Posted: Jul 03, 2007 11:00 am EST
(ThePoles.com) Jolanda Linschooten is just back home from crossing Greenland with husband Frank - but she has been bitten by the ice-bug, hard.

As made clear from a chat with ExplorersWeb, Jolanda’s mind is already on Antarctica, where she sees herself someday, skiing to the South Pole – alone.

ExplorersWeb: How did you guys come up with the idea of crossing Greenland? Are you the adventurous types?

Jolanda: The outdoors have been our life since we both quit our normal jobs. I was a schoolteacher and then, in 2000, I set up my business as an outdoor photographer & writer. Frank recently quit his job as district supervisor at the water-board and is now a wilderness guide and author of books on the outdoors.

The Greenland crossing, however, was just the next level in our winter adventures, something we have been doing for years.
For over two decades we’ve been making long trips in winter, throughout the Alps and Scandinavia, on Telemark skis and on snowshoes. So we became familiar with the cold, the dark and, often, the storms. But most of all we fell in love with all the different things that winter has to offer and with the best of them all: the freedom one feels!

ExplorersWeb: Was the Greenland crossing a goal in itself, or a preparation for a longer trip - considering the Poles maybe?

Jolanda: To me, it was both. We wanted it to be a goal in itself – and with all the preparing it took, it surely was! However, walking through the white wilderness, my thoughts often turned to the South Pole and to whether I would dare to go, maybe alone.

ExplorersWeb: What kind of training did you follow – did you have any previous experience in polar areas?

Jolanda: Our previous experiences helped us know what kind of equipment we should take along, how much food, etc. In 2006 we skied from Alta to the North Cape in northern Norway, and I crossed the Norwegian Hardangervidda solo. Both places are well-known for their strong winds. We also took snow-kiting lessons (in Norway) and wrote several articles for magazines on that topic. During Frank’s Wilderness Guide training he learned about first aid, search and rescue and survival skills.

We also trained for 3 months at home in The Netherlands, kiting and hauling car-tires behind us at the beach.

ExplorersWeb: How was the crossing, was it what you expected - tougher, easier...?

Jolanda: We expected strong winds and storms - but to have two weeks of strong headwinds was much more than I imagined. We had to build a strong snow-wall every single day while the headwinds lasted. It was very cold due to the wind-chill, but I found it quite amazing that it’s possible (with the right equipment) to carry on under these circumstances. However, the storms really slowed us down for those two weeks, and our progress was much less than expected!

So, to sum up - yes, it was tougher than I had expected, but, at the same time, it was more beautiful than I could have imagined. It’s great to be out in the white so far away from everything and everybody for that long, and to be in total silence (once the wind died after those 2 weeks), to walk through glistening snow-crystals...

ExplorersWeb: Is there a particular memory of this trip that you will remember for years to come?

Jolanda: Yes, the moment I met a local man from Kangerlussuaq who offered me his newly-bought telemark shoes so that we could start our crossing. Before that moment, we were facing a wait of at least 10 days for another type of shoes to be sent from home.

Another special moment was when we saw a small bird in the middle of the icecap during a whiteout, which was definitely out of place... And of course the kiting: It’s like flying; it feels so cool to be carried by the wind!

Ed. note: The team set off from Kangerlussuaq missing some essential equipment, since their gear had been sent in advance but some boxes never arrived: Jolanda's polar shoes, high-calorie-food for two weeks, extra thermos-flasks and snow-pegs. Jolanda and Frank cut new pegs out of arctic willows; instead of extra thermos-flasks they put plastic bottles in their down jackets; and they bought rice and oats in Kangerlussuaq's small grocery to replace the missing supplies. A local villager also lent Jolanda newly bought telemark-ski shoes - size 45 instead of Jolanda’s 39.

ExplorersWeb:Do you always go travelling/on expedition with Frank? Do you work well as a team outdoors?

Jolanda: Most of the time we travel together and we do make a great team – including on mountain marathons and orienteering races. People often ask me: ’Don't you argue a lot spending so much time together?’ I have learned that, by doing what we both love, we have the best times together! But I have also gone on many solo trips in the mountains and in winter. I miss Frank then quite a bit but, still, I think it’s so special to be out in the outdoors all alone, even more than when there’s two of you. When I’m on my own, Nature just gets into my veins.

ExplorersWeb: So, what's next?

Jolanda: Good question! I’m thinking of a solo trip to the South Pole, as I definitely want to spend more time in the vast isolated snowfields of our world. But I don't like to be too dependent on sponsors and I would be for sure if I got involved in such a trip. So, we’re also thinking about more low-budget plans. We love canoeing and kayaking, so maybe we could paddle down a river in Siberia, or around Spitzbergen. No definitive plans yet, though.

Dutch PoleSpirit team members Jolanda Linschooten and Frank van Zwol (married couple) crossed Greenland’s Ice Cap west-to-east, coast to coast. They walked and kite-skied along 600 km with no airdrops. Jolanda and Frank started in Kangerlussuaq (on the coastline) on April 5th, walked all the way up to the icecap and walked down the icecap on the east coast, making their way over sea-ice and then walking to the finish line at Isortoq (located on an island) on May 13th.

The couple claims theirs is the first Dutch Greenland crossing coast to coast. “Before us, three other Dutch teams had crossed Greenland (Ronald Naar’s, Ralph Tuyn’s, and Jan van de Broek’s) but they were all airlifted by helicopter up to the icecap,” professional adventurer and outdoor photographer Jolanda told ExplorersWeb. “In 2007, when we crossed, fellow Dutch Notice Expedition also traversed the icecap. However, they started from Isortoq by dogsled to the bottom of the icecap, walked all the way up themselves, and were picked up at the other end of the icecap at point 660.”

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