost led to the loss of horses and material, whereupon it was decided to relocate the wintering location.

On October 12, 1912, a hibernation hut was built on the Storstrømmen glacier , in which the expedition members spent most of the winter. The actual destination of the wintering, Queen Louise Land , was visited before and after the wintering by means of a sleigh ride. On one of these trips, the company manager Koch suffered a fractured lower leg and had to stay in bed for three months. The rest of the hibernation went very well, however.

On April 20, 1913, the final crossing of Greenland began and the men left their winter quarters behind. Five horses (the others had been killed during the winter) and the dog they had brought with them were still there as companions and transport animals. The 1200 km long route to the west was characterized by strong winds and blowing snow, so that the group made slow progress and had to take a break of 12 days. But the intense sunlight also bothered the men and animals.

After an eight-week journey, the expedition team reached ice-free land again for the first time, and now the crossing of a fjord had to be mastered. It was not until nine days later that it could actually be crossed and the journey to the destination Prøven , approx. 50 km away, continued. At this point all horses had already perished from exhaustion. The men became weaker and weaker due to the depleted supplies and, in dire need, slaughtered their dog. Eventually the men became aware of a boat and were able to end their expedition with the help of the crew on June 15, 1913.

findings

The research trip provided a lot of new knowledge. The interior of the country, its topography, vegetation and wildlife could be better understood. The most important parts of Queen Louise Land were explored and temperature records were made. The movements and internal structure of glaciers were examined and determined with the help of many photos. A large number of meteorological observations were also carried out, which were used as the basis for further studies. The phenomenon of the mirage was photographed for the first time with the help of a special telescope camera, but northern lights could also be captured with new cameras.

costs

The cost of the expedition was around 80,000 Danish kroner. A large part was raised by private donors. The Carlsberg Foundation contributed 30,000 crowns to the company. The Berlin Academy of Sciences , the Reich Office of the Interior and the Prussian Ministry of Culture, based in Germany, also contributed a contribution of 15,100 marks. The research trip was also supported by the provision of the ship Godthaab by the Danish Reichstag.

literature

Web links