Bitten is giving birth...

today our female dog, Bitten started giving birth.
throughout the day she gave birth to 8 puppies.
unfortunately, since she wasn't supposed to have them they have all been put to "sleep"

here it's dark, windy, snowing massivly and -21
enjoy your daylight

Christmas eve

Dinner time

Reading stories to "little kids"...

We had a great Christmas eve, though only being the two of us.
we tried to eat a goose and a duck, altogether 7,4 kg, but we didn't manage so we had some left overs the next day.
I got some presents, quite a few books, a sweather, some candy and some games and movies...
Of course i had to much to eat, so don't have to be eating anything for a while...
Christmas eve was the coldest day in the autumn, -31 a frost clear.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

it's -31, sky clear and snow everywhere

Links about celebrating Christmas up here...

http://forsvaret.dk/SOK/Nyt+og+Presse/Jukegave+til+Slaedepatruljen+Sorius.htm

http://forsvaret.dk/NR/rdonlyres/826A8099-CBC3-4DC8-AF36-DAB693612CC7/55333/SOK4_Julenlangtvaekhjemmefra.pdf

PS someone stole my pictures...but now I'm famous hehe

the longest day...

Tomorrow is the longest day of the year. from then and hensforward the days get longer and brigther. this is a wonderfull thing. the sun will rise here on the 11th of February...

the last couple of days we have spent repeairing the snow scooters and our snow blower. we have put up some Christmas decorations and are drying the tree, so it can come up in the living-room!

the temperature dropped more than 10 degrees tiday, creating a myst. it looks quite mysterious but beautifull.

Christmas Drop (juledropp)

Wednesday 12th of December we had our anual Christmas drop. we got 2300 kg of goods. eg. food, bewerages, presents, Christmas tree, new beds and spare parts.
here everything went fine, but on Daneborg and Danmarkshavn the lost one bundle each. this was due to a failure on the parachute. therefore some of their things where kind of flat and broken...

it put some pictures on the net, if you would like to have a looksy..

flemming the lemming

more pictures...

take a look at my pictures!

it hasn't been snowing for 2 months. then the day before we get our Christmas drop it started snowing and blowing. we will just have to see tomorrow if we get our presents...
we are supposed to get 3 collies in a parachute with a weight of 2300 kg!
stay in chirstmas mood

finished

today I finished the last things with the new room in the tower. after the painting dried, I washed and cleaned everything, put up a lamp and redecorated the room.
it looks very nice now and everything is more practical than before...
here it's dark and cloudy and we are waiting for father christmas who will be here next week...

stormy weather...

for the last 2 days we had bad weather with wind and snow blowing. before the storm everything was covered in a white blnaket, now we see lots of dark spot in the landscape...
but there will still be enough snow to ski on when the weather clears up again!
We just started December month like everyone else, playing Christmas songs and thinking about the Christmas stress you all are having...
cheers

more pictures

I just put some more pictures on my album.
today it´s cloudy and -12 degrees. yeasterday we finished putting up a UV-filter on our water supply and a new hydrofor.
we are still charing the batteries for the snow blower, untill then it¨s stuck in the garage. luckily it hasn´t snowed for more than 3 weeks. tomorrow we have a plane coming in... so hopefully no bad weather!
here is a picture to make you curious about my album...

yeaha C-130 Hercules with supplies...

yeasterday we had a plane from the danish airforce. it brought some supplies to us. a new snow scooter, a 40 inch flatscreen tv, a new oven for our kitchen, building materials etc... nothing to eat!
the plane made a night landing, which ment that we had to put some light on the runway. we have some old petroleum lamps, we put along side the air strip, all 1850 metres long.
it was almost lika christmas, the two of us ripping the boxes open to have a look at the goodies...
Small things are GREAT up here!!!

scooter crash...

todays scheduled flight from the airforce was cancelled due to technical problems. they will try agian tomorrow.
we have been putting a lot of snow on our pipelines, as we have had some problems with frozen water pipes... it's the same every year, no heating in the pipes!

then we went on a scooter trip. 12 km from the station in Minebyen I hit a rock and damaged the scooter. luckily we have already spare parts enroute, since they were damaged last season. It's not that funny to stand in the middle of nowhere with a 400 kg scooter, trying to get it back home. but with Hugger pulling me and trying to make the turns we made it back to Mestersvig.
Now we have to wait fore the spare parts before we can mend it. untill then we have our skis...

the dark time

the length of the day is shortening by app. 20 min every day.
today daylight will break the darkness around 10.
then we will have daylight until 1630, when the darkness will settle in again.
it's quite cosy with the dark time. just enjoying the indoor life or walking around in the night looking at the millions of stars and the northern light...

blowing in the wind and some more...

yeasterday we removed most of the snow on the runway, so we can be ready to recieve a herculs C-130 from the Danish airforce on Tuesday.
we had some problems with the Stevenson snow blower. it stopped and wouldn't fire up the engine again. this is a problem when it's -19 and everything freezes solid. after a couple of hour loooking for jumper-cables and big enough batteries we finnaly got the 20 ton machine runing. we managed to get it in front of the garage where it stopped again, and again and again. then the tower on it was frozen so it couldn't get in the garage. luckily we got it down and into the nice warmth of the garage. puh
today it started blowing, at the moment it's between 20 and 30 knots with temperatures aroun -8. this means that the runway has to be cleared for snow drifts, before the plane can land tomorrow...

Mortens aften

today is mortens aften. this is a Danish tradition.
usually people have a big dinner party where they eat duck or goose.
I have decided to have mortens aften, since I'm todays cook.
I found a suitable goose of 5 kg, so that should be enough for the two of us...

sun set

A couple of days ago we saw the sun for the last time, this year. the next time will be in the beginning of February.
due to these conditions we have the most beautiful sky. it's pink, red, yellow and blue.
the northern light has started to dance across the sky and we have started chasing it with our camera.
to day it was windy so I didn't manage my (almost) daily ski trip.
instead we spent the hours of the day by doing maintenance on one of the generators and filling up the fuel tanks in the tower. the filling went on quite slowly, so we used 5 hours!

I have put some new pictures on the net.

hunter...

while skiing today I met three ptarmigans/grouse/rype/rjupu. now they are laying on my floor ready to be eaten at the Sunday dinner. nothing like fresh meat...
the weather was cloudy today, but with no wind and -14 degrees.
we finished working with the runway. the forecast syas snow tomorrow, but we don't hope that, since we have to clear the runway again...

last civilian plane has been here

on the 31st the last civilian plane left the coast. the next one will be in february!
hugger and me have spent the last 3 days removing the run way of snow and preparing for the plane.
the crew and two scientists stayed overnight here, which was quite funny.
the skiing season has started so i have been walking around in the hills. it's very nice to just walk around in the beautifull and cold clear arctic weather.
in 10-12 days we will be entering a full dark season, which will not end untill january.

more snow...

after removing the snow yeasterday, the snow settled down.
this morning we had 15 knots and more snow. by now, everything we did yeasterday has to be done all over when the weather settles down again.
but we are lucky to be living in a 300 square metre tower, with everything we need for indoor leisure. today is Huggers brithday, so I have to make him a nice dinner with cake...

snowing snowing...

It's snowing again. jippiiii
the last 24 hours the snow has been poring down on us. this is great news since it wil now bee good skiing conditions here.
this also means more work to us. we have to remove all the snow from the roads and the runway. there is mayby a plane coming here today?
cstay warm and happy

visitors...

last week we had visitors. it was people from our office, the vetrinarian and guests from the navy.
they spent most of the time on daneborg, but two nights were spent here. i have had som problems with my neck and back. luckily one of the guests was a chiropractor, so she could handle it. its still not good, but it will be as soon as the skiing conditions gets better.
i have got a new partner. Hugger who was at sirius with me has come here to join me. he is staying until the end of february, then an other one will take over for him...
our dogs have been figthing quite a lot. i told hugger that they never fight. as soon as Per left and it´s only Hugger and me, stay started figthing. bastards! 60% of our dogs are on some kind og medication or has been stiched togethere with tread or clamps... most anoying!

yeasterday we went on a small scooter trip. it was great fun, but the lack of snow is there. hopefully the days to come, will produce some more...

there is a possibility that we have a mail flight tomorrow, if not the next people we will see is in february!

by the way, there are some new pictures on the link...

early this morning I went for a stroll with my dogs...

pain...

the last couple of days i had some problems with my neck and my upper back. it hurts, probably due to the "desk job" I now have...
hopefully it will soon pass and I can be a bit more athletic again??
have a nice day

playing with photoshop...

a few pics from the other day...

another day in paradise...

it was beautifull weather today. - 8 degrees and calm winds. i spent a few hours throwing snow onto the drainage pipe for the sewer, so it hopefully will not freeze during the winter.
then we went for a 3hours walk with the dogs. most of them ran up in the mountains and chased som musk ox, but after a while the gave up and came back home...

new pictures

more pictures, but those of you who are on facebook have already seen them???

present day!

snowing...

finally when the airforce decides to fly up here with loads of cargo we get bad weather. it has been snowing for 2 days now...and it doesn't look like it's going to stop.
the worst thing is that we probably have to use the snow blower on the air strip...
the good thing is that the conditions for skiing and snow scooter gets better. jippiiii

most of the time we have beautifull weather. the temperature is between 0 and -5 degrees celsius. the ice has started to settle in the fjord, but it will be weeks if not months before the ice is strong enough to carry us and the dogs. we are not even allowed to be on the ice until January!
the snow is still covering the surface.

yeasterday we set out new and higher markers on our runway. it was a bit difficult, since the old markers ( summer ) were frozen, so we had to tie the new ones on to them!

the day is going around by maintaining the station and the generators and relaxing and enjoying the freedom up here. this might be the last place on earth, where you can be in charge of everything...

water again...

today we found a new water pump. together with the 3 fittings which we broke, due to frost, everything was assembled today. it works perfect, so now there aren't any problems with getting water for our tower. meaning showers again...hehe

the temperature is around 0 degrees and we still have our 5 cm of snow.
maby something soon will come?

scooter season has started...

this evening i drove 30 km on the snowscooter...
there wasn't much snow, but it had to be done......weeeeeeeee
maby the skis aren't looking so good hehe

how is your autumn?

mestersvig by air.

mestersvig by air

frozen....

two days ago we found out that our water wagon had frozen. 3 couplings and the pump had been completely broken by ice. it was only -4 degrees!
he didn't have a spare one, so we called denmark. there was only two left in denmark, so they are flying one staight up to us. hopefully it will come here on Saturday... if not, things get a bit complicated around here!

yeasterday we got some snow. now everything is covered in a 5 cm layer of powder snow.
today we are expecting 6 visitors. one from our office and 5 environmentalist..

visitors...

yeasterday we had visitors. a cruise ship with 45 passengers arrived. it had sailed from Svalbard. one of the guides was Karoline bælum, one of my friends from UNIS.
Per and I showed them around in Nyhavn and I walked with them to Mestersvig. here we showed them around in the tower, before they headed back to the ship and left for the inner parts of the fjord system.
we got a book about Antarctica and some belgium beer, and I was offered a job as a guide in Antarctica, when I'm done here...

two men in the tower...

today the miners and the chopper left us. they went to constable Point, 180km south of here. but tomorrow stay start slinging equipment from here to the Point...
weather is nice and sunny, but it's getting colder...
maby they will stay here for some more days, we will find out soon enough!!!
on monday there will be a delegation from the deparment of envionment arriving. we don't know what they will be doing but they are leaving on wednesday!

hellu

today the chopper went on another ice recco. it was too much ice for the ship so it had to turn around. so now the miners and the chopper is waiting for the new and expensive plan...???

I closed down one of the buildings, meaning that all the water had to be drained out of the tanks and the pipes. some of it ended up on the floor...not so good hehe
then some anti-freeze was poured into it, preventing it from freezing

stay warm, we have beautiful weather

i know i know...

i know it has been a long time since i wrote something. no excuses!!!
the last weeks we have been doing a lot of work here at the station. we are almost ready preparing the station for the winter. it will be good to have some time off, taking and sorting pictures and making videoes.
yeasterday I walked a little trip around the stations with the dogs. very relaxing and good for the dogs and me.
we still have our 3 miners and 2 pilots from airlift here. they are waiting for a supply ship to bring, to take back loads of gear. today the had to make an ice reconaissance and i got to go with them... yeahhhhhhhh it's great

this morning i woke up to 3 cm of snow,which melted away during the day

have fun, I am...

new pictures

hi i placed some new pictures from mestersvig1

just another day in paradise...

today was my first day of since I came here. the weather was beautiful and the sun was shining. it was so good to sleep for a few more hours this morning and get some earned rest.
i psent a few hours on the phone. then i took my 6 dogs out for a walk on one of the small hill tops nearby the station.
it was nice and warm, +15 degrees and the dogs and i enjoyed it.
our three visiting mechanics took a day of, visisting the old lead mine in the mountains.

first snow

a few days ago we saw the first snow in teh mountains.
meaning the end of the summer and the start of the autumn...
a beautifull and quiet time with beautifull scenery og fresh clear air...
the temperature is between +3 and +7 degrees celcius!

Mestersvig online...

hi everyone.
so sorry for not writing the last couple of weeks. i arrived here at mestersvig, greenland on the 10th of august, since then i have been busy working...
most people have left the place. there are a few workers at daneborg, some scientist at zackenberg and some logistical people here at mestersvig.
on tuesday and wednesday, most of them will leave northeaster-greenland.
the rest will leave on the 4th of september.
from then on we will only be 2 men in our tower...

Handa Elva

hæ elva tu matt allveg skrifa hedna, sem att svo sætan systir
knus
bjarki

comments

it should be possible for everyone to make comments now
cheers

at last, more pictures...

finally I hae put some of my pictures from the spring on the net.
just take a look under pictures...

enjoy

Facts about my time on SIRIUS

pre-scholing 8.5 months
28 months on greenland, of those 12.5 months on sledge trips
8580 km on skis and dog sledge, equivalent distance as London-Beijing or Oslo-Los Angeles
vaccation 5 weeks

more Iceland...

i have spent the 2 first days be going to the hot swimming pools, cafe's drinking beers with the girls and visiting family and getting lots of good food and redvine.
the weather has been so good all summer, but i apparently brougth the rain to Iceland...

Sunday, I will leave Icveland and go to Norway and see if people have changede during the last 2 years or more. I haven't seen Norway in a long time no, so it will be good to see "my" country again.

the world has changed while I have been away, now you need a valid pasport to travel around...

stay warm

Iceland and the end of SIRIUS...

this night my brother and I arrived in Iceland. he will leave for Norway tomorrow, while I will stay here untill Sunday for some rest and recreation...
have fun everyone, while I will join the civilization!!!

visitors hours are due...

everyone arrived the day after the were supposed to do!
the last week has been used, to show my father and brother the station, my dogs, dog sledging and a rubber boat trip on the fjord.

most of the time the weather has been marvelous with lots of sunshine and calm winds.

the ice in the fjord started breaking up a few days ago. we managede to manouver between drifting ice to Sandøen where a colony of whalrus was sleeping.
yeasterday we managed to push three rubber boats over some ice and made it to Zackenberg reaserch station. one of the boats got caught in the ice and we helped them by taking pictures and video...hehe

to-night we are leaving for Mestersvig, were we will stay for the night.
then tomorrow, it's Iceland and vaccation...

this is my last day after being here at Daneborg and SIRIUS for more than 2 years!

danish air-force...

due to problems with the C-130 hercules yeasterday. our parents didn't make it to Greenland as planned yeasterday.
instead the arrived in Keflavik Iceland where tehy spent the night.
to day they are flying to Mestersvig, Greenland where a Twin Otter is waiting to bring them up to us on Daneborg.

the C-130 that had planned to bring them back on the 16th, has been cancelled so therefore a civilian plane will bring them to Iceland on the 17th.

have a nice day

herre it's +13, calm and sky clear. beautifull weather for a beautifull day...

last week on Daneborg...

I´m entering my last week on Daneborg.
tomorrow my father and brother will join me here for the "parental visit".
they will stay here with me untill the 15th, when we all fly down to Mestersvig. here my father will stay and prepare our boat for some vaccation with friends for the next month or so.

my brother and I will fly to Iceland on the 16th. He will retur to Denmark and Norway on the 17th, while I will stay in Iceland untill the 22.

today we had a helicopter landing and refueling twice. they were looking on some of the old trappers cabin in the terrain.

the weather has been lovely the last week, with temperature around +4-9 degrees celsius.

the fjord is still covered in ice. it´s not the best thing for our visitors, but we will still have fun! maby it will break up and disappear while they are here...

cheers

my new home Mestersvig, from the 8th of august

photo contest

yeasterday we had a photo contest. we have one every year. the ten best pictures are enlarged and will be haning in "Sirihus" our main building for a whole year.

this is my picture and it got the shared first price. so I´m quite happy with that:0)

there will not be any new pictures untill I get home and have acces to a faster internet

have fun

online again!!!

I haven´t written much the last couple of weeks. this is because our internet conection has been failing a lot. this is due to problems with our satelite conection. nothing is like home with broadband.hehe

we have spent the time here on Daneborg, with preparing the upcoming summer. yes it´s still not summer here. the fjord is still covered with thick ice and the snow cover on land is between 10-20%.

in 10 days my father and brother will be visisting Daneborg. it will be fun to show them what I have been doing the last 2 1/2 years. it´s also as longe since I have seen them.

on the 16th of july I will have three weeks of vaccation. it will be great fun to spend some days in Iceland before returning to norway.

yeasterday I started packing all my things. it takes more time than I thought it would and fast I fill up my boxes...

New jobb

In May I was told I got a new jobb in Greenland.
Therefore I will have 2 weeks of vaccation in the end of July.
On the 1st of August I will fly back to Greenland and my new jobb in Mestersvig. Mestersvig is a military station 200km south of Daneborg.
during the winter time we will only be 2 persons there.
it's a very beautifull area and we have 8 dogs and 2 snow mobiles. it will only be possible to do day trips in the winter time. During the summer longer trips will be possible.
i will write more later
cheers

The last sledge trip...

I got back from my sledge trip 2 days ago. It has been a good trip. The last 10 weeks have been full og adventures. The last week has been quite hard, due to warm weather and water. Both dogs and men have been tired of each other. therefore we are all happy to have a nice and deserved summer vaccation...

departure again

after 4 wonderfull days with other people and "civilization" we will be moving towards north this evening.
we have had a lot of good food and done some relaxing:0)
in 4 weeks I will be at Daneborg and this will also be the end of my last sledge trip
have a nice spring
cheers
bjarki

civilization...

Hi everyone

Last night I made it to Mestersvig station, after 5 weeks of travelling.
it's always the best to have a nice warm shower, clean clothes and a nice hot meal...
We have had a marvelous trip with lots og good weather and most of the time good conditions for dogs and men. A few places have had little snow, but it was only for a few days.
we have seen a lot og seal and polar bears. some of the bears maybe to close. but they were only courious and not agressive. It gave us the opportunities to take some good pictures.
Spring is in the air, the snow has started melint and rivers of water are running nearly everywhere. the birds are returning from the southern places, indicating the fortcoming spring and summer.
the last couple of days before we reached the station, the weather has been really bad, with loads of snow, wind and poor visibility. the last 15 km to the station the snow was waist deep. it was really hard for our dogs. now we are here and will enjoy 4 days of rest,before we head north again and the rest og our patrol trip. we are due to arrive at Daneborg on the 10th of June.

have a nice and warm spring

departure for my spring trip

due to failure of our internet conection, I didn't manage to post my departure.
I left for 10 weeks of sledge trip on the 28 th of march.
cheers

Twin Otter

finally the plane arrived yeasterday. it brought with them mail and we shipped a small puppy to Danmarkshavn. it was only 10 weeks old. but it will have a good life there with lots of good food from the chefs' kitchen...

today the weather changed again. there's a bit of snow in the air, light wind and cloudy.

tomorrow our relief team is supposed to come back home. so in 3-4 days we will be on our move for new adventures. 10 weeks of them!!!

time goes by...

since last time some things have happende. our watermaker is completely and utterly dead. it will not come to life before the summer. this means that we will not be able to produce more water this winter. hopefully there will be enough in the tanks so we could have a bath when we come back to daneborg in 10 weeks...

today we waited and prepared for an airplane, but due to bad weather it was cancelled on iceland. it was the same situation yeasterday.
hopefully we will have it tomorrow? I NEED MAIL!

there were some problems with one of the generators today. it was something with the batteries and the power to the machine. after a few hours we managed the problems and had it up and running again :0)

bad weather again again...

yeasterday the weather was quite nice and calm.
this morning I woke up with snow on my bed.
it was 50-65 knots of wind and minus 20 degrees and lots of snow.
the small puppies were sleeping in a little house/wooden box and the roof had blown off. but i managed to put it on again.
we were supposed to have a plane today, but i think it will be another day...
our watermaker broke down again this night, but due to the bad weather i don't think we will be able to fix it today!
enjoy spring whereever you are
cheers
bjarki

this is how fast weather can change...

yeaterday we went for a small trip with our dogs. we brougt 15 of the. first we drove over to the other side of the fjord which is 10km. then we foloowed the coast line for some km untill we reached an old cabin. during this time it was nice and sunny and now wind. we stopped to have some hot tea and som biquits. then headded back towards daneborg. in the middle of the fjord the wind picked up and some snow started blowing in our heads. we could see bad weather and dark clouds coming in from the north and from the east. we knew we had to hurry back home before the bad weather hit us. just 2-3 km from daneborg one of the dogs was so tired that we had to put him on the sledge. just an hour after we left the cabbin we were back at daneborg. half an hour later the weather was getting really bad and then it just kept getting worse the rest of the evening. but it was so good to come home, instead of having to stay out on the ice for a night without a tent...

A new problem occured. it was our watermaker, which produces fresh water from salt water. it had broken down, so during 2-3 hours in winds around 30-40 knots, snow and darkness we had to walk around outside to try and fix it. finally we managed, but not for long! this night it broke down again. we have startede it again and hope it will stay that way...

stay warm whereever you are

new pictures

finally I managed to post some new pictures on my photoalbum
enjoy:0)

youghurt...

a few days ago we had a plane arriving from Station Nord (81.36N). it was picking up our last guest. he has been fixing and optimicing our internet. now we got IP-phone, which means that instead of paying DKK 9-17 pr min. we pay DKK 0.2 pr min. this is really good. now it's possible to stay more in touch with family and friends, without spending your salery on phone-calls;0)

finally we got some youghurt, fresh milk, cream and fresh fruit. we haven't had that since November. We imediately started eating youghurt for breakfast and lunch...hehe

the weather is still pretty rough here, with wind , clouds and now and then snow. yeasterday we managed to go on a small trip with the dogs. it's good for them and for us.

bad weather again...

when I woke up this night, it was with snow on my bed...hehe
quickly I closed my window, before I would get stiff frozen.
most of the day has been spent indoors due to alot of wind and snow in the air. it has been possible to se mountains 20 km away, but not more 50m on the station.

today, I took out one of the generators for service. I had to change the oil on it at make it ready for another 14 days of hard work in the arctic...
When feeding the dogs I almost got blown over by the wind. the dogs are amazing, they hardly ever complain and the are the toughest and most rugged creatures on the earth. we wouldn't last for more than a few hours out there. they just curl together, with the snout and paws under their tail and wait for better weather.

stay warm everyone. PS one of the sledege teams are experiencing -50 degrees celsius..

dogs carried onboard the plane...

visitors...

the last week has been realy busy. I had to prepare a landing field on the fjord-ice. this took 5 days. when the plane arrived the pilots decided to use another place for landing and take-offs...grrr

3 of the sledge teams came back home. 2 of the are being flown up to Station Nord and further out into the terrain. from there they have a long, cold and beautiful way back home to Daneborg. the will arrive here on the 10th of June...

Most of the guests left today. it was releaving. now i can relax a bit. the best thing is that I don't have to cook for a lot of people anymore. jippi;0)

twin otter plane arriving at Daneborg

more and more people

today sledge team 2 came back home. hugger and I had some problmes with the generator, so we had to change some spare parts. jimmi had problems in mosen (water maker), it was leaking and still is...
the rest of the day i spent making the runway, quite boring work...hehe

welcome home..

yeasterday sledege team 1 with hilmer and hugger came back to daneborg. we went out there with a snow scooter and our BV ( bandvagn), and pulled them back to the station.. then we had a small party..yeah

news

the last week alot of things have happened here. We had an airplan with a dentist for jimmi. it only stayed her for 3 hours, before it had to leave again. the best thing is that we got our mail. it's always the best thing that can happen when you are isolated from the rest of the world...

the other sledge teams are working their way around in the national park.
the first weeks they had good weather and good snow conditions. last week stopped them. a lot of snow kept falling, so suddenly it's a struggle to get up north agian!

we set a wind record this weekend with 67 knots of wind. at the same time we got more than half a metre of snow.

the next couple of days will be spent by making an 700 metre airfield on the fjord ice... thar should be funny..

we were supposed to have an airplane today, with a dentist and some mail. Due to delays in Iceland the palne has been cancelled till tomorrow...
stay warm

Sunshine, 5th of FEB

Today we saw the sun for the first time this year. it's so wonderful to see the sun again, after months of darkness. from now on it will only be more and more light, until we get midnight sun i april...

tuesday

the weather is still bad. i can't se more than 50 metres, and that is only when i have the wind in my back. it's -18 and blowing 40 knots...

veðurið er enþau vonðt heðna. eg get ekki seð meira enn 50 metra og bara þegar eg er med vindurinn i bakid. þad er minus 18 og 40 hnuta af vindur...

storm

monday, we found out that one of our antenna cables were broken. this is the reason for all our trouble the last 10 days. due to bad weather with alot of wind and snow it was not possible to repair it...

Map/kart/kort

Þetta er kort yfir Grænland. Þad græna er þar sem eg ferðist umkring...
Dette er er kart over Grønland og området som jeg reiser rundt i...
This is a map of Greenland and the area I'm travelling...

Maybe I'm not so good at all this blogging...

I need to learn it so that I don't write pages up and down...hehe

Slædepatruljen SIRIUS

Slædepatruljen SIRIUS

Har man lyst til en oplevelse udover det sædvanlige, og besidder man nogle nærmere beskrevne egenskaber, så garanterer SIRIUS for, at når man har haft de 26 måneders ophold på verdens mest øde tjenestested, har man en god ballast for resten af livet, og er meget rigere på oplevelser end de fleste.

Formål og opgaver

Formål:
Slædepatruljen SIRIUS opgaver er suverænitetshåndhævelse, og som politimyndighed at føre kontrol med ekspeditioner og fredningsbestemmelser i nationalparken, samt foretage overvågning af operationsområdet.

Opgaver:
Slædepatruljens opgaver er overvågning af den ubeboede kyststrækning på ca. 2.100 km i fugleflugtslinie. Patruljeringen foregår med hundeslæde i vinterhalvåret og om sommeren ved besejling af de isfrie fjorde. Hertil kommer patruljering med fly og helikopter.

Tjenesten ved patruljen er toårig og ferie afholdes først ved hjemkomst til Danmark.

Ca. otte måneder om året er personellet på patrulje, enten med slæde, kutter eller fly. I den tid er der tjeneste hele døgnet i alle ugens dage. Patruljelivet er psykisk og fysisk krævende, og de mange forskelligartede opgaver, der pålægges personellet, bevirker at den enkelte må yde sin indsats uanset ugedag og klokkeslæt.

Alt personel deltager i patruljeringen, samt i den daglige vedligeholdelse som bygningshåndværkere, maskinfolk, kokke og rengøringsfolk, uanset tidligere uddannelse og grad.

Ud over den militære overvågning og suverænitetshævelse har patruljen den civile politimyndighed i området.

I sommerperioden besøger ca. 30 ekspeditioner Nationalparken, alle ekspeditioner har specielt søgt om tilladelse til at opholde sig i området, og bliver alle kontrolleret af SIRIUS.

Som støtte til videnskabelige undersøgelser, foretages dyreoptællinger og ringmærkning af fugle. Yderligere ydes hjælp til videnskabelige ekspeditioner i Nationalparken.

Ca. 150 flyvetimer produceres årligt i forbindelse med depotudlægning og udflyvning af slædehold.

Ca. 30 tons forsyninger bliver udlagt til slædeholdene hvert år.
SIRIUS benytter ca. 65 af de omkring 350 hytter der er i Nationalparken.

SIRIUS har selv bygget 34 hytter som anvendes til depoter og - på stationerne - som værkstedsbygninger.
Venslev Hytten har fabrikeret den hytte der er bedst egnet til at modstå vejrforholdene i Nordøstgrønland. Den bliver fabrikeret i Venslev i flager, således, at den kan opføres af SIRIUS-folkene på ca. 50 arbejdstimer.
Venslev Hytten leverer fortsat hytter til SIRIUS, den bliver til stadighed optimeret, og vil blive opført i det aller nordligste Grønland.Hvor der er behov for nye hytter, flyves eller sejles de præfabrikerede moduler ud til de positioner hvor hytten skal opføres.

Alt ferskvand bliver - i vinterperioden - fabrikeret ved osmose (reelt omvendt osmose) af saltvand; SIRIUS kan fabrikere 3 tons pr. dag.

Der er intet støttepersonel tilknyttet SIRIUS, alt bliver tilset, repareret og bygget af patruljemanden selv.

Organisation

Slædepatruljen er under kommando af Grønlands Kommando (GLK) med hovedkvarter i Grønnedal i Syd Grønland.

SIRIUS har hovedstation i Daneborg (74 grader nordlig bredde). Desuden har SIRIUS understationen Ella Ø i Kong Oscars Fjord (72 grader nordlig bredde); denne er kun åben i sommerperioden (juli til september), hvor den bemandes af 4 - 6 mand fra SIRIUS, der udlægger depoter med egen kutter.

I sommerperioden er der 3 SIRIUS-årgange i området: de der skal hjem efter 2 års tjeneste, de der skal blive endnu et år samt det nye hold der skal starte deres 2 års tjeneste.

Udover de 12 mand ved Slædepatruljen, har forsvaret 2 tidligere tjenestegørende ved SIRIUS/STATION NORD placeret på den nedlagte flyveplads Mestersvig (250 kilometer syd for Daneborg). Disse 2 indgår i SIRIUS overvågning og radiotjeneste, samtidig med, at de passer landingsbanen på 1800 meter og vedligeholder mere end 10 store bygninger.

Geografi

Slædepatruljen har hovedbase i ved Daneborg dvs. 7418N 2014W på sydsiden af Wollaston Forland i Nordøstgrønland.

Grønland er verdens største ø med et areal på 2,2 millioner km2, og er dermed ca. 50 gange større end Danmark.

Grønland hører til det Nordamerikanske kontinent, adskilt fra dette af Davis-strædet og Baffin-bugten.

Fra det sydlige punkt Kap Farvel til det nordligste punkt Kap Morris Jessup er der ca. 2.650 km, d.v.s. en afstand som fra Skagen til godt ned i Sahara.

Det meste af Grønland er dækket af indlandsis, og kun ca.350.000 km2 er isfrit nogle få sommermåneder.

Nord- og Nordøstgrønland har en kystlinie på ca. 16.000 km, der fortrinsvis består af en skærgårdskyst med lange, smalle og vidtforgrenede fjorde. Bjergene er geologisk set ”gamle”, d.v.s. porøse og forvitrende mineraler. Bjergene er ikke ekstrem høje, men danner p.g.a. årtusinders nedbrydning stærkt varierede profiler, der visse steder kan minde om norsk og svensk højland.

Fjordene og til dels yderkysterne er sejlbare i sommermånederne juli og august. De er langt fra isfrie, idet mange og store isbræer producerer enorme isbjerge, og den opbrudte, og mange meter tykke vinteris bliver flyttet rundt med vind og strøm i sommerens løb. Man kan altså forestille sig bevægelige is-øer med udstrækning som Rådhuspladsen i København, og højder som Rundetårn, som man til stadighed må være på vagt overfor, når man færdes til søs. Klimaet er højaktisk, med korte somre og lange vintre. Polarisens konstante tilstedeværelse langs kysten bevirker, at også kystlandet har fastlandsklima.


Dage med storm, hvor vindhastigheden nærmer sig 100 knob, kan veksle med stille frostklare perioder, hvor temperaturen falder til 50 grader celsius.

I Nordøstgrønland er solen under horisonten i ca. 3 måneder om året.


Vejrforhold

Grønland har polarklima, men på grund af øens store udstrækning er der meget store temperaturforskelle, ligesom klimaet også er meget afvekslende.

I Nord-og Nordøstgrønland er klimaet højarktisk, d.v.s. med temperaturer under minus 50 og med årlig gennemsnits temperatur på under minus 10.

Nedbørsmængden er forholdsvis ringe, og i SIRIUS patruljeområde svinger den fra ca. 200 mm i syd ved Scoresbysund til ca. 100 mm i nordvest ved Hall Land.

På trods af den ringe nedbør, hober der sig enorme snemængder op visse steder. De kraftige storme, og ikke sjældent orkanagtige vinde, fyger sneen sammen i fjelde og dale, og ikke mindst de store isskruninger danner vindlæ for ophobning af sne. Som kuriositet kan nævnes, at på Daneborg, SIRIUS hovedbase, danner der sig snefaner på op til 6 m højde, medens der på vor improviserede flyveplads der ligger frit i terrænet, på samme tid kan være fuldstændigt snebart.

Selvom der ikke er nedbør, magter blæsten ar rejse sneen op, og den meget fine pulversne gør da luften næsten totalt ugennemsigtig. Derfor har vi da også, selvom bygningerne på Daneborg kun er ca. 20 m fra hinanden, opspændt stræktove mellem husene, så ingen farer vild. Når man kravler på knæene krampagtigt holdende sig til
stræktovet, er det skønt at vide at der er et varmt hus i den anden ende.

Langs Grønlands østkyst er vindhastighederne generelt ikke så kraftige. De store hastigheder opnås specielt p.g.a. de mange slugter og dale hvor vinden bliver kanaliseret hen.
SIRIUS-manden lærer derfor at vurdere forholdene, så han i tide kan tage sine forholdsregler.

Solforholdene i SIRIUS overvågningsområde er selvfølgelig selvsagt varierende, men som gennemsnit betragtet, kan meget firkantet siges, at der er 3 måneder med dagslys, 3 måneder med mørke og 6 måneder med "normale" dage og nætter.


Slædekørsel er et kapitel for sig selv

Slæden bygger de tjenestegørende selv - der er afsat en uge pr. slædehold. Derved opnås at patruljemanden er i stand til at reparere under patruljeringen, hvor temperaturen ikke sjældent er omkring 50 graders frost.

Slædens meder er af vandfast krydsfiner eller asketræ, forstærket med nylon på glidefladen, og bundbrædderne er af knastfrit asketræ.
Alt er surret sammen med nylonline, således at slæden kan bevæge sig i sammenføjningerne i det ofte meget uvejsomme terræn.
Slæden vejer ca.90 kg, og læsset vejer godt 400 kg, alt bliver trukket af 11 hunde, der hver vejer 35 til 50 kg "pr. hale".

Udover at bygge slæden fremstiller kuskene også seler, halsbånd, skagler, hundekæder, slædeposer og kasser samt øvrigt udstyr, der er individuelt for hver slæde.

Forholdene i patruljens operationsområde er barske og kræver til stadighed stor årvågenhed fra det personel der færdes her. Ekstreme frostgrader, storme med orkan styrke og store snemængder, er forhold der udover tilstedeværelsen af dyr, som bjørn, moskusokse og ulv, skal tages forholdsregler mod hele tiden, og ligge klar i patruljemandens "baghoved".

Derfor opereres der altid med slædehold bestående af en "gammel" og en "ny" mand, så kan den "gamle" oplære den "nye" til at handle korrekt, såvel med sig selv som med hunde og slæde under alle forhold.

Man skal kunne køre hundene i al slags føre, der veksler fra blankis til dyb løs sne, over 10 - 15 høje opskruninger, steder hvor der ingen sne eller is er, i elvlejer og pas med stigninger og fald på 20 - 30 %. Sigten varierer fra 0 m hvor kun kompasset kan støtte èn, til over 100 km, hvor kortet 1:1.000.000 giver en glimrende oversigt.

Når man kommer til en hytte eller telter (hvilket er det der oftest sker p.g.a. de store afstande mellem hytterne), skal alt husgeråd såsom radio, soveposer, madvarer, primusser, skiftetøj osv., osv. "indendørs", hundene skal fodres, og alt øvrigt surres.

Ved teltning bygges yderligere en snevold til sikring mod stormvejr. I løbet af natten skal hundene checkes flere gange; så når man har kørt en dagsrejse ved slæden i 6 - 10 timer, er der behov for den søvn der kan fås, når man vel at mærke har haft radioforbindelse, lavet mad, skrevet dagbog samt lavet oversigt over patruljeringen.

Et slædehold tilbagelægger ca. 4.000 km på en sæson, og selvom det er langt, hænder det man kan se fra sin teltplads til den man havde natten før; man er kun nået ganske få kilometer p.g.a. føret.

I SIRIUS' næsten 55-årige historie er det tilbagelagt mere end 700.000 km med slæde (mere end 15 gange rundt om jorden!), samt et ikke opgjort antal km foretaget under fodpatruljer.
Kutterne har sejlet over 100.000 sømil, og mere end 250 slædekuske har haft 2 begivenhedsrige år ved Slædepatruljen SIRIUS.


Hundene

Hundene stammer oprindelig fra "Den grønlandske Hund", men ved krydsninger har SIRIUS fremelsket en tungere og stærkere hund. Den er kælen, og absolut i sit "ES" når den arbejder foran slæden.

Den optimale hund er: Korthåret,
stritøret,
"firkantet",
langbenet,
en vægt mellem 35 og 45 kilo samt
meget menneskevenlig.

Hvalpene til fornyelse af spandene, er små spilopmagere der får lov til at løbe frit omkring til de når "teenage-alderen".
Herefter kommer de i kæde, som de voksne hunde, klar til at køre med slæden når efterårstræningen begynder. Når en hund "går på aftægt", er den ca. 6 år og har tilbagelagt ca. 20.000 kilometer. Kun de der ikke er udslidte for lov at leve efter det 6. år, og fordeles til Station Nord og Mestersvig.


Forsyninger

Alle forsyninger - ca. 300 tons samt 180.000 liter olie - kommer med det årlige forsyningsskib. Forsyningsskibet kommer primo august, ankrer op 500 m fra land og tømmes på 3 døgn.
Bortset fra olien, der kommer i land via slange, skal alt færges ind på pramme fra skib til slæbested.
Fra slæbestedet transporteres godset ved hjælp af SIRIUS traktorer til respektive bygninger for udpakning.

Julegaver og julegodter bliver nedkastet med faldskærm ved fuldmåne i december.

Dyreliv

På trods af det barske klima i Nord- og Nordøstgrønland, er dyrelivet overraskende rigt i denne del af verden.

SIRIUS har et ganske godt billede af dyrebestanden både hvad angår arter og antal, idet en del af observationsopgaven består i at registrere forekomsten af såvel pattedyr som fugle.

Umiddelbart forbinder de fleste nok polarbjørnen eller isbjørnen med de nordlige himmelstrøg, og der er da også mange af disse fantastiske dyr i vort område.

Vi ser bjørnen i hele operationsområdet, ikke blot nær vandet, men også ved flere lejligheder inde i landet.

Vi observerer bjørnen trække sydover i de koldeste måneder (februar - april), og vi ser den igen fordelt langs de åbne vandområder når foråret og sommeren stunder til.

Desværre for SIRIUS-manden må bjørnen ikke skydes af andre end grønlændere, og det vel at mærke kun de der har specielle jagttegn i Scoresbysund og Thule. (De kommuner der støder op til Nationalparken).

Bestanden synes imidlertid så stor, at en form for vildtpleje kunne være nødig, men området er Nationalparken, så restriktionerne er mange.

Moskusoksen som hverken er okse eller får, men en af naturens sære blandinger, findes også i rigt mål heroppe.

De ses i store flokke på over 20 individer, men også enlige dyr frister tilværelsen, hvor den magre jord kan fravristes lidt føde.

Oksen er totalfredet i Nationalparken, selvom der er mange indikationer på, at vildtpleje ville forøge artens eksistensbetingelser, men området forsøges at "holdes" i ave af naturen selv, så en forståelse for berørte synspunkt er nok begrænset.

I mange år har polarulven manglet i den grønlandske natur. I begyndelsen af århundredet syntes ulven helt at være forsvundet fra Nord- og Nordøstgrønland.
I 1959 og 1965 mente et par SIRIUS slædehold at have konstateret ulvespor i henholdsvis DOVE BUGT og PEARYLAND, men i 80-erne og 90-erne er ulven positivt observeret; først så man ensomme ulve, der ofte fulgte slæderne i dagevis, angiveligt for at tage sig af hundenes levninger, senere er observeret flokke med 6 - 9 dyr. Ulven er totalfredet.

Nok mest på grund af menneskets tilstedeværelse på kysten observeres et utal af polarræve. Det drejer sig såvel om den almindelige ræv der skifter "ham" efter årstiderne som blåræven, der til stadighed beholder sin karakteristiske mørke farve.
Ræven er totalfredet, men på Daneborg og Mestersvig har personellet tilladelse til at nedlægge de dyr der færdes på selve stationsområderne, idet de er potentielle smittebærere for rabies, og endvidere er de en trussel mod fuglebestanden; og det må erindres, at rævene i allerhøjeste grad lever af menneskets affald, i hvert fald de der ses ved stationerne. Der er således ingen øko-kultur-fornuft i at bevare de individer der kun kan ernære sig "unaturligt" af vore levninger.

Den lille nysgerrige polarhare vimser rundt i enormt antal, ja, der er observeret en dal i nord-terrænet, hvor tusindvis af magre kræ, totalt udhungrede levede en kummerlig tilværelse.
Haren er et godt supplement til den noget stereotype slædemad.

Hermelinen og lemmingen er små "jorddyr" der i varierende antal piler rundt i solvendte skrænter. De er naturligvis en vigtigt led i fødekæden for de større dyr, men ellers giver de ikke anledning til nogen "bemærkninger", udover at bæsterne til tider har sneget sig ind i vore depoter og mæsket sig med vore madvarer.
Lemming er også navnet på en person der opholder sig sit første år i Nordøstgrønland.

Hvalrossen, polarhavets mastodont, boltrer sig - ofte - i store flokke mange steder langs kysterne.
Dens færden og levemønster er stadig et af dyrerigets mysterier, imidlertid gøres der nu forsøg på at kortlægge hvalrossens adfærdsmønster; bl.a. vides stadig ikke hvor det store pattedyr lægger sig til at dø.

I utrolige mængder færdes sæler i de mange og fiskefyldte Nordøstgrønlandske fjorde.
De oftest sete er fjordsælen, den spættede sæl og remmesælen.
SIRIUS benytter sælkødet som supplement til det vanlige hundefoder, så sideløbende med de befalede sejladser drives idelig jagt på dette for hundene så velsmagende dyr.
Remmesælens skind bruges ydermere til fabrikation af piskesnerter.
Da jagt i en given situation kan blive SIRIUS- personellets overlevelse, er jagten på disse forholdsvis store dyr også en udmærket træning - og som tidligere nævnt faktisk en del af tjenesten - til en nødsituation.

Fuglelivet er utroligt rigt, men rypen er den mest interessante for SIRIUS, idet den må jages på visse tider af året, og dens kød smager fortræffeligt.
Udover rypen, er der et utal af småfugle, hvoraf snespurven, stenvenderen, diverse måger og terner kan nævnes.
Af mere spektakulære og sjældne fugle kan medtages sneuglen, snefalken og bramgåsen.
I de grønne områder ved Daneborg har vi en stor koloni med edderfugle.
Det er en fornøjelse at se de stolte mødreænder vralte rundt med deres kuld af ællinger; desværre er bestanden af "skraldemandsfuglen" ravnen - der er totalfredet - nu blevet så stor, at den er en trussel mod edderfuglen; en foranstaltning som med ræven kunne nok være tiltrængt på Daneborg.


Fritid

Adspredelser udover arbejdet er få. Der er postforbindelse 6 - 7 gange årligt, hvoraf de 4 - 5 er om sommeren. Når der er tid til en hyggestund i dagligstuen efter aftenkaffen kl.2200, kan der ses video eller fjernsyn som tages via parabol.

Oftest bliver det dog til en sludder om løst og fast, når man vasket og omklædt slår sig til ro i hyggestuen.

Den daglige husgerning, d.v.s. madlavning, opvask, linnedvask og rengøring lægges der stor vægt på. Kokketørnen og "handy-manden" går på skift mellem patruljens medlemmer, så alle får del i de huslige pligter.

Jagt foregår under sejladserne, og er en del af tjenesten, da sæl-, hare- eller rypekød er godt supplement til såvel menneske- som hundemad.

Samvær med andre end de øvrige SIRIUS-folk er næsten udlukket i de 2 år og 2 måneder tjenesten ved slædepatruljen var - lige bort set fra 1 uge på Island midt i perioden ifm. tandlægebesøg.

Historie

Selv efter den dansk-norske præst Hans Egede i 1721 kom til Grønland og gik i land ved Godthåb (det nuværende Nuuk), forblev østkysten længe et ukendt land. Kontakten til befolkningen var sparsom, selvom der findes beretninger om ekspeditioner og hvalfangere der møder INUITTERNE (generel betegnelse for urbefolkningen i det arktiske område).

I SIRIUS område blev der sidst set bosiddende grønlændere i 1823 på sydsiden af Clavering Ø, ved Eskimonæs i Dødemandsbugten. Sygdom, skyhed og til dels mangel på eksistensmuligheder slog dem ud, - det er i hvert tilfælde det mest sandsynlige gæt. Hvorom alting er, er der sket en klimaændring, og rensdyret - en vigtig kilde til
livets ophold - forsvandt.

I årene 1883-1885 ledede GUSTAV HOLM en ekspedition startende i Sydgrønland med kurs mod nord langs østkysten. Ved det nuværende Ammassalik (Angmagssalik) fandt han en hidtil ukendt eskimostamme, men derefter fandt man ikke yderligere beboelser nordover.

Imidlertid gav Gustav Holms opdagelse starten til yderligere ekspeditioner der ønskede at udforske og kortlægge de øde og uudforskede nordligere liggende kyststrækninger.

Danmarks-Ekspeditionen 1906-1908 under ledelse af Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen, kortlagde de sidste ukendte dele af Nordøstgrønland. Ekspeditionen havde det tragiske udfald, at Mylius-Erichsen selv, kartografen N.P. Høeg Hagen og den grønlandske kateket Jørgen Brønlund (1907), omkom.

Senere kom Lauge Koch, Einer Mikkelsen og Eigil Knuth til, og et stort og enestående videnskabeligt arbejde blev foretaget.

Fra 1814, efter freden i Kiel, hvor Norge og Danmark blev adskilt, og indtil Den Faste Domstol For Mellemfolkeligt Retspleje i Haag, den 5 april 1933, konstaterede - med stort stemmeflertal- at Danmark havde vist mere besiddervilje omkring de Nordøstgrønlandske områder, herskede der en svingende stemning mellem de to lande omkring udnyttelsesrettighederne til jagt og fangst.

Mange er ordene der er skrevet og sagt om dette emne, men den sidste fangstaftale mellem de to lande, etableret 1924, ophørte i 1967, og siden da, må officiel norsk adkomst til kysten gå ad diplomatiets vej.

Nordøstgrønland er en del af det danske kongerige, og som sådan er det Danmarks pligt at opretholde suveræniteten ved en permanent tilstedeværelse, og en vilje og evne til at være til stede i hele området!

Under Anden Verdenskrig lykkedes det, bl.a. ved U.S.A.s mellemkomst, at beholde Grønland på danske hænder; ved en ganske formidabel indsats fra bl.a. Henrik Kaufmann (Den danske ambassadør i U.S.A), Landsfoged Eske Brun og Ib Poulsen, samt Eigil Knuth og Ebbe Munch, forhindredes Tyskland i at få etableret en brugbar meteorologi- og meldetjeneste i området omkring Daneborg.

Eske Brun etablerede slædepatruljer under ledelse af Ib Poulsen, der i starten af 40-erne, patruljerede og lokaliserede tyske vejrstationer, og senere foranledigede deres ødelæggelse.

I 1943 omkom der såvel en dansker - Eli Knudsen - som en tysker - løjtnant Zacker - under de træfninger, hvor danskerne på fortræffelig vis forhindrede tyskernes faste tilstedeværelse og dermed vejrdata i at nå frem til aksemagterne.

Efter krigen og Den Kolde Krigs start, anbefalede Søværnet, idet Danmark ønskede at udbygge tilstedeværelse af personel i Nord- og Nordøstgrønland, at der blev oprettet en patruljetjeneste.

Belært af erfaringer fra krigens tid, ønskede man ikke at fremprovokere episoder der kunne give anstød til nogen sider, så man oprettede vejrstationer og pejlestationer i perioden frem til 1950, hvor Søværnets forslag kom til udførelse.

Oprettelsen af disse blev holdt i det skjulte, ligesom de første spæde skridt til SIRIUS blev gjort med megen lav profil. Indledningsvis hed projektet som nævnt OPERATION RESOLUT, og medarbejderne blev rekrutteret fra befalingsmænd i Forsvaret . Siden hen - i 1952 - oprettedes officielt Slædepatruljen RESOLUT, og man flyttede sit hovedkvarter fra Ella Ø til Daneborg.

Imidlertid eksisterede der en canadisk vejrstation RESOLUTE BAY, så for at undgå misforståelser, omdøbtes patruljen i 1953 til Slædepatruljen SIRIUS - efter den klareste stjerne i stjernetegnet Store Hund.

Slædepatruljen SIRIUS blev i 2006 underlagt Grønlands Kommando og består af 12 personer i slædepatruljen og 2 personer ved Forsvarets vagt Mestersvig.


Optagelse i SIRIUS

Som det til dels fremgår af disse sider, er tjenesten ved SIRIUS ganske speciel og meget krævende. Derfor stilles der store krav til det personel der skal gøre tjeneste ved patruljen.

Den optimale SIRIUS-mand er:
i balance med sig selv, d.v.s. han har haft en god og ukompliceret opvækst.
målrettet i sine ønsker for fremtiden, d.v.s. han ikke "svajer hid og did" fordi en ting bliver forelagt ham og umiddelbart ikke ser spændende ud.
tolerant, d.v.s. er god til at omgås andre, og ikke nødvendigvis skal have sine synspunkter gennemført for enhver pris.
samarbejdsvillig, d.v.s. lære, lytte og forstå, også selvom tingene ikke går efter "hans hoved".
hjælpsom, d.v.s. altid være villig til at støtte andre, og være villig til at lære fra sig, selvom også modparten opfatter "lidt tungt".
i stand til at afreagere alene, d.v.s. han ikke behøver støtte udefra til at "komme ned på jorden," men stille og roligt kan ræsonnere sig frem til betimeligheden i at en provokation ikke betyder andet end en midlertidig ubehagelighed.
en person med overblik, d.v.s. han skal kunne vurdere konsekvenserne af sine handlinger, og ræsonnere sig til en opgaves løsning på sikker og forsvarlig måde.
en person der kan bevare hovedet koldt, d.v.s. han ikke må gribes af panik selvom der opstår en uventet og tilsyneladende farlig situation. Han skal drage nytte af sin viden og løse den opkomne situation til alles bedste.
en person med evner for at kunne arbejde selvstændigt, d.v.s. han ikke giver op selvom han bliver sat til et arbejde han ikke har prøvet før, men fornuftigt og metodistisk udfører opgaven efter bedste evne.
ikke bange for at "tage fat d.v.s. selvom personen ikke er håndværker, og selvom han aldrig har arbejdet med et stykke værktøj, så er et ingen hindring for hans gode vilje til at gøre sit yderste for at lære "det nye håndværk".
loyal, d.v.s. ikke bagtaler sine kammerater, medarbejdere eller foranstående, på trods af at han ikke umiddelbart synes om disses meninger/ikke forstår dem.

Det er store krav der stilles til den optimale SIRIUS-mand, og det er måske tvivlsomt om han findes. Imidlertid har patruljen eksisteret siden 1950, og hvert år er det lykkedes at finde fortrinlige unge mennesker der er meget tæt ved at opfylde alle krav.

Hvorom alting er, så er SIRIUS materiel og arbejdsbetingelser så gode som nogensinde, og personellet udfører et stykke arbejde der tilgodeser at den opgave der er blevet pålagt Slædepatruljen såvel vinter som sommer, bliver udført yderst tilfredsstillende.

Rent praktisk foregår udvælgelsen som følger:

1 eller 2 gange indrykkes der en "annonce" i Forsvarets Befalinger, tilkendegivende at der søges nyt personel til SIRIUS, med henblik på en 2-år tjenestetid i Nord- og Nordøstgrønland. Dette foregår i månederne juli og august.

Omkring 1. september samme år skal ansøgningerne være Logistikcenter Grønland i hænde, efter de har været sendt ad tjenestevejen (enhed/regiment/eskadrille/eskadre - Hærens Operative Kommando/Flyvertaktisk Kommando/Søværnets Operative Kommando - Logistikcenter Grønland (LCG)

Efter LCG har sorteret ansøgningerne, vil de ansøgere der umiddelbart ikke skønnes egnet få deres papirer tilbagesendt gennem deres stamenhed. De frasorterede vil typisk være folk med sygdomme, dårlige tænder, diskutabel straffeattest, eller folk der ikke har medsendt alle de oplysninger der forlanges i Befalingen. Af normalt 50-60 ansøgere bliver der gerne 30-35 tilbage.

De udvalgte 30-35 får besked om at møde ved Forsvarets Center For Lederskab, i løbet af oktober. Der forestår nu en 2 dages prøve ved psykologerne, hvor bl.a. man søger at se om de førnævnte egenskaber for den optimale SIRIUS-mand er tilstede.

I starten af november bliver alle der har været til psykolog-prøve indkaldt til at møde på Holmen (Marinestation København). Her kommer alle til interviews med chefen for Patruljetjenesten og dennes medarbejdere. Dette foregår over 2 dage, og samtidig med disse samtaler, bliver alle de tiloversblevne ansøgere undersøgt af læger og tandlæger for at se om der skulle være "skjulte" fejl hos nogen. 3. dagen kommer så alle for en kommission, hvor samtlige prøver og samtaler er blevet vurderet, og ansøgerens egne ord til kommissionen vurderes. På baggrund af disse 3 vurderingsgrundlag udtages da 7 mand til start på den kommende forskole for SIRIUS der starter primo december.

Forskolen varer ca. 1/2 år med kurser på diverse skoler, der blandt andet omfatter et overlevelseskursus i Norge/Grønland af ca. 5 ugers varighed, skydekursus, sprængningskursus, motorlære, fjernkending, røgdykkerkursus, radiokursus, førstehjælpskursus, traktorkursus og mange andre relevante kurser, der giver eleverne et rimeligt kendskab til at betjene teknikken på vore stationer. Det mere indgående kendskab læres først oppe i Grønland “on the job training”.

Ultimo juni udvælges den endelige nye årgang SIRIUS-folk. 5-6 af de 7 først udtagne.

Dem som ikke måtte blive udvalgt, behøver ikke føle sig mindreværdige af den grund, idet udvælgelsen kun har bæring på vurderingen af om personen er egnet til den helt specielle tjeneste det er at være ved SIRIUS. Man kan udmærket være en super-soldat ved sit eget speciale, uden at være egnet til at være 2 år i Grønland.

Det er nødvendigt på forhånd at have gjort sig helt klart hvad det er man går ind til før man søger at komme til SIRIUS.

Det er hårdt arbejde i mange timer, for hvilke der ikke gives ekstra løn eller anden form for kompensation.

Lønnen samt det specielle SIRIUS-TILLÆG er ikke særlig høj, og der gives ejheller kompensation for arbejde på søn- og helligdage. Der optjenes "kun" de lovbefalede feriedage og civilundervisningsdage.

Man er væk fra familie og venner i 2 år og 2 måneder, kun afbrudt af et ophold af een uges varighed på Island i forbindelse med tandlægebesøg (normalt efter 1 års tjeneste).

Postforbindelserne er yderst ringe, og derfor er samvær med andre end de øvrige SIRIUS-folk også næsten udelukket.

Men har man lyst til en oplevelse udover det sædvanlige, og besidder man de føromtalte egenskaber, så kan jeg garantere for, at når man har haft de 26 måneders ophold på verdens mest øde tjenestested, har man en god ballast for resten af livet, og er meget rigere på oplevelser end andre.

Sledge patrol Sirius

THE SLEDGE PATROL SIRIUS

The sledge patrol Sirius is an arctic long-range reconnaissance and surveillance unit in the Danish Armed Forces.

The military unit operates in North-and Northeast Greenland, the largest National park in the world.
The area of operations is app. 160000 km², and the stretch of coast covered is app. 16500 km.

The main purposes of the patrol is to claim Danish sovereignty and surveying the vast and empty areas of North- and Northeast Greenland.

The mission is mainly accomplished by dog sledge. A sledge team consist of two patrol men and 11 dogs, which carry out the patrolling task in the area of operations from November to June.
In that period the patrolling sledge teams operates mostly alone and far away from established infrastructure and point of support.

The service is 26 months which are completed continuously in Greenland.

The duties are versatile and varied, which is challenging and demanding, both physically and psychologically.
Before arriving Greenland the men have completed a long and tough selection process, which guarantee that the most able men are selected for the hardships of the service.