The final day dawned with blue skies, clear, cool air and another crisp feeze of the couloirs and fjord for our extraction day. The team were up half an hour earlier for 5am breakfast then a short snow mobile trip up to the next hut to get a final couloir done. While the ski team made the most of the skiing, Andy and I packed up the hut and hauled the gear down the now heather (rather than snow) slope to the edge of the fjord and the sledges. The team returned to pack their gear, transport it to the sledges and food. Leaving the tourist hut clean and tidy, we packed the sledges and waited for the Sirius team. While we waited a lone Musk Ox came down the mountain behind the hut and crazed on the new green shoots 300m above us. Fantastic.

Eri and Bent arrived, a little wet, having found the best route along the fjord. Four snow mobiles with 3 sledges headed back down the slushy fjord to rendezvous with Pluto and Mira. While Eri and Bent returned to the hut to collect the last 2 sledges and guests, the rest of the team unloaded the sledges, distributing the gear to Mira and stacked the sledges, leaving room for the last 2 snow mobiles and sledges to drive straight onto Pluto, the landing craft. Job done, Amanda and Mark immediately started fishing. Very quickly they had 3 large cod which were for Max, the husky housed next to the Sirius workshop (see posts for last year's ski trip).

Another fabulous dinner (musk ox steak) in Hotel Sisimiut completed the trip.

Andy and I would like to thank Eri, Niels, Bent, Nupatak, Ole and Sisse for all their efforts to make the last 3 weeks trips such a wonderful experience not only for our guests but for ourselves. Superb organisation, execution and adaptation to Greenland's challenges.

After recent warmer weather, team offpisteskiing.com woke to a bluebird day with a heady mix of sun and well-frozen snow (and fjord!). Spurred on by a snoring concerto, Rian was found testing the outdoor sleeping conditions (and spectacular sunrise!).

Despite the freezing conditions, at 6.00am the skidoo drivers (Andy, Jan and Simon) still had to negotiate the tricky tidal pack ice. A 2.5 hour bushwack over heather, icy streams, moraine and treacherous heather....led to a meagre gain 350m above sea level, but also a reindeer leg complete with hoof and hair from Ian's foraging! Early lunch (at 8.30am - don't think jet lag will be an issue!) was required.

Fully fuelled, the team steamed through the next 650m over quick snow under a blazing sun with a welcome stiff breeze to arrive at the bottom of the day's objective, a beautiful red-walled couloir - well, all bar Jason who (driven by some rhythmic beats) detoured via the head of the glacial neve for another 150m vert.

The complete team had a quick sarnie and gulp of water to boot up the couloir and then gain the spectacular summit at pt 1460 with 360 degree views back down the fjord to our hut and out to sea with plenty of icebergs on display. Peak poses and selfies galore were followed by a perfectly timed descent down buttery spring snow, a bone breaking hard traverse and a saunter through the heather for our taxi home (along with beak and complete talons of a deceased white tailed sea eagle).

What. A. Day. Including Shaman Simon blessing the naming of "Christy's Hoof" Couloir in traditional Greenlandic fashion....

PICTURE : Ian skiing Christy's Hoof Couloir, a first descent by the team

Clouds had rolled in but the promised cooler temperatures had not which made for a slightly more relaxed day today. We crossed the fjord with the intention of exploring the valley system immediately to the west of yesterday's adventure, possibly climbing to Point 1008. We gained the moraine north of the cirque below Point 1008 and enjoyed the view of the neve in the cirque. The team feigned interest as I recounted my A level geography explanation of how cirques form. There followed a discussion of Coriolis force.

After this excitement the rest of the attempt on the peak was a bit of an anti-climax. We were repelled by steep rotten snow and slabby rock. The ski down was surprisingly good with the snow staying decent on steeper slopes. We decided to head up Point 644. This gave a great 360 degree view and also a sighting of an Arctic Hare and maybe even an iceberg out to sea. The rest of the ski down was sporty with a mix of spring snow and rotten snow and the occasional patch of heather.

PICTURE : Janice, Amanda and Jason snow mobiling through the puddles on the fjord