A book a day: Fridtjof Nansen: The Greenland Voyage

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Original title: On skis across Greenland
Year of publication: 1890
Translation: Mario Puertas
Valuation: Highly recommended

At the end of the 19th century, and despite names that are already part of the myth (Bellinghausen, Ross, Nordenskjold, etc.), polar exploration was “in its infancy” and many terra incognita They were still waiting for the moment to be trampled by human beings. Historiography and literature have focused on the race to the poles or on expeditions in which tragedy occupies a fundamental place, either as a threat or as a reality. Well, it’s time to claim other expeditions and other characters.

The trip that we bring you to ULAD today is the one that Fridjtof Nansen (and five companions: the Norwegians Sverdrup, Dietrichson and Kristiansen and the Lapps Balto and Ravna) made in 1888, crossing the ice on skis and sleds, for the first time in history. mainland Greenland, starting from the East coast and arriving at Godthab (present-day Nuuk) after a couple of months.

Beyond the undeniable value that the Greenland crossing has from a strictly “sports” point of view, the trip of Nansen and his companions is important because it is one of the first modern expeditions in terms of personnel, logistics, etc., as well as for the relationships it establishes with local residents. In this sense, I think that Knud Rasmussen draws a lot from Nansen in his magnificent From Greenland to the Pacific.

But as we have already said, the journey through the ice does not begin the moment Nansen and company set foot on the continental ice and, thus, Nansen’s book covers from Nansen’s “polar” formation stage to the winter that they had to spend in Godthab, going through logistical and organizational aspects of the expedition, history of polar exploration, the trip from Norway to Greenland (via Iceland), contact with Inuit communities or the journey itself.

There are four aspects that, in my opinion, coexist in Nansen, writer and character, and make the Norwegian one of the most amiable explorers: poetics, didactics, humanism and humor.

The descriptions of the fierce Icelandic landscape, the Greenland coasts or the northern lights have nothing to envy of those that “professional” writers could draw.

Finding ourselves in the middle of the fjord, the setting of the descending sun caressed the basalt mountains of the Isafjord with its glow; Its western slopes smiled in the evening light, while the cold shadows were cast, hiding in all the cracks of the landings located near the summits and sneaking into the crevices that the water has been burying in the verticality of the sides, allowing it to stand out. the singular horizontal formations more clearly.

The didactic nature of Nansen and his texts can be seen in the part dedicated to the logistics of the expedition, in his comments about ice, geology, volcanology, etc. and, especially, in the recapitulation of previous expeditions through Greenland and in the learning obtained from them.

His humanist side is perceived in the relationship he establishes with the communities he encounters and with whom he has to live in the winter of 1889, in how he interacts with them, in how he observes and speaks about their customs, modes of social organization. , etc. They are chapters close to the anthropological and they leave us with a fairly advanced vision compared to other “polar great men” of the time that are much more idiotic. Another point that speaks in favor of Nansen is the use of the testimonies of his fellow travelers. It is not very common either.

And finally, the humor, which always hovers over Nansen’s narration. Whether on the ship that takes them from Iceland to Greenland, in the adventures of Balto and Ravna or in their hardships through the ice, Nansen moves away from the “epic” and opts for a more humorous and surprising path.

The only thing that keeps the rating from being higher is, curiously, the part of the journey itself. I don’t know if it’s due to Nansen’s departure from the “epic”, but I find it somewhat repetitive and boring. At least, if we put it in relation to other parts of the book.

In any case, and as they said in It dawns that it is not little, In this town what there is is true devotion to Nansen. Or was it because of Faulkner?

PS: I love travel books that include photographs, maps, etc. In this case, a lot of photos taken by Nansen (and unretouched, mind you) accompany the text and bear witness to the adventure.