FIRST GREENLAND’S ICECAP CURCUMNAVIGATION 2014
5000 KMS OF POLAR
PLATEAU TRAVELLING
First Greenland’s Icecap circumnavigation – 2014
5000km of polar plateau travelling, the longest Greenland expedition ever. An innovative, sustainable,
low operating cost and global impact project.
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”
Muriel Strode
FIRST GREENLAND’S ICECAP CURCUMNAVIGATION 2014
100% ECOLOGIC VEHICLE
First zero emission vehicle in history to travel over the icecap surfaces
Thanks to state of the art giant kites the vehicle uses only the wind to transport people, load and scientific
material.
It can reach up to 40km/h speeds in favorable wind conditions. It is an ecologic, simple and reliable system
that has been designed to explore and survey remote and unknown areas in Greenland and Antartica
icecaps interior.
It has been thought as a green alternative mean for fuel-burning conventional convoys, which are expensive, polluting and logistically complicated.
FIRST GREENLAND’S ICECAP CURCUMNAVIGATION 2014
POSSIBLE ROUTE
Longest possible route over Greenland’s Icecap
A unique expedition over the biggest Island of the world, on the coldest place in the Arctic circle.
5.000km around the gigantic Greenland´s glaciar, with no support at all.
Thanks to the Windsled a group of polar explorers and technicians may attempt this ambitious project
hard to be done in total autonomy by other means.
FIRST GREENLAND’S ICECAP CURCUMNAVIGATION 2014
ABOUT US
Ramón Larramendi
Polar Explorer and leader of numerous epic expeditions for more than 30 years. He was part of the first
Spanish expeditions to Greenland, to Magnetic North Pole and Geographic North Pole. He travelled for
3 years on the Circumpolar Expedition: 14.000km on dog sledge and kayak, from South Greenland to
Alaska. He learned the Inuit language, their ancient knowledge and philosophy on Polar Travelling.
He has solved the old wish of polar explorers of sailing over the ice by developing the Windsled, and for
his achievement he has led an International group of experts and technicians that has accumulated 4
Greenland crossings and 2 Antartic crossings. Almost 20.000km covered over the icecaps.
He currently runs in Greenland a Polar Travel agency, the Inuit WindSled project and the Inuit Enviromental
Patrol.
FIRST GREENLAND’S ICECAP CURCUMNAVIGATION 2014
INUIT WINDSLED PROJECT
The International Inuit WindSled Project has 14 years of history
It pursues to help on the logistics for surveying and monitoring the study of Climate change on Polar Regions.
The philosophy of the project joins the Inuit way of life of simplicity and reliability together with nowadays
technology and scientific commitment.
The project has raised to give simple and eco-friendly alternatives for conventional fuel-burning logistics
when travelling on remote Greenland and Antartica´s interior.
The Windsled may transport up to 2 tonnes of personnel and material over unknown remote territories
hard to reach by other means, at a low operating cost and with zero impact to environment.
It has a a great potential for exploration, transport and most of all for scientific surveying by setting a nonpollutant lab over the Windsled.
FIRST GREENLAND’S ICECAP CURCUMNAVIGATION 2014
WINDSLED EXPEDITIONS
Transantartic 2000 - 2003
Greenland has been the testing ground for developing the Windsled. Almost 6.000km over the inland ice to engineer an idea into a real vehicle that was ready to try a bigger challenge: the East Antartica.
2000: first 600km covered by a simple sled probed that the concept worked. Many difficulties related to the
kite’s strength gave hard experiences on the ice: the Windsled kites needed to be reinforced from that time on.
2001: a first South-North traverse with an more developed windsled. Sailing with stormy weather led to set up
a new record of distance covered in 24h over Greenland's icecap: more that 400km; it was big step forward on
Windsled driving technique.
2002: a second South-North traverse was needed to secure knowledge and improve techniques. The Windsled
design was getting better in efficiency and reliability.
2003: an East –West traverse was needed to sail the Windsled in unfavourable wind directions. It crossed the
Greenland icecap Dome where the wind is weak, and it developed the technique to move almost 90º off the
surface wind.
FIRST GREENLAND’S ICECAP CURCUMNAVIGATION 2014
WINDSLED EXPEDITIONS
Transantartic 2005 - 2006
The Windsled passes its litmus test with the hard Transantartcic Expedition 2005-06, where Antartica's ice cap showed its differences compared with Greenland’s ice cap. It succeeded in covering
4.500km along the coldest place on Earth: East Antartica.
The expedition achieved many positive results: it was the first one to reach the Inaccessibility Pole;
the first time that a non pollutant vehicle sailed Antartica´s interior, it was the longest and fastest
autonomous expedition by that time and it set a new record in distance covered in 24h.
This expedition fulfilled the geographic and exploring challenge of crossing East Antartica and opened a new phase on the Windsled project, which started to focus on developing a green-convoy as
an alternative of a fuel-burning convoy.
FIRST GREENLAND’S ICECAP CURCUMNAVIGATION 2014
WINDSLED EXPEDITIONS
Acciona Windpowered Antarctica
A leading company on renewable energy: Acciona, sponsored the Windsled project so to be the first zero
emission vehicle to reach the South Pole. The expedition was planned to match up with 100th anniversary
of the first human to reach the south Pole.
The Windsled set up scientific data collection for 3 different projects and carry one scientific person within
the team.
It increased the payload of the Windsled, it improved the comfort of the living module and made for
the first time a separate module for the personel controlling the kites.
FIRST GREENLAND’S ICECAP CURCUMNAVIGATION 2014
MEDIA
TV, Documentaries, Press
INFORME SEMANAL (TVE)
AL FILO DE LO IMPOSIBLE (TVE)
EL ESCARABAJO VERDE (TVE)
EL MUNDO
MUY INTERESANTE
GEO
FIRST GREENLAND’S ICECAP CURCUMNAVIGATION 2014
PEOPLE HAVE SAID
Peter Clarksson (Ex Directir of SCAR; Scott Polar Insitute, UK):
“We might be at the threshold of a new scientific era for exploring and monitoring the Antartic
Interior”.
Pío Cabanillas (Marketing and Communication Director of ACCIONA co.):
“A unique project that allows to travel the Antartic Interior by zero emission. It is worth to follow
it. Noboday has done any thing similiar to it!”.
Juan José Dañobeitia (Director of UTM, Spanish Antartic bases logistics):
“The Windlsed will help to dimisnish the environmental impact that the Scientific work has in
Antartica continent”.