Two maps showing the route of Fridtjof Nansen's first overland crossing of Greenland in 1888. The expedition lasted 78 days in total, with the difficult crossing lasting seven weeks. It started on a sealing ship near Sermilik Fjord on the east coast and ended at Godthab on the west coast. The sealing ship on which the expedition began was never able to push through the sea ice, forcing Nansen and his crew into two small rowing boats in an attempt to reach land. For more than a week they were carried southwards by a strong current, travelling almost 400km in the wrong direction before they were able to break through the ice and step foot on Greenland. The crew then rowed back northwards for 300km towards their intended starting point, but eventually decided to head inland from Umivik instead, about 100km short of Sermilik Fjord. Almost a month (25 days) had been lost to this detour, but the crossing could now begin in earnest.

The expedition faced an unknown landscape, scattered with dangerous crevasses, steep slopes, and freezing temperatures of below 40 Celsius at night. Due to meticulous planning, food and tobacco were strictly rationed, and drinking water could only be obtained for much of the journey by melting snow in hip flasks. The expedition's supplies travelled on five wooden sleds, each weighing over 100kg, which had to be dragged through the snow. For parts of the journey, they were able to lash the sleds together and use their tent fabric as a sail to conserve energy, though this was not without risks - on at least one occasion the expedition narrowly avoided being blown straight into a deep crevasse, believing it to be a shadow on the snow rather than a deep hole.

Forty-two days after leaving Umivik on the east coast, the expedition reached the west coast at Ameralik Fjord. They were now only 75km from Godthab, but navigating the edges of the fjord proved impossible. Instead, they crafted an ingenious boat from willow branches and the tent fabric. This allowed Nansen and one other expedition member to sail the length of the fjord, arriving in Godthab on the 3rd October, 78 days after leaving the sealing ship. They were greeted warmly by the local governor and the other residents of the town, but were told that the last ship back to Denmark had already departed for the winter. After sending a boat to recover the three other members of the expedition still waiting at the top of Ameralik Fjord, the crew over-wintered in Godthab, spending much of their time studying the local Eskimo population and learning survival techniques. Nansen even wrote his book, "Eskimo Life", about his experiences living alongside the inhabitants of Godthab. 

The larger map of the whole of Greenland also shows three expeditions into the interior by Nordenskiöld in 1870, Peary in 1886, and by an unnamed group of Laplanders in 1883.

Printed colour. [SCAN2615]