A lot of discussion about camping, collecting, and mining - so perhaps a little discussion about how we do it... (and how the weather lets us do it).
In Greenland the weather rules. Everyday we make the "plan du jour"; to attempt to do it ahead of time is futile. After 8 years of tours and collecting there is one thing I am certain of - you cannot be certain of Greenland weather. In the past 8 years we have had three years (2004, 2006, 2007) which were very soggy years. The other 5 ranged from exquisite sunny weather to overcast. Even during the soggy years we collected most everyday. Rain in Greenland is not like it is here - it is more of a misting than a hard rain. (Peter called me one time last summer all excited; he had seen lightning for one of the first times in Narsaq). But the rain does make the rocks very slippery, and the mountain streams rise sometimes to the point where we cannot cross. (we are working on a solution for that).
But even in times of sunshine, there can be Fohns (the "o" is supposed to have two little dots above it - but I lost mine). These are strong (sometimes hurricane force) winds which blow off the icecap and down the fjords. The weather can change in an instant and rarely is the forecast reliable for more than a couple days out.... This unpredictable weather forces us to plan in the short-term. On windy days we explore Kvanefjeld and the Taseq Slope (no boating). On calm days we immediately take advantage of the good boating weather and travel to distant fjords. Our boats are small and cannot take the beating by the waves that the strong winds kick up - so we are fair weather boaters - and must take advantage of that fair weather when it arrives, as we do not know what the next day will bring. Wind in the mountains is not a problem (but rain and slippery rocks can make life miserable).
So - as much as I would like to give everyone a detailed itinerary I cannot. To get the most out of the tour we must plan with very short horizons.
Night Lamping:
It gets dark in Greenland around 11pm and lasts until 2:30am - give or take. When it is dark and you are in the mountains, you cannot travel far from your "homebase" - it is simply too dangerous to wander around at night. This isn't so bad, as the areas are small (a couple hundred square meters) and very productive. I will often mark the best spots with fluorescent tape, to return to them the next morning with hammer.... There is no way you can make the traverse down the mountains while it is dark. (Plus - you never know what rock that polar bear is hiding behind....)
Keep in mind that many folks (most?) are quite satisfied with day lamping, and are ready to return to the rock hut (hotel) at a reasonable hour to get some food, shower, and a nice night's sleep. Then they are raring to go the next morning bright and early. Night lampers will be dragging butt, but they must also be ready to go!
Camping:
Camping can be very productive, but is also a pain. The logistics of having some folks camp and others not makes the daily planning even more difficult. But sometimes it is simply the right thing to do. I have made my best finds while camping. But it is totally optional. Camping does not save money on hotels; you must have a room as a backup due to the unpredictable weather.
We will leave every morning around 9am - 10am to travel to whichever spot we decide on. We typically stay in that general area all day, and return around 6pm to 9pm. Sometimes a few people may stay until it gets dark, night lamp, and return to the hotel around 3am. This is exhausting (especially for the taxi driver - often two trips), but productive.
Some folks may want to stay overnight in a particular area. If the weather is good a simple sleeping bag will suffice. But windy or drizzling weather mandates a tent. We have even stayed out all night without any gear - but most regretted that episode. We must remember that Peter is our boat taxi driver and cannot provide 24 hour taxi service; he has to get some sleep. When it requires a car trip I end up being the taxi driver, so it's not so bad. I can ferry people back and forth from the northern part of the complex at all hours (but even I can get exhausted). So - if you intend to stay out all night, you must be prepared for shelter, as you will not be picked up until morning.
I recommend that those who are planning on night lamping have the gear to allow them to camp - minimally a small tent and sleeping bag. We will decide each day on camping plans, and if the logistics (and the opportunity) allow some to camp, we will do it. This typically means that the rest of the group will return to the same area the next day (often with wondrous new finds to be plundered which were made by the folks from the night before).
Camping is very likely when we travel to the fjords - especially in the Tunuliarfik area (south shore, potential leucophanite area). This is a new area for us, and will require night lamping. Night lamping is the only way to productively identify new deposits (as I have learned over the years). Once identified, they can be exploited during the daytime.
But - I know from experience that many folks will simply not camp. They are happy to return the next morning and marvel at the finds made the previous night. Campers will happily show off these finds and share - as that is simply the courtesy; trade new finds for that hot cup of java. (Plus - the finds from the night before are always so abundant that one person simply cannot make a dent in it). Bottom line - some people will camp. If you don't bring a tent, you won't camp. If you don't camp it's not a problem - you will still get more collecting time in than your body wants, and more rocks than you can possibly haul.
Finally - please don't be surprised if you haul your tent all the way to Greenland and not use it once. Weather, logistics, plans, etc simply may preclude camping. But it is better to be prepared than not....
Mining Courtesy
MinerShop provides these tours as part of our commercial operation. We will bring you to exact locales within the complex where we mine our own material. We will show you exactly what to look for, where to find it, and how to do it. We will even occasionally help you bust a stubborn boulder, blast out a crevice, and offer a multitude of opinions. But we will also be doing our own mining for our main operation. We ask that you respect our mining operations. It is expensive to blast and quite time consuming. Each area has hundreds of square meters to explore and you will find your own material - please do not rely on us to dig it out for you.
Shipping Finds:
Our stated weight limit is 15 kilos. As I have told everyone we are quite flexible with this. But I have noticed that people are starting to haul back a 1/2 dozen boulders of the same type rock - that simply is not "collecting" and is more commercial than we want. Please respect our commercial venture and limit your collecting to major pieces from each locality, and try to keep your weight within a reasonable limit. I expect to ship back (by boat) no more than 30 kilos per person of mostly unique material from each locale.
You will probably pack around 15 kilos in your luggage (of very special specimens). This must be strictly adhered to this year as we must provide a detailed invoice with our shipping documents for you to exit the country. Greenland has changed their export rules, and is becoming quite strict on export of rocks. We have been given strict instructions by the gov't on how to prepare for travel this year.
So - you will probably collect around 45 kilos of super high-grade material. Not bad for ten days!
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