The Inuit Windsled Project takes another step forward this May 2025 with the start of a new phase: the North Greenland Windsled Expeditions—an ambitious journey that marks the beginning of a regular series of zero-emission scientific traverses through Greenland’s most inaccessible region.

With the goal of developing a fully independent logistics network, this new expedition aims to explore and open the route of traverse from Upernavik to the East Coast, and the return route back to Upernavik, key for the developing of future North Greenland Expeditions. For that reason, the distance to travel will be between 800 and 2,000 kilometres across North Greenland, crossing its vast Ice Cap and exploring the nunataks along the eastern coast.

This time, a smaller exploration team made up of Ramón Larramendi (Spain/Greenland), Jens Jacob Simonsen (Greenland), and Antonio Mangia (Italy) will prioritize exploration and logistics. However, two scientific projects will abe conducted in collaboration with CNR-ISP (Italy) and the University of Maine (USA), focused on the region’s atmospheric composition and meteorology.

One of the major challenges of this expedition is to open a new land or sea access route from the west coast (Upernavik), eliminating dependence on helicopters and enabling more sustainable, long-term logistics. Upernavik is expected to become the project’s future logistical hub.

Since his departure from Palermo on May 8, Antonio Mangia has been documenting the journey northward and will continue to keep a journal that will help us better understand the expedition’s ongoing challenges. So far, these have included weather-related flight delays, unexpected stopovers in Nuuk and Ilulissat, and—although the departure to the ice was originally scheduled for May 19—poor weather conditions have delayed the helicopter drop-off until approximately May 22.

The expedition will take place between May and June 2025. The final route will depend on weather and ice conditions: the team may finish in the eastern nunataks and return by helicopter to Nerlerit Inaat, or complete the round trip back to Upernavik by opening a new route. Both scenarios are crucial for determining the future logistical feasibility of the project—and the decision will be made on the ice.