1-week heliboarding tour in Kangaamiut, Greenland

Join IFMGA certified mountain guide Hans in this unique heliboarding program in Greenland. Visit the wonderful Kangaamiut village, just a short way from amazing glacial runs. Get ready to have a great time next spring!

7 Days

Apr

High

Intermediate

Description

The west coast of Greenland is a stunning destination for heliboarding. Here you will find amazing steep, flat glaciers and 2000-meter descents right down to the sea. This is also an enriching cultural experience, as we will spend time with the local people and traditions.

This 7-day program will take us to the village of Kangaamiut, on an island off the coast of the Davis Strait, between two large fjords. This small village is located south of the Arctic Circle, and is a unique and colorful place.

The easiest way to get there is via Copenhagen, Denmark. Once there, we fly to Kangerlussuaaq, in Greenland. Then, another short flight takes us to Maniitsoq. Finally, we will transfer to Kangaamiut, 60 km away, either by boat or by helicopter.

Snowboarding across the Kangaamiut fjords is a wonderful experience. To come along, you will need an excellent fitness level, and previous experience snowboarding in different snow conditions.

Due to our unbeatable location, we’ll be only a short way from a large number of glacial runs dropping into the fjords behind Kangaamiut Island.

After an exciting snowboarding week, we will return to Maniitsoq, and fly back to Copenhagen the following day.

Here in Kangaamiut, days around mid-spring are already quite long, and last between 18 and 20 hours. During this period, all snow conditions are possible. Yet, we will most likely find good spring corn snow in the south, and powder snow in the north. Finally, the risk of avalanche is lower during this season.

Groups for this heliboarding program will be of 4 people (plus me), per guide. This way, the heli time can be spread among the group.

Note that groups on this heliboarding program can also include skiers, as well as snowboarders.

Ready to join me in this 1-week heliboarding adventure in Kangaamiut, Greenland? Request your booking!

Price includes

Accommodation included
Guiding fee
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Transport during the trip
Luggage transfer
Helicopter drops as described

Price details

Price per person to join a group of 12 people is 13800 EUR (+service fee).
The price per person to join a group on scheduled dates will vary depending of the final size of the group.

Details

More info

The helitime allowances are split on a pro rata basis among the group. As part of the package I have allocated 6 hours of helitime for each group. Additional heli hours are available at the cost of €3000 per hour.

-Accommodation and food: We'll stay close to the local population and their daily routine. We'll rent houses from a few of the families, and gather together in the evening for our home-cooked meal. Regina, our hostess, whips up hearty meals including local fish and meats (halibut, musk ox and reindeer all featured on the menu). She also sells wine and beer (beware of the Greenlandic prices!)

There is also a small supermarket in the village where you can stock up on extra snacks or drinks for your houses. However, the price includes all meals and also a picnic heliboarding lunch.

The houses are warm and comfortable and most of them have stereo, DVD player, showers, drying and laundry facilities. Due to the extreme cold temperatures in the winter months and the bare granite nature of the island, toilet facilities use a bag system which is emptied and collected daily.

-Helicopters and safety: Air Greenland supplies AeroSpatiale Squirrel (aka A Star/Ecureil) AS350 B3 helicopters equipped for Arctic flying (HF radio, inflatable skids, survival bags). These are operated with four guests in the rear seat and the guide up front in a single seat.

Pilots have both heliski and Arctic experience.

Each machine has a sat phone and GPS. Flight monitoring is via VHF radio to the Tower in Kangerlussuaaq and Air Greenland heli-base in Nuuk. There is an emergency back up from another Squirrel operating to the south of us and, if required, a 19 seat Sikorsky is one and a half hours away in Nuuk.

All guides carry a sat phone.

Meeting point

Copenhagen

About the guide

Hans

5.0

(1)

Mountain Guide

I'm a Swiss trained, American born, mountain guide living in Verbier, Switzerland. I guide my clients backcountry skiing in winter and mountaineering in the summer. Many of my clients are repeat clients with whom I have been sharing experiences together for over 20 years.

I was born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii. Helping my father break horses as soon as I could walk certainly helped me acquire a taste of adventure. I left the Hawaiian islands to attend JSC in northern Vermont and discovered winter. Majoring in Urban and Environmental planning increased my desire to explore the outdoors, and with the ski slopes of northern Vermont in my back yard, the addiction to winter skiing and ice climbing and summer rock climbing set in.

I moved to Verbier, Switzerland in 1983. Some of my climbing partners were local guides and encouraged me to enter the Swiss Mountain Guide’s Training program. I began my first course in the winter of ’91 and received my UIAGM status two and a half years later.

I'm passionate about my guiding and sharing these alpine and maritime experiences with my clients. Over the years, they have become very close friends and through mutual confidence, are able to extend their reach further and further into the mountains. My approach through cognitive behavioral coaching, heightens these shared experiences and enables us to enjoy all our life experiences to their fullest.

Languages

English

Certificates

IVBV | UIAGM | IFMGA

Request more information

What people are saying about Hans

Dmitry

Thank you very much for recommending me as a guide Mr. Hans Solmssen. He is a highly qualified intelligent person. It was a real pleasure to climb with him and under his supervision.