The Preparations
...
Already in May 2001 the team had
traveled to a two-week pre-expedition to Greenland, in order to prepare
their enterprise optimally. In Scoresby Sund, the starting point of
the expedition, they met some mushers (dog owners), in order to select
and buy suitable dogs. Expedition member Ralf Hewelcke is the dog and
sleigh specialist in the team. No other German put as many dog sled
kilometers back in Greenland as he. He sees the point with the selection
of the dogs: The animals must be teamable and possess an iron will -
characteristics, which distinguish particularly greenlandic sleigh dogs.
Additionally the team assigned a Inuit sleigh manufacturer to construct
an original greenlandic sleigh. The sleighs are manufactured from wood
after centuries-old drawings and bound only with cords. Only the special
dogsled construction of the Inuit guarantees that the material withstands
the extreme request on the way to the Gunnbjoerns Fjell. Beyond that
two dogsled prototypes were tested during test tripss around cape Tobin
and cape Hope and ultramodern equipment such as tents, clothing, sleeping
bags etc. was tested. Further trips to Norway in January 2002 are planned.
The connection between tradition and Hightech combined with a function
of highest logistic and physical requirement makes the expedition 70°
north an event.