Posted: Apr 22, 2009 01:44 pm EDT
(ThePoles.com) Yesterday the Emirates NBD Greenland Quest was officially launched. Devon McDiarmid, Adrian Hayes and Derek Crowe will attempt a kite-ski expedition from Narsaq in the South to the JP Kocks Fjord in the North and subsequently Qaanaaq in North- West Greenland – a 3500 km expedition with no resupplies.

This is a new route and the longest unassisted, kite-skiing attempt on Greenland.

The guys are busy with their final preparations. ExWeb’s Correne Coetzer caught up with them. Here goes the interview with Devon.

ExplorersWeb: You have skied twice from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole and spent many other summers on Antarctica. Where does your passion for the ice come from?

Devon: My passion for the ice comes from the ice. I know that sounds funny, but after spending time in such amazing places, like the Antarctic and the Yukon, you either love it or hate it. I happen to love it. There is a certain peace, simplicity and pure challenge to the ice that, once you get let it in, you can’t forget it.

ExplorersWeb: With the 2 coastal start South Pole expeditions you were an assistant-guide and a guide. What qualities would you say, must a polar guide have?

Devon: Most polar guides posses the quality of............... I don’t know. The ones that I have met, that are good, I think have a certain strain of thought and passion like described above. It is not about the finish but the day to day (trying very hard here not to say the journey).

ExplorersWeb: What makes a good team-mate/client?

Devon: A good team-mate, and or client............ a good expeditioneer is made of the ability to remove themselves from themselves. Again, that sounds funny, what I mean is, they have to be able to put there “stuff” aside for the good of the team. The ability to not sweat the small stuff, to do the extra for the good of the team even if it makes their immediate life tougher. Only a few can do that well, that I’ve seen. (I’m still working on that)

ExplorersWeb: How was it to ski twice from Hercules Inlet to the Pole? Will you do it a third time if you get the opportunity?

Devon: It was amazing. I’m very fortunate. And if the chance came up to ski it again, and the timing was right, I would definitely consider it.

ExplorersWeb: How do you expect would Greenland be different or the same as Antarctica?

Devon: I expect to be very different in a many ways. We have the chance to see wild life, we will travel by boat, the weather will be different, more humid, and we will end in a village! I also expect there to be many similarities,....... cold, windy, BIG deep ice, very remote.

ExplorersWeb: It is always said that a routine and to be organised adds to the success of daily life on the ice. What routine do you plan on Greenland?

Devon: Routine and organization, AND systems are key to the success to an expedition. The Antarctic requires a certain way, and Greenland will require a different way. The key to kiting on Greenland will be “when it is good, go” where as the Antarctic, I work more on time, and not conditions.

ExplorersWeb: It was said on Antarctica that you had prepared a delicious menu for a 2004 expedition. What do you have on the menu for Greenland?

Devon: Who ever said that 2004 menu was delicious must have been asked years later! Kidding, it was good. This year’s trip will be based loosely on it. Unfortunately we will be using a different company, so not sure how it is. Kind of taking a gamble there. I do like as much real food as possible.

ExplorersWeb: What gear will you use on Greenland (apart from the kites).

Devon: Our gear list is long for Greenland. Our website will have a good section with pictures, lists, and names of products that we use. We are lucky to be living in the day we do. Gear is so light, strong and easy to use, it really makes this type of trip possible.

ExplorersWeb: You will be kiting; it can happen that you loose each other. What measures do you have in place in case something like that happen?

Devon: It is possible to loose each other while kiting. Some groups use radios in case of that happening, we will be using good old “keep an eye on each other”. We will also have the ability to overnight individually in case of worst case. But really we will be using signals to communicate and if it is that bad, one person will tow the rest. No egos here.

ExplorersWeb: How heavy will your sleds be?

Devon: I’m aiming for no heavier than 110 Kg per person.

ExplorersWeb: What do you expect to be the greatest challenge on Greenland?

Devon: The greatest challenge that I can imagine right now is being able to use the wind to its fullest. In a way that lets us travel safe and fast. I might be surprised and find out it is something else.

ExplorersWeb: What are you looking forward to on Greenland?

Devon: I’m looking forward to the same thing I look forward to in every trip, a good safe trip that allows me to learn, relax, clear my head, and get a good focus on life.

ExWeb interview with Derek Crowe, “In Yukon we call this simply 'being out on the land'”

ExWeb interview with Adrian Hayes, “You are pushing yourself totally to the maximum.”

Devon McDiarmid was born on May 24 1974, “same as Queen, and Bob Dylan” he added. He lives in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada (“nothing like it”). For his day-to-day work, he is the sales manager of Icyclesport, a bike and ski shop.

Devon is single, but he said he has a loving family, and dog. He said he has many hobbies… skiing, Mt biking, kiting, running, climbing, paddling, dirt biking, running the local Mt bike club, and trying to learn how to carve. The latest book he read was by Douglas Adams...”The salmon of doubt”. “Movie.... not sure, I like action, I like to be entertained mindlessly.”

“My favourite food is not burnt, and made by someone else.” Music... “I love music, can’t live without it. I think that all genres of music has the potential if greatness and crap.”

The Emirates NBD Greenland Quest with Devon McDiarmid, Adrian Hayes and Derek Crowe will attempt a kite-ski expedition from Narsaq in the South on the Atlantic Ocean to the JP Kocks Fjord in the North on the Artic Ocean and subsequently Qaanaaq in NW Greenland – a 3500 km journey with no resupplies.

Devon and Derek are from Canada and Adrian is British but based in the UAE. The expedition takes place from May to July 2009. The team will take food and fuel for 65 days.

This is a new route and the longest kite-ski attempt on Greenland.

Greenland’s total ice area of 1.8 million km² (695,000 square miles) corresponds to 14 times the size of England. The ice-free area amounts to 350,000 km² (135,000 square miles) – equivalent to the area of Germany. The ice contains 10 per cent of the world’s reserves of fresh water.

In 1978 Naomi Uemura’s solo dog-sled a north-south crossing with air resupply from Cape Morris Jesup to Narsarsuaq.

In 1992 Rune Gjeldnes and Torry Larsen parachuted onto the southern tip of the icecap. They paddled a kayak to within a day of Cape Farewell but were turned back by heavy pack-ice, arriving at Cape Morris Jesup after a total of 2928 km and 86 days, using skis and kites.

In 2008 Alex Hibbert and George Bullard did a 1374 miles (2546 km) ski return journey diagonal across Greenland and placed food depots along the way.

Currently, from mid-March to mid-July 2009, Jesper Melin Ganc-Petersen and Erik Bruun Jørgensen attempt to cross the Greenland Icecap diagonal from Kangerlussuaq (Sønderstrøm Fjord) in the Southwest to the fjord area of Independence Fjord in the Northeast. From there they will travel along the North coast of Greenland, via Cape Jesup Moris to Qaanaaq on the northwest coast; according to them a total of app. 3500 km.

The east-west or west-east routes are the most popular on Greenland. Not many teams had done a vertical route. The vertical kite ski or parasailing expeditions start mostly from either Narsaq or Narsarsuaq in the South and end in Qaanaaq in the Northwest; a distance of about 2500 km.

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