- The Gronau Nunatakker:

The Gronau Nunatakker (GNT hereafter) lies at the western end of the subsidiary icefield known as Knud Rasmussen Land near the east coast of Greenland, at an approximate position of N69'30 W30'00. It was first sighted and named after von Gronau during his aerial crossing of the icecap in 1931. In 1934 Martin Lindsay and his team sledged past the GNT on their way from the Watkins Mountains to the Prince of Wales Mountains, in an attempt to carry out a terrestrial survey to fix a trigonometric level on Gunnbjørnsfjeld. A few outlying peaks were ascended in order to take survey readings from positions of altitude.

In 2002 a joint party of British and American climbers led by Owain Jones and Paul Williams visited the eastern end of the GNT mountain range, and several ascents were made. The GNT range, twice the length of the Mont Blanc Massif, has to date only been explored in its eastern fringes. A large part of the GNT remains pristine and unexplored, with a multitude of fine peaks awaiting first ascents.

The following is an extract from the 2001 expedition report of a group who explored the Lindberghs Mountains, which lie about 50 km south-west of the GNT:

“The Gronau Nunatakker: this is the range to get excited about. If the JOGs [US military maps] are anything to go by, the Gronau Nunatakker cover an area of up to 20km wide and 75km long… realistically ten teams could each spend a month there without too much risk of running out of things to do.”

(Lanchester Greenland 2001 Report, ‘Further Potential’, p.98)

- Knud Rasmussen Land:

This subsidiary icefield has seen a small number of expeditions in the last 20 years - mostly teams skiing into the popular Watkins Bjergs. One team - John Hulse and Al Read, from the Ogwen MRT – skied from the Watkins to the eastern end of the GNT in 2002. The mountains to the north-east of the Watkins Bjergs, which lie at the southern edge of Knud Rasmussen Land, have never been visited, and we believe there is potential for exciting first-ascents along our ski-route. We shall be picked up at approximately N69’10 W28’20.

 

Greenland			Expedition Area