winter in greenland

The original training plan was two weeks. Compared with the real patrol, their equipment was much lighter. In addition, some unnecessary things were cleared at the airport before, and the huskies pulled the sled effortlessly.

Dan stood on one side of the sled, squinting ahead through the goggles.The huge dark brown rock formation was approaching step by step, and the coldness unique to the coniferous forest in the air was replaced by a purer cold breath.

After passing a small fault about 10 centimeters wide, Rogers hesitated for a few seconds, stopped, and looked back at August.

August let go of the rein and walked over, Dan followed behind him: "What's wrong?"

August looked carefully at the edge of the fault: "It used to be a river here, and the ice sheet was formed because of the perennial cold climate. Now it seems that these ice shelves are not so strong." He turned his head and glanced at Dan: "Be careful." Then he whistled to Roger, and the team slowly slid across the fault.

Dan stood on the sled again, looked back at the place just now, and was a little thoughtful: "Will these ice layers...will completely melt?"

"There has not been such a situation in Greenland's historical records, but future changes cannot be ruled out. In recent years, climate change has become more and more obvious, and the ice shelves along the coast of northeastern Greenland are no longer as safe as before."

"You just said that the terrain around the Jensen Glacier is very complicated?"

"Yes. Although Sirius comes to practice every year, it is only because the climate and geography here allow new players to have an intuitive experience of the real ice field environment. We have hardly gone deep into the hinterland of the glacier, and the terrain here is not as good as the locals. People know, only with sled dogs and previous experience."

"I remember that according to the military records, a new rare earth vein was discovered in this area last year?"

August glanced at him: "To be precise, it was December last year. This news is only disclosed in the research institute and the Greenland military, but we don't even know the exact location of the mine."

"No wonder someone is interested in this place." Dan paused, and his tone became interested: "We only brought blank ammunition this time?"

August looked at him with warning eyes: "There are 20 rounds of live ammunition. Although we have a professional silencer, it is best not to shoot unless it is absolutely necessary."

Dan responded, but his eyes drifted to the equipment bag on the sled.It wasn't until August coughed meaningfully that he pretended to look away.

The map in August's hand was not a common military map. In addition to marking some dangerous areas, it also marked the hunter's lodge near the mountains.As they gradually went south, the scope of the ice sheet became narrower and narrower, and large patches of brown-green tundra emerged as far as the eye could see.

When the first hunter's lodge appeared in their sight, the range of ice and snow under their feet was already very narrow.

August stopped the team, installed a special dry land device on the sled, and led Rogers away from the glacier just now.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Dan's curious gaze, and explained: "Although it's nearing the end of summer and the polar day is coming to an end, it's still not safe up there. I've heard locals mention this river before. According to the legend of the local people in Mute, this is a famous 'river of death', when you think the ice is hard enough, you may fall in the next step."

Dan glanced at him with a smile: "Thank you for your knowledge, Major. I found that we have had more conversations in the past two days than in the past two months."

August coughed uncomfortably: "There is not much to say at the base. What can teach you has already been mentioned in the training. The field is different. Many things are better than seeing. The polar patrol is not what you think. It's that simple, if you have enough skills and experience, you will have enough chances to survive in the event of an accident."

"So when Sergeant Arthur died, did he also encounter an irresistible accident?"

August suddenly stopped in his tracks, and gave him a sharp look. Dan's eyes were very frank and undisguised, but it was under such gaze that August felt as if he had nothing to do. Hide away.

After a while, he said bluntly: "It's not an accident, the responsibility lies with me."

Dan was a little surprised, but August obviously didn't want to talk any more. He took a few steps forward and trotted with the sled dogs.

The Hunter's Lodge is a low blue building. Years of ice and snow have caused some paint on its exterior walls to peel off, but overall it is a pretty good square cottage - the whole house consists of about one and a half floors The meter-high brackets are propped up on the ground and form a circle of corridors about one meter wide around the hut. The wooden door facing them is closed, and a long and narrow window is opened on both sides of the wall. Looking out of the window, you can just see the scenery on the other side of the glacier.

The two of them unloaded the sleds on the porch and entered the house with some vital equipment and the dog.

The area inside the house is not big, about forty square meters square.Rogers sniffed around the house, and finally stopped in a corner and yelled a few times.

Dan walked over and squatted down, and under the light coming in from the window, he could see a circle of dark black stains, which looked like someone had lit a fire here.

He reached out his hand to touch the circle of prints, and turned to August and said, "It's very dry. Judging from the freshness, they should have been away for no more than half a day. Do you want to continue chasing them?"

August put down the equipment in a corner, and while taking out the windproof stove, he said, "No hurry, it's already 8 pm. According to our speed, the opponent is at least a team with about 10 dogs. With the size of the sled team, plus they have to keep confirming the coordinates along the way, we can catch up with them before noon tomorrow."

That night they contacted Ian and the others again, and learned that they were still in town and were planning to leave early tomorrow morning.At the end of the day, they got a lot of useful information. For example, Peter is the most experienced Inuit hunter in Parmute Town. Because of an accident that injured his right ankle, he gradually reduced the number of times he entered the glacier. , now he goes into the mountain mostly to bring some novelties to his little daughter; his wife died of illness three years ago, and he buried his wife at the foot of the glacier, and he and his little daughter are the only ones at home; for example, Peter loves that The little girl, in his own words, for her, even if it sent him to hell, he would not hesitate to go to hell; for example, Peter has a good shot, no matter how strong a musk ox is, he can kill that guy with three shots at most.

August gave Ian and the others a coordinate position, and instead of letting them go deep into the hinterland of the glacier, he asked them to go to the periphery where he and Dan are now and prepare to meet them.

After he hung up, Dan had packed his equipment into a corner of the room and started a fire.A small pot was placed on the stove, and the canned food was gurgling.

Seeing him looking over, Dan raised the spoon in his hand and said half-jokingly, "Try it? I have a hunch that this should be the most luxurious and delicious dinner we have these days."

August raised his eyebrows, came over and sat down.After thinking for a while, he said, "Ian and Newman will probably be here tomorrow evening."

Dan felt that he hadn't finished speaking, and looked up at him, only to see a rare dignified expression on his face.Smiling, Dan took the initiative to complete the sentence: "Do you think the best way is to keep 4 dogs here, and unnecessary equipment can also be left here. We start light, the speed will be faster, and after catching up with people It can reduce their suspicion and make them feel that we are more like people who are just out to explore. But out of my concerns, you haven't made a final decision yet."

August looked at him in surprise. The young man's face was bright and dark under the beating flames, and his green eyes were very calm. Nervous or excited during the task, just looking at him so quietly, with a gentle smile, waiting for him to speak.

For some unknown reason, he lowered his voice a bit: "Sort out the necessary equipment and dry food, no more than the capacity of one backpack. Put the other things here, and I will notify Ian and Newman." After a pause, he added One sentence: "Bring your guns."

They set off early the next morning.

To Dan's surprise, August leaves Rogers at the hunter's lodge.When they set off, Rogers and the other three sled dogs stood at the door of the hut. Rogers was a little anxious, pawed the ground with his two front paws, walked a few steps in their direction, and let out a low howl in his throat. .

August put his backpack on the sled, turned around and walked back, rubbed Rogers' head, and said softly, "You stay here and wait for Ian and Newman to come over."

Seemingly understanding what he said, Rogers stuck out his tongue and licked his hand reluctantly, turned around and ran to sit down on the corridor of the cabin, watching them leave.

They arrived at the foot of the glacier around noon. The brown tundra had disappeared, and the surrounding land had returned to a piece of white.Small faults continued to appear on the ice, and August did not dare to venture forward, so he cautiously slowed down a little.He made a good guess. After walking two or three miles north, a black shadow appeared on the snow field within his sight, which looked like a temporary camp.

He and Dan exchanged a look, and continued to approach that side. After he could clearly see the figures in the camp, he gradually slowed down with the sled dogs.

The people in the camp also noticed them. Dan squinted his eyes and saw someone opened a tent and leaned halfway in as if to say something. After a while, a burly man came out of the tent, behind him Followed by another small man in leather felt.

They walked forward for tens of meters, and the little man yelled something at them.Dan didn't hear clearly, and turned his head towards August: "What did they say?"

"They asked where we came from." August said, and shouted at the other party.Dan probably guessed that they were speaking Inuit, and without asking what August said, he jumped off the sled and walked over with the dogs.

When he got closer, he realized that the little man should be Peter, the local guide invited by the scientific expedition team.He has obvious features of a yellow race, with a dark complexion, messy black hair protruding from a felt hat, bushy eyebrows, small eyes, alert eyesight, a beard under his nose, and chapped lips. The chin was clean-shaven.

He tilted his head and chatted with the burly man in a low voice. The man looked them up and said in clumsy Inuit: "Do you speak Danish?"

August nodded. The man breathed a sigh of relief, and then he spoke in fluent Danish: "Thank God, my Inuit language is terrible, and I can only understand a little bit. I heard from the guide that you It's from Langstaller, I thought you only spoke Inuit."

Dan smiled: "To be precise, we came from the mainland of Denmark, and we would go to Greenland every summer."

The man also smiled: "The young man is really energetic. My name is Mike. We are going to Greenland for scientific research. The man next to me is Peter, who is the local guide we hired by Palmut."

Dan reached out and shook his hand: "Dan."

August also stretched out his hand: "August."

Peter grinned, and shook hands with them too.

Mike raised his chin towards the camp behind him: "It's rare to meet a companion here, come in and have a chat, if you are interested, maybe we can go together."