The First Crossing of Greenland

In this 1890 publication Fridtjof Nansen recounts the first successful crossing of the interior of Greenland.

Fridtjof Nansen (Author), Hubert Majendie Gepp (Translated by)

9781108031097, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 12 May 2011

564 pages, 85 b/w illus. 3 maps
21.6 x 14 x 3.2 cm, 0.71 kg

First published in English in 1890, this book by Norwegian explorer and scientist Fridtjof Nansen (1861–1930) recounts the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, an expedition that took two months. Learning from previous failed attempts, Nansen suggested crossing from the uninhabited east to the inhabited west of Greenland, an innovation that proved successful. Nansen's account was translated by Hubert Majendie Gepp and includes an introduction written by the secretary of the Royal Geographical Society. Volume 1 describes the initial stages of the journey, including detailed accounts of the equipment, the methods used for crossing the ice and the arrival of the party on the east coast of Greenland. The volume ends with a description of previous attempts to cross the 'inland ice'. Nansen, who later served as delegate to the League of Nations, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922 for his humanitarian endeavours.

Introduction J. Scott Keltie
Preface
1. Introduction
2. The equipment
3. 'Ski' and 'skilöbning'
4. The voyage to Iceland
5. Cruising in the ice
6. The bladder-nose seal and its capture
7. Life on the 'Jason'
8. Attempt to land - drifting in the ice
9. Still drifting
10. The ice-belt of the east coast of Greenland, and some account of previous attempts to penetrate it
11. The east coast of Greenland
12. The east coast - an Eskimo encampment
13. The east coast - another stage northwards
14. The east coast - further dealings with the Eskimo
15. Our last encampment on the east coast
16. Previous attempts at exploration of the 'inland ice'.

Subject Areas: Historical geography [HBTP]