Arriving at Uummannaq
Uummannaq Island is so steep and rocky that, like most other Greenland towns, there is no place for a landing strip for airplanes. There are two ways to travel to and from Uummannaq: by ferry or helicopter. I decided to arrive by helicopter, as I was in a hurry to get there, and depart by ferry. The flight had two segments, both spectacular. The first part of the trip was a half-hour long flight on a Dash-7 airplane from Ilulissat to Qaarsut. Qaarsut lies across the fjord from Uummannaq Island and has sufficiently flat terrain for a plane to land. The small airport building has a sign, which reads "Uummannaq Airport."
The flight itself unfolds as a drama: it builds quickly to several dramatic climaxes, then through several twists and turns ends in a truly grand finale. Immediately north of Ilulissat the plane passes through typically dramatic Greenland scenery. Below are undulating peninsulas of ancient rock, extremely steep, that are sliced by icy fjords. To the east of the mountains of rock are beautiful views of the icecap and the many glaciers, which empty into the peninsulas. After a few minutes of admiring this amazing scenery I realized that the landscape was becoming even more dramatic. The fjords seemed to be getting larger and brighter, the glacier faces longer and more imposing. Soon everything became dizzyingly complex. What seemed like a fjord turned out to be an immense lake. The glacier faces climbed to a scale that seemed to dwarf the mountains. Everything pulsed and glowed and seemed surrounded by layer upon layer of equally dramatic scenery: mountain ranges disappearing into the distance, fjords and lakes spreading in every direction, the ice cap stretching on forever.
Suddenly the plane plunged into the Nussuaq Peninsula, a ruggedly beautiful place about which I had read a few things and tried hard to visualize. The pilot appeared to be following a giant valley that cut through the peninsula. On each side of the plane there were snow-capped peaks of jagged gray rock. They looked timeless and foreboding. The plane dipped and turned through this primordial landscape for a while when a mirage appeared: a giant shimmering emerald lake. I recognized it as the goal of every other expedition trekker who sets out to cross the Nussuaq Peninsula: Saqqap Tasersua. My mind was reeling at the sight of this beautiful lake ringed by lush greenery, set amidst snow-capped peaks. Was it real or an illusion? I looked across the aisle of the airplane. The Greenlandic man sitting opposite me was asleep, oblivious to the fantastic scenery outside. Perhaps I was the one imagining things . . .. Soon we plunged back into the mountain range.
At times I felt I could reach out and touch the mountainsides. Finally the plane burst out of its gray walled tunnel into a sparkling, sunny, island-studded fjord. I immediately recognized Uummannaq Island's distinctive profile, but surrounding it were many other islands and what appeared to be a tangle of fjords stretching back toward the icecap. By the time the plane landed at Qaarsut my mind was numb. Where exactly was I again? Although everything had proceeded as planned, nothing could have prepared me for what I had seen from the windows of the airplane. After a brief stop in Qaarsut, we boarded a Sikorsky helicopter for the short flight over to the island. Along the way we were treated to incredible views of what must be one of the world's most beautiful settings. As it was relatively late in the summer day, the sun was low and reflecting off every jewel in the fjord: icebergs, rocky islands, a few fishing boats. Uummannaq Peak glowed a rosy-orange color, although it was not sunset. Later I would learn that Uummannaq's natural rock pigment projects the beauty of sunrise and sunset even at high noon.
After landing in Uummannaq, the first thing I noticed was my own disorientation, then the howling. I stumbled around the helipad gawking at the giant icebergs floating in the bright blue fjord, the giant cliffs of the huge island directly across the fjord, Storoen, the brightly painted houses perched on Uummannaq's pink rock and silhouetted against a cobalt blue sky. I was literally spinning in a circle while my mind reeled and I tried to capture it all with my camera. A Greenlandair agent gently led me into the heliport building, as I didn't even notice another helicopter approaching. The howling came from every direction, as there were sled dogs chained to the rocks everywhere around the heliport except in the small cemetery across the road. The constant howling gave an unearthly atmosphere to this impossibly beautiful place.
