| Arctic Winter Games Trip Nuuk, Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat) March 16-23 2002 Gary Snyder Arctic Winter Games Just now I am on a flight between Kangerlussuaq Greenland and Iqaluit Canada (formerly Frobisher Bay). I am on a charter flight returning home with the Alaska Arctic Winter Games Team. The 2002 games were co-hosted by Nuuk Greenland and Iqaluit, across the Davis Strait of the North Atlantic. Adam Verrier, Kendra Besh, and myself were coaches for 23 cross-country skiers from around Alaska competing in the games. The Arctic Winter Games have been held every 2 years since 1970. Youths compete in about 20 indoor and outdoor sports that are popular in the Arctic. This ranges from dog mushing and native games to basketball, snowboarding and curling. In addition to sports there are cultural elements to the games with exhibitions of art, dancing, crafts, foods, and music from all of the regions. This year there were teams from host Greenland, Canadian teams from Nunavik (Northern Quebec), Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Northern Alberta, Yukon, Team Alaska/USA, and Russian teams from Magadan and Chukotka. Logistics The logistics of hosting these games were amazing. Host community Nuuk (formerly Godthaab, population about 10,000) provided for 1000 participants for one week. Imagine 25,000 tourists hitting Anchorage at once! There were hundreds of volunteers. Every plane and bus in Greenland was probably utilized (there are only 50 miles of roads in Greenland). Schools closed in Nuuk, and we slept in classrooms on cots. All meals were in a cafeteria. Food was pretty typical Danish fare, supplemented daily by spaghetti (for picky teens) and occasional Inuit foods…seal and whale. I thought the food was great (although I brought Tabasco to spice it up). I probably gained 5 pounds. People crowded all the streets, shops, buses and venues all the time. People We arrived in Nuuk at midnight after many hours of travel. A room snafu had occurred so 3 of the older boys and I went from the Ask School to the Usk School to find beds. We ended up sharing a room with 4 boys from Magadan, who were quite surprised to find us in the morning. The Magadan team introduced us to pin trading and stinky cigarettes. Later we moved back with the other boys at Ask School. The four of us then shared a room with 4 skiers and a coach from Northern Alberta. My boys learned about Canadian accents and language subtleties. We all got along great. Three times I walked home from the ski area to avoid crowded buses. Once the MC from the opening ceremonies picked me up. Another time the principal of Ask school gave me a ride. I never even needed to put out my thumb. On the ski trails I met the Greenlandic coaches Paul and Netuuk. Netuuk told me that she had found skiing in the trees of Anchorage “claustrophobic� when she was at the Arctic Winter Games there in 1996. This while we are standing in a 20 mph wind. I traded hats and jackets with Paul at the end of the week. I also met the Yukon coaches, both ex-Canada National Team members Alain Masson and Lucy Steele. Alain had just returned from Salt Lake City where he had waxed pursuit medalist Becki Scott’s skis. Getting to know the kids on my own team was the most fun. None of them skied for the high school I coach, so they were all pretty new to me. We had a blast. They all bonded together well and we had a great time. It will be sad going our separate ways. The behavior was great. I do think it was a big, strange trip for the youngest skiers (13 years old). Some were a bit homesick/bewildered, or more likely tired and overwhelmed. One of the best experiences was seeing the residents of Nuuk cheer on skiers. They bundle up and watch the races, even in really cold winds. There were kids climbing cliffs and sliding down hills all around the course every day. Behind every rock there was a tyke dressed in the North Face or a seal skin outfit. I saw lots of bundled kids always playing outside in Nuuk…I love it! The last two days all competitors were very friendly as pin trading progressed to trading team uniforms and more. I managed to get rid of most of my Team Alaska stuff for Greenlandic clothing. The real prize for traders was the team Greenland “Arctic Blue� seal skin parkas. I am not usually a fan of fur coats but they were beautiful! Adam managed to get one for a US ski team ski suit from the Lillehammer Olympics. A few other people traded many clothing articles to get one, but not many of the Greenland team members would part with them. My guess is the parkas would cost $800-$1000 in the USA. The kids in my room traded everything...open market and real haggling. Winners and loosers. I did pretty well, I think. Schedule Our schedule for the week was very busy. We had six full days in Nuuk, and we raced on 4 of them. Then there were coaches meetings, pre and post race, awards ceremonies daily at 5:00 pm, opening and closing ceremonies, ski waxing, and trying to get 23 adolescents to always be at the right place at the right time. To make it more difficult Kendra and the girls stayed at a school 1 kilometer across town from us boys and the nearby cafeteria. The waxing garage was somewhere in between. Buses looped around town and to the ski area. We crammed on them like Japanese subways because all the skiers always wanted to be on them at the same time, before and after races. Any free time was quickly spent. On our day off we all took a free fjord cruise to see some of the outlying area and mountains…some of the oldest rocks on earth. Spare time was spent shopping, exploring the cliffs and streets of Nuuk, seeing shows at the cultural center (Katuaq), visiting the net cafes, meeting with other athletes and coaches, and most of all trading pins, uniforms, and anything else someone would barter for. The buildings and homes in Nuuk are very colorful, as one would expect from the Danes. Alaskans could learn from this. One evening the kids had a dance/party and on Wednesday the ski coaches went to the “Rock Café� for some Carlsberg beer. One afternoon I squeezed in 15 minutes at the National Museum and saw the haunting 500 year old freeze dried mummies. Skiing The ski area, like all of Greenland, was treeless. The ski stadium was a natural hollow in the rocks, but the wind still managed to whistle through. The 5 km loop had a few steep hills and two gradual ones. The trails crossed a road (in tunnels), went over a barren rock outcropping, then dramatically dropped along the ocean and past a seaside cemetery before heading back in. The wind coming off the ocean was very strong! The tracks and snow were very windblown and pretty slow. Trails were marked with leftover cuttings from imported Christmas trees. Our skiers picked up a majority of the medals (gold, silver, and bronze colored ulus), followed closely by Greenland. The Greenland skiers had very good technique. In Anchorage we have trouble getting Natives to ski so it was heartening to see so many Inuit skiers from Greenland…and fast skiers at that. Their coach, Paul Pedersen from Aasiaat was very friendly. The five skiers from Kugluktuk (formerly Coppermine), Nunavut, and their coach Rebecca Harding-Adams were the crowd favorite. Obviously beginner skiers, skiing in old 3 pin bindings and falling every few steps these guys inspired by never showing a hint of quitting or being deterred. A local ski shop gave them all new skis, boots, and poles. We (other teams) help them with waxing, technique, and encouragement. Those five kids got so hooked on skiing we know they will share their enthusiasm for skiing with all of Kugluktuk. I am sure some of them will be back in two years. Thursday was totally sunny, so we could finally see the sharp, rocky peaks around Nuuk, but the high wind made it unpleasant to be outside. Friday, our last day, made up for all of the nasty weather. It was totally sunny and no wind. Even locals were impressed with how calm it was. As it was after equinox there were 12 hours of bright sun, even this far north. Everyone was outside all day taking pictures from sunrise to sunset. Finally on this day the cafeteria and net cafés were empty…people were all out in the sun. The weather was a wonderful reward to a great week, giving all visitors a warm memory of Greenland. That night the clear and warm weather made the outdoor closing ceremonies and impressive fireworks display especially fun. Home The charter flight just left Iqaluit after 3 hours on the tarmac loading kids from the other half of the games. Iqaluit and Nuuk split the games because of the sheer number of participants involved and the sled dogs would have needed to be quarantined to go to Greenland. Our jumbo jet is full of tired, coughing people. Everyone has many stories to tell, though, and is catching up with friends. All athletes were so busy they didn’t get much time to spectate the other sports. The last surprise will be to see how many seal and ivory products get smuggled into the US. I hope they don’t get my narwhale tooth! Return to Home page |
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