Expedition day: 15
Distance traveled: 126 km / 78 mi
Position: N 66,29.482' W 046,18.260'
Elevation: 2097 meters / 6,879 ft

The winds started to gradually increase as we ate breakfast. Eager to move as soon as the winds had reached a high enough speed for us to travel, we were out of the tent unrolling our kites.

The sun was out and for a change we kite-skied through the day, enjoying the sun and warm weather. With steady winds, a flat surface and an inch of powder snow, the conditions couldn't have been more enjoyable. These moments were what I loved most about Greenland!

After a full eight hours of travelling, a black dot appeared on the horizon. Within a couple more hours we approached the abandoned building of Dye-2. Built during the cold war by the Americans, it was part of a chain of 5 buildings that acted as distant early warning stations. In the late 80's, the building was quickly abandoned, according to rumors due to structural stability.

Twenty years later, Dye-2 still stands abandoned and out of place, slowly the snow drifts pilling up higher and higher. But there is life a couple kilometers to the West at Raven camp were two people are stationed for 5 months of the year to maintain a snow runway, were Hercules aircraft pilots practice landing on snow.

Tired after a long day, we erected camp just beside the old building and got some rest.

We were woken early the next morning from the sounds of a plane landing and taking off. The winds were blowing, but we had other things to do on our agenda. We dug out our head lamps and ventured up the rusty stair case into Dye-2. The place was abandoned very rapidly, and everything was left in place; eggs in the fridge, food in the kitchen and spare parts in the storage rooms. The paint peeling off the walls gave the building an eerie feel. We made our way from floor to floor, through the bar to the living area until we reached the top dome, where inside is a huge satellite dish.

After our venture inside Dye-2, we headed over to say hi to the two people stationed at Raven Camp, before calling it a day, and crawling back into our sleeping bags.

Sarah