The Journey

There are no commercial flights from the U.S. to Greenland. Scientists and support staff arrive before dawn in western New York to board military planes to the island during brief Arctic summers. The flight is deafening – akin to a seven-hour New York City subway ride with the windows open – but exhausted researchers and young soldiers alike fall asleep in sling seats and net beds slung around cargo.

  1. slide 1 Flights pause in northeastern Canada for refueling, then head north across the Arctic Circle and land in Kangerlussuaq, population 500, in West Greenland.
  2. slide 2 Scientists bunk at the Kangerlussuaq International Science Station, a World War II barracks converted into dormitories and lab space.
  3. slide 3 Hotel Tuttu is also called the Reindeer Inn – and has the antlers to prove it tacked to the front rail.