![On the back of a Dragonfly [B&W]](http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6194/6128449851_14ec409b56_s.jpg "On the back of a Dragonfly [B&W]")
Day 8: The wind was still blowing hard when we woke up this morning. It was hellish outside but sweet inside our tent, so we gave ourselves a bit of a treat and stayed in bed most of the day catching up on conversation. I read a great and inspiring book that my friend (and daughter) Alexandra recommended: Three Cups of Tea, by Greg Mortenson. It’s the story of Mortenson’s work building schools in the most remote parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan after a failed attempt to summit K-2, the second highest peak in the world.
Around mid afternoon the wind stopped as quickly as it started, a great relief. So we decide to go for the summit. The summit is kind of a joke as on this enormous icecap covering the whole of Greenland -- it feels like trying to identify the highest point on a bald person’s head.
We packed up our camp around 4PM and trekked for six hours on an incline so gradual it was hardly noticeable. Thanks to our altimeter and GPS, we reached the highest point of our trek, 1,400 meters (4,500 feet), and crossed the 78th parallel.
The setting is incredible: a full 360-degree view of flat ice -- nothing else in sight. As we set our camp for the night, we head and then saw a tiny plane in the sky, the first sign of civilization in a few days. Without thinking I started waving both arms at the pilot, like a lost soul on a desert island...
We will celebrate tonight by opening a box of Choco Prince cookies, the only thing I could find in the Qaanaaq store to replace the festive items lost in my suitcase.
[Pictured above: Larry and Alain's snowed-in tent, after the katabatic winds had passed.]
[Editor's note: Over the course of two weeks, Larry Lunt, a member of NRDC's Global Leadership Council, and Alain Hubert, a Belgian explorer and founder of the International Polar Foundation, will trek some 200 miles from the town of Qaanaaq across Greenland's Humbolt Glacier, the Northern Hemisphere's largest and fastest moving river of ice. Along the way, as special contributors to OnEarth's Greenlight blog, Lunt and Hubert will post dispatches from the ice: stories of a culture and wilderness in flux and lessons for what our own future may hold. Follow the journey at our Destination: Greenland page.]
TRACK THE EXPEDITION ON THE MAP:
Choco Prince ? J'adore ça, mais moi ça se voit...!
Au cas où vous auriez froid, j'ai retrouvé dans mon brohl le thermostat de commande du chauffage de Dennenhuis... si, si, il avait été démonté et foutu au conteneur... c'est du made in England.
personellement je prefere les oreos.
oui c'etait moi qui pilotait le cessna qui a survole votre tente. j'ai lache la libre belgique d'hier, j'espere que vous l'avez recuperee.
OK I get my two answers...you are eating Choco Prince, and you are typing on your laptop and not a blackberry. I still wonder about power. A small generator perhaps ?
Mobby Dick isn't that huge.
Fantastic pictures....Thank you SO much for sharing this with us
Hugs
OK I get my two answers...you are eating Choco Prince, and you are typing on your laptop and not a blackberry. I still wonder about power. A small generator perhaps ?
Mobby Dick isn't that huge.
Fantastic pictures....Thank you SO much for sharing this with us
Hugs
Larry, You are my Hero. A Great Adventurer and Great Family Man all rolled into on human being. I appreciate your blogging from atop of the world
Bravo Francis !!
To the top restera tjs notre devise.
Merci de partager ces grands moments avec nous. on attend avec impatience la suite.
Ici, il fait beau et chaud !!
Bon courage
Benoit
merci pour tous ces details , c est comme si on y etait ... sauf que ce n est pas le cas . Tristig !!!
bravo pour le sommet , j ai mal au mollet rien qu a y penser
sorry mais je ne suis pas d accord avec daniel ni avec damien : les bichoc sont meilleurs , ils fondent plus vite dans la bouche
kusjes voor jullie twee
What a great adventure and continued exposure to our planet in transition! Your log is inspirational! You continue to be one of the most caring, spontaneous and adventurous people anywhere. Thank you for communicating these changes. Good Luck on the rest of your adventure. Be Safe and I look forward to seeing you upon your return.
J'adore AUSSI les bichocs : pas de discriminations dasn le domaine des biscuits chocolatés (ni dans d'autres domaines). Tous les biscuits chocolatés sont bons, mais certains sont meilleurs que d'autres, c'est pas plus grave que cela! ;-)
J'avoue que c'est pas top sympa de parler de friandises alors que les deux gars se gèlent là-bas, mais c'est Larry qui a mis le sujet sur table !
Lawrence (Larry) Lunt is a private investor from Belgium who operates the U.S. arm of his family's business, Armonia. Armonia focuses entirely on innovative, sustainable investments ranging from direct investments in individual companies to investments in private and public
...Lawrence (Larry) Lunt is a private investor from Belgium who operates the U.S. arm of his family's business, Armonia. Armonia focuses entirely on innovative, sustainable investments ranging from direct investments in individual companies to investments in private and public equity funds as well as sustainable hedge funds.
In 2007, Armonia helped seed the launch of TBL (triple bottom line) Capital, a venture capital fund focused on the needs of entrepreneurs who place equal value on people, planet, and profit. TBL Capital is a core investment of the Armonia strategy.
Engagement in education: Lunt is an active member of the board of several schools, including the Convent of Sacred Heart of Greenwich, where he founded the Barat Foundation to educate students in philanthropy. He helped restart the international education program Up With People, a youth program with over 30,000 alumni around the world building bridges of understanding to promote world peace. He also helped launch World Campus International, an education program for students offering unique access to Japan. Lunt also helped launch Ashoka in Belgium. Ashoka promotes the world’s leading social entrepreneurs.
Environmental engagement: Lunt has a strong interest in preserving the Arctic, which he visits every year. He is a member of NRDC's Global Leadership Council, as well as the Belgian International Polar Foundation.
Lunt has a degree in Economics from Louvain University in Belgium and an MBA from Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan.
He and his wife, Victoria Lunt, have three daughters, ages 15, 14, and 9.
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