The SOS Arctic WindSled 2024 Expedition is underway. Aqa’s father, an Inuit friend participating in the expedition, warned us before departure: “Only a madman would dare to venture onto the great ice!” He’s probably right—being a little crazy is a requirement for joining the WindSled team.

As I write this, I’m inside a tent set up on a sled. In the coming days, we’ll assemble the sled in its final version, which will be powered solely by large kites, to head north for about 1,400 kilometers. Nunatak means “mountain surrounded by ice” in the Kalaallit language. After an hour by boat from Narsaq yesterday, we transported scientific equipment, some food, and our gear to the Nunatak base camp, about 400 meters above sea level. We arrived at the Qaleralik glacier front, unloaded, and continued on foot to reach the glacier’s edge. Kaleralik is the indigenous name for halibut, a fish that was once abundant in this area, but the halibut population isn’t the only thing that has changed here.

Until ten years ago, the strip of land we crossed was still buried under dozens of meters of ancient ice, which extended several kilometers further into the fjord.

Once we reached the base, we spent 8–9 hours organizing food, equipment, and assembling the WindSled modules. The modules are flexible and adapt to the ice’s uneven terrain. The wind-powered vehicle consists of four wooden sleds connected by Kevlar ropes and small carabiners. Aqa’s father was probably right, but the sense of majesty that surrounds us is indescribable.

There’s a lot of work to do. The weather is harsh, and the winds feel like they’re cutting into our skin, but the beauty of the vast white expanse around us is incredible.
—Enrico Gianoli, member of the SOS Arctic WindSled 2024 expedition

The Scientific Projects

The expedition maintains its scientific and research focus with five projects:

• ‘Microairpolar’ (Autonomous University of Madrid)
• ‘PFAS Monitoring and Detection’ (Climate Change Institute, University of Maine)
• ‘Pioneer’ (for aerial monitoring of remote areas) by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the Italian Institute of Polar Sciences
• A Spanish joint project by the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) to analyze snow impurities (black carbon, mineral dust, and microplastics)
• A project led by the Polar Science Institute of Bologna to analyze snow samples, aiming to identify emerging pollutants and study microbiological characteristics such as cold-adapted bacteria.

The Team

This new expedition includes scientists and explorers from various nationalities, such as:

• Italians Roberto de Pieri (engineer specializing in renewable energy) and Enrico Gianoli (mountain guide)
• Spanish mountaineer and cameraman Felipe Ruiz
• Venezuelan mountaineer Marcus Tobía
• Bo Kleffel, in charge of logistics