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Stranded in Greenland...

Posted: Thursday, August 30, 2007 3:17 PM
Filed Under:

By Anne Thompson, NBC News correspondent

Update: Anne Thompson managed to get a seat on a plane out of Greenland on Thursday evening. However, as of 8:30 a.m. EST Friday, the rest of her crew - producer Mario Garcia, photographer Bruce Bernstein and his son and soundman, Curt Bernstein - are still stuck there and hoping to get on a flight home...

ILULISSAT, Greenland –  I had camped out on green ice sheet, ridden helicopters into glaciers where only a handful of people have been, scrambled up and down mountains, but nothing has been as challenging or frustrating as the Air Greenland strike.

We’re stranded on the world’s largest non-continent island.  "We" is our NBC News team – producer Mario Garcia, photographer Bruce Bernstein and his son and soundman, Curt Bernstein.

Today we were supposed to fly from Ilulissat to Kangerlussuaq and then on to Baltimore.

This evening’s flight to Baltimore is Air Greenland’s last scheduled flight to the United States until spring ’08. 

NBC News
The NBC News team soaking in some sun with some new friends in Greenland.

If we were in the states, we’d hop on another airline or rent a car and drive, but Air Greenland is the only domestic airline here and there is no highway system. There is not even a two-lane road connecting the few towns that exist. The only way you can get from place to place is by plane, helicopter, or boat.

We have too much gear to take a chopper. We could go by ferry to Kangerlussuaq, but that would take two days and we don’t know where we’d go once we got there.  We are hoping Air Greenland solves this problem fast but we aren’t optimistic.

So we’re off to shoot another stand-up and then hike to the fjord; if worse comes to worse, the innkeeper has promised me a tree for Christmas if I bake cookies.

Hope to see you all before Spring!

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Comments

Wow.  Hope you get home soon.  Oh, Why is it called greenland when it is all ice and Iceland is beautiful and green?

Brandon Brister, Durant, OK (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 3:48 PM)

I think you deserve a nice Christmas and Spring in Greenland.   If NBC can't make plans for you to fly you out in advance they probably won't pay you for spending your next 6 months enjoy the freezer conditions.

KD, Tucson, Arizona (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 3:53 PM)

Stay warm, keep your socks dry, take lots of pictures and enjoy. With any luck, the world will still be here when you get back. I have heard the animals up there are delicious...happy hunting.

derek in Utah (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 3:57 PM)

Wow. 6 months in Greenland would not be my idea of fun.

Canadian Real Estate (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 4:00 PM)

Wishing you the best of luck from Washington.  On the bright side you will be assured a white Christmas!

Christine Harter, Tri-Cities, Washington (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 4:01 PM)

Boat to Iceland and Icelandic Airways out. Also Icelandic Airways goes there. That's what we all do.  What's the fuss?

moira wagner san francisco ca (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 4:02 PM)

Are there any oversea connections from Kangerlussuaq to Canadian communities in Labrador, northern Quebec, or Nunavut?

Garth Spencer, Vancouver, BC (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 4:03 PM)

I can really appreciate the situation these people are in because I had the dubvious privilege of spending ONE FULL YEAR at Thule, just south of the North Pole, back in 1950! All we had was a small PX, and our own radio station KBIC (Keerist But Its Cold). We were forbidden to go near the Eskimos as they were not immune from white man's many diseases. Everything was flown in or out of Thule-and it was a 9 hour flight "down the hill" to Hartford. I made one trip to the capitol-Godhaab-it was totally dependent on the fishing industry to survive! It was quite an experience, so I know what these people are going thru! I wish them well.

Robert L. Stevens, Holland, Michigan (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 4:04 PM)

After the heat we've had in the Carolinas, I could spend so time in Greenland.  But I can imagine that it could be boring.............cookies for a tree, nah!

Jim, Charlotte, NC (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 4:13 PM)

Non-continent island? As opposed to a continent island?

Bob, Sunnyvale, CA (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 4:16 PM)

NBC can't get you an airplane? You can't leave your equipment behind for a season and take the helicoptor? Hard for me to imagine American journalists honestly and hopelessly "trapped" anywhere, much less Greenland. Sounds like a good story, to me.

Lisa, Georgia (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 4:24 PM)

Hey Anne...I spent a year there from 1969 to 1970 as a member of the American Forces Radio and Television Service when I was in the Air Force...Wait...it GETS REALLY COLD

Bryan Walther (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 4:35 PM)

Try to get to Thule AB, in Greenland they have planes that fly out every week chartered for the military but I am sure they would be willing to work with you and your ordeal.

Kyle, Los Angeles,CA (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 4:53 PM)

ice ice babies!!  I so wish I was there instead of sweltering in Louisiana!!  

JR (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 5:00 PM)

Win some; lose some.  Stay cool.

C Brown, conway nh (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 5:01 PM)

I realize that this is frustrating but I would think that since there is phone service between the States and Greenland that some manner of transportation can be arranged, eg: A special aircraft rented by the network and flown to Greenland to bring you guys home.  Surely, the weather isnt turning that bad, that quickly?

Scott, Dodge City, KS (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 5:03 PM)

oh dear gussie! that is horrible!!! i hope some american corporate guru sends one of their private charters to get you! c'mon, give up the jets for our lil msnbc family trapped!!! if i had one no problemo!
y'all hang in there..thank God for the internet...
God speed! hey, AFLAC, if u read this please send one of your corp. jets!!! Aflac's home office is across the river in Columbus, GA...

melanie, phenix city, AL USA (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 5:06 PM)

Have seriously been considering a trip to Greenland; love the concept of the igloo hotel rooms,but now...

ellen, chicago, il (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 5:18 PM)

I could be worse ... you could be stranded in Texas.

Jeff Cates (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 5:22 PM)

Sounds like a national crisis for Greenland.

I am an American, but the thought that comes to mind is: Poor inconvenienced american.

Why don't you cover the strike since you are there?

Not given (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 5:22 PM)

I can relate to their problem after living for a year in Thuly, Greenland.  It can go from 50 in the summer to 90 below in the winter.  No roads, just ships or plans and they can be very unpredictable due to the constant changing weather.  Jim

Jim, Lawrenceville, GA (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 5:35 PM)

You can still fly to Denmark from Kangerlussuaq.  Its a little out of the way, but it will have you home by the first of next week.  Of course, everyone enjoys a white christmas!  Be Safe!

JR, Alabama (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 5:56 PM)

Hmmm NBC sends a jet for Jerry Seinfeld but not for thier own hapless news crew

I think they have something called Aquavite that might make things better

Charles Fox, COnifer CO (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 5:56 PM)

Not to worry, if Algore is right you will soon be on a warm and green island, something like being stranded in Bermuda.  People will envy you your good fortune, perhaps you can get in on the ground floor in the tourist business.  A word of advice, learn the local language but don't worry about words that describe snow and cold, according to Algore and Nancy Pelosi you won't need them.  

Vernon (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 6:00 PM)

The west coast of Greenland is not exactly where I would choose to spend the next 6-8 months!  Hope they packed their thermal jammies!  :-)

Seriously though - isn't there a ferry or something to Reykjavik?  It may take a week cruising time plus a boatload of cash (sorry, no pun intended) but it's gotta be better than sitting on a glacier in the dark for six months.

J.Mitchell, Atlanta GA (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 6:02 PM)

"Why is it called greenland when it is all ice and Iceland is beautiful and green? "

Answer - Viking disinformation campaign ;-)

J.Mitchell, Atlanta GA (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 6:04 PM)

you could be stuck in the super dome with Bush and his bunch of war hawks.

bob lamb sidney new york (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 6:12 PM)

Wow! With the way the media has hyped Global Warming, you'd think you would be excited to spend time up there. Al Gore told me there are already palm trees sproutng up. You won't even need a sweater this winter. Break out the Corona's, catch some rays and relax on the North Atlantic coast. Hooray for Global Warming!

Patrick Mc Geough (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 6:14 PM)

Good luck and Stay warm!

Fred Stern (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 6:23 PM)

Regarding the question posted earlier as to why Greenland is called "Greenland", one legendary guess is that the Vikings who discovered both Greenland and Iceland deliberately cross-named them so as to conceal the more desirable place from other explorers.  That's a pretty interesting rumor.  The more common guess is that the Vikings actually wanted to attract more settlers to their Greenland settlement, which is green part of the year, and was probably greener during their climate period that was warmer than it is now.

William Baer (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 6:24 PM)

Ispent 13 months at Bluie West-1, also known as Narsarsuak as a flight engineer in the 51st air rescue Sq. in 1955-56. It's not all that difficult to get a plane in from Labrador and out again.  Just be sure the weather will hold or you'll be stuck. Been lots of places, Greenland is among the most beautiful.

Gene Worley, Connersville, Indiana (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 6:26 PM)

Good luck and Stay warm!

Fred Stern (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 6:46 PM)

I believe Iceland was called that by the Vikings to trick other nations into believing it was all ice so they would stay away. Maybe Greenland was labeled as such to produce the opposite effect.

David, Jackson, Miss. (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 6:51 PM)

Re: Bob's comment "non-continent island" as opposed to a "continent island" ?  Yes Bob..ever heard of Australia ?????

don (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 6:59 PM)

Stop moaning. You say you can get out by ferry, there will be flughts to Europe, and you have all accommodation and expenses paid for by your company. So what if you are a few days late

AP Auckland NZ (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 7:37 PM)

Why didn't you go to Sondrestrom Fjiord, you could have flown SAS commercial out of Sondy and arrived in LA??  Wake up to the ways of the world, of course, you probably had one of your interns do the work while you went fishing (greatest in the world).

John, Orlando, FL (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 7:42 PM)

I flew over Greenland on July 2d this year enroute from Frankfurt to SFO. Iceland was entirely ice. Greenland was a huge land mass of mountainous ranges covered with ice, snow, and glaciers even in its valleys. I can only imagine what ground conditions must be, and I've been in Alaska in winter.

Dave, CA (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 8:36 PM)

Dont whine too much. Like Jimmy Buffet says your "living on island time". Its just a big island without Pina Coladas on the beach. Chill out, (pun intended)you'll be back next week

Bruce,USA (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 8:46 PM)

I teach environmntal science to students at Gibbs College, Norwalk, CT.  They think that your reports regarding environment and its relation to global warming have a strong correaltion between the two phenomnena.  They think that the network will not allow you to suffer in the extremes of cold weather.  I am pretty sure Bill Gates (listening or reading about this) will send a jet to pick you pick you up before Christmas.  All of my students are praying for your safe return.  

Dr. Mir N. Khan, Bethany, CT (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 9:23 PM)

you're a bunch of idiots for not having a backup transportation plan in plan BEFORE journeying to Greenland.

it's going to cost NBC a fortune to charter a plane to get you clowns back home and they should make you guys pay a portion of it from your paychecks, if not, they should fire you all for such idiotic poor planning.

Jay (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 9:43 PM)

Wow! What an adventure. Wish I was there with you.

Butch Savage, Quincy, California (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 9:50 PM)

if these bozos fly military via Thule AB then NBC should reinburse the expense to the Fed government.

Reporters are well out of hand getting themselves either in a pickle or in harms way where they tend to screw things up more than being helpful just for a fast dollar in their own greedy pockets.

If I was your boss I'd tell you that you were all fired and tell you all to walk home or travel however on your own dime.

Jay (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 9:51 PM)

Wow! What an adventure. Wish I was there with you.

Butch Savage, Quincy, California (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 9:52 PM)

Please be safe.  I hope you get home soon.  Thank you for going the extra and sometimes extreme mile to bring information from around the world.

Angela Gray, Washington, DC (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 9:57 PM)

I hope you get home soon.  Thank you and NBC for all that you do!

Angela Gray, Washington, DC (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 9:59 PM)

I am much more interested in what your plans are now.
An exciting adventure may be around the corner - and great pics and stories.  Enjoy the unexpected events - make some memories.

D'Anna Travis (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 10:22 PM)

Take advantage! Go on some adventures while you're there! Best Wishes

Oh, and Don, I believe Rob was referring to the island's ability to control it's BM :-D

Jim, Killeen, TX (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 11:06 PM)

I've been in Illulisat and it could be far worse. Take the ferry up to Uummannaq; it's even more beautiful with a great little Danish hotel. I use Air Nunavut out of Iqualuit onBaffin Island to get there. I'm sure they'd come over with a twin engine plane tomorrow if you really want to rush home.  First Air flies commercial from Iqualuit to Ottawa every day.  good luck! if you get to Uummannaq I have some kayaks there you can borrow. skol.

steve piragis,ely,minnesota (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 11:24 PM)

I guess not having enough blueberries or yogurt is small potatoes at this pointin the charmed life here at home. Enjoy the cold,its soooo hot here in Rocky River.

Lynne Scott Rocky River,Ohio (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 11:40 PM)

hahahahahahhaahah  iwas   stationed there in the airforce hahahahaa  i hope you like the cold hahahha cause honey it gets so col willfreeze your ---- off, have fun, maybe the airforce can flyyou out of there, if now?  seeyou in the spring hahahaa

Dave (Sent Thursday, August 30, 2007 11:42 PM)



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