Adventure Magazine Issue 220

Will Gadd and Jason Gulley inside a moulin on the Greenland ice cap near Ilulissat, Greenland
Image by Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
We took two trips to Greenland, that made up the Beneath the Ice project:
the first took place in August, where we identified the moulin we hope to
explore further; the second took place in October, where we hoped to put
our full scope of ambitious exploration into action…"
Will and Professor Jason Gulley reached the ice floor where they planned
to dive however, with massive blocks of ice falling from the ceiling above
they were forced to pull out of the dive. They still achieved a vital insight
into understanding how global warming works and what happens to rivers
of melted ice and rising sea levels.
Joining them to capture the event was photographer, Christian Pondella. He
explains the trip from his perspective…
"Wherever there’s surface water on a glacier there will be a moulin nearby,
but this one was special because it had a big opening facing the same way
as the prevailing wind. That meant the snow would block up the entrance
while we were inside. Obviously, that was pretty important.
Just getting out there was an adventure. It was a half-hour heli flight from
Ilulissat, with amazing views and then we were dropped off in the middle
of this ice desert. Just flat ice, as far as you can see. Totally surreal. When
we first dripped into the moulin, we found this giant amphitheatre. It was
stunning, with tonnes of overhanging ice. We were in the fall zone most of
the time, which was pretty nerve wracking.
One day there was a big temperature drop and you could hear cracking
around us as we stood on the ice cap. When you go into a cavern like this
you’re extremely exposed, so you’ve got to continually look for signs of
instability. We all saw them, so we took the day off. It turned out we made
the right call. The next day, when things got more stable, we went back in
and at the bottom, where we’d been standing two days before, there were
huge chunks of fallen ice. Massive. That was eerie and scary. If we’d been
down there the day before, well…"
RIGHT: Looking back as Will Gadd
descends into a moulin on the Greenland
ice cap near Ilulissat, Greenland
Image by Christian Pondella
Red Bull Content Pool
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