66:08.99N 35:51.42W

We woke to low lying cloud and fog in the fjord but decided to move on anyway. Slow and steady marked our progress out of Sangmilik Fjord with lots of twists and turns round everything from large bergs to small pieces of brash ice. (This latter to try and preserve the forward reading echo sounder which has not survived contact on previous trips). Once clear of the mouth of the fjord we could head south between the mainland and Store Island, the narrows being a bit of an ice berg choke – “Iceberg Alley”. We had sailed through this channel heading north back in 2018 and some of the geology was recognizable. We had even seen a picture of it the night before when Mike produced his slide show of that trip.

One possible option for the next area to explore was Kangertiva fjord. (I apologise if some of the place names are incorrectly spelled but we are using a 1:500,000 scale map and some of the printing would challenge the best eyesight). Again we had poor visibility and overcast skies but the scenery was great. However, we finally decided to take a chance on the next fjord south and finally anchored in a bay close to the head of Depot Fjord in ice-free water. (The significance of the last statement will become clear shortly). A mountain objective for the next day was identified after a walk ashore had excluded another due to the glacial river between us and it. Al, Mike and Nigel were up for that. Dave and I were mixing boat duty with a trip up the valley to see what access to the glacier in the far distance might be like.

Having sent the other three off and doing a quick boat clean, Dave and I took ourselves ashore, loaded the rifle and donned boots etc. I opted to stay above the valley floor which was largely boggy in between the braided streams. This might not have been the best option but we stuck with it anyway. A few small snow patches were crossed and large boulder fields, (that’s areas of large boulders), negotiated to a point where the remainder of the route could be seen. It began to look like it was much further and more difficult in the sense of hard work rather than technical than we thought. The return trudge was enlivened by a very unexpected encounter with a small butterfly – a Cranberry Fritillary if my phone app is correct.  

We were restricted for time as it was necessary to get back to the boat. Leaving Umiak with no one on board for a short time seemed OK, but not for any length of time.

The others returned late afternoon, Cumberland sausages for tea and Al’s photos of various climbing trips to the Himalaya for evening entertainment followed.

Thursday morning breakfast was delayed by the arrival of a large berg; at least as long as Umiak with a tottering pinnacle of several tons at one end, which overhung the bow. It was also not clear as to whether or not it was sitting on our anchor chain so a bit of maneuvering and pushing with the bamboo poles was required until we felt reasonably safe again. The berg was in fact floating and we cleared the chain, adding another 10 meters to give us more room. Breakfast seemed to be an acceptable option at this point until Dave heard a loud scrunching and splashing noise and Umiak started rocking, (not too badly). The pinnacle had fallen off and we thought it might and broken up in the sea. Great relief all round that it had gone and left us in a much more comfortable position. Rain now means a boat day for all.

Ian