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Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

matduggan.com

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Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#291

Post by tlavoie »

sandworm101 wrote: post #140
iagooar wrote: post #83

I have been to northern Norway and Iceland a few times. It all started when I was running my previous SaaS at the peak of its growth. I needed a break, and wanted to go far away, while still being close enough if sh*t hit the fan. My co-founder had recently talked to some friends who had been to Tromsø, Norway. The place looked perfect, so I booked a 5-day solo trip there. Places that are so distant, with such harsh…

And when you want to experiance true issolation in the face of nature, Alaska and Westerm Canada are waiting. Try a drive north through BC in winter. Fish on an Alaskan river only accessible by floatplane. Wake up to watch the northern lights only to realize you are looking south. Or pan for gold only to look up and see a grizzly cub walking cassually past. Norway: 15 people per sq km. Alberta: 6.7 British columbia:…

It's not the cub I'd be worried about, but where's it's mom?

I have yet to go north much, though our son and his girlfriend worked in Eagle Plains for a bit. One fun snippet from their trip back, having a raven as an escort for the highway drive: https://youtu.be/9KdMJhSaeJc

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#293

Post by timonoko »

bruce511 wrote: post #128
iagooar wrote: post #83

I have been to northern Norway and Iceland a few times. It all started when I was running my previous SaaS at the peak of its growth. I needed a break, and wanted to go far away, while still being close enough if sh*t hit the fan. My co-founder had recently talked to some friends who had been to Tromsø, Norway. The place looked perfect, so I booked a 5-day solo trip there. Places that are so distant, with such harsh…

Thanks for this. I'm going to Nesseby Norway next summer for 3 days over the solstice. There doesn't look like much to do there, which I guess is kinda the point. I'm looking forward to it.

Plenty to do, you can for example fish and eat it too:

Paddeling from Nesseby to Russia https://youtu.be/nW5sFJKs8K4?si=xbmMz11CRIrC7obk

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#294

Post by fastasucan »

geoduck14 wrote: post #235
grilledchickenw wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You just described wonderfully why I'm drawn to remote places. It started with a trip to the interior of Iceland, then Tromsø, and more recently Svalbard and the Faroes. I tried to capture the beautiful sense of isolation in Svalbard here, maybe it inspires others to make a trip to somewhere remote. https://photoblog.nk412.com/Svalbard2024/n-ssC8fP/Svalminiph...

Thanks for the pics! The prevalence of rifles is... thought provoking. The pic of the guy on a bike with a rifle is so metal My overall impression of the area is "gloomy" all pics are overcast. It feels sad. It is beautiful, but I long for the sun

On Svalbard you need a rifle for Polar bear protection. If you need sun just go there in summer, with the midnight sun it will never leave you.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#295

Post by sph »

dreamcompiler wrote: post #292

As inhospitable goes, I wonder how Greenland compares to Antarctica.

If Greenland is Mars, Antarctica is Pluto.

When I was sweating in the European summer a few weeks ago, I used to check the weather down in the South Pole… -50C on a good day, -80C with windchill. There is a reason one has a few small human colonies and the other only penguins.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#296

Post by skrebbel »

petre wrote: post #284
JohnLocke4 wrote: post #106

I happen to be one of the Danes who partially grew up in Greenland that he talks about in the article. I even recognize the places from the article. Some of my cordial childhood memories are from there and it is a place I will forever love. One of the most visceral memories I have is looking across the ice fjord listening to the thunderous breaking of the ice bergs - you can hear the sounds on videos, but combined wi…

What does one feed sled dogs in Greenland?

Fish, as described in the article. And when they freeze to death to toss them down a cliff.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#297

Post by noduerme »

This was some great travel writing. You don't hear good metaphors thrown around these days so much; LLMs suck at metaphors. Some choice bits:

>>like being stuck behind a school bus in your own driveway.

>>like some sort of prehistoric parking lot

>>like nature's sculpture garden

>>like being grounded by an airline

>>like a very expensive, very slow merry-go-round

>>like being trapped in a meteorological mood swing

These are each couched really nicely as references to everyday life, not over the top Hunter S Thompson style parallels, but at the same time very visual and conjuring experiences everyone can relate to. Good writing.

I'm really disturbed by the throwing of frozen sled dogs off a cliff. Frozen wasteland or not, they should do something to enforce laws against cruelty to animals.

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#298

Post by [deleted] »

Slava_Propanei wrote: post #23
pixelpoet wrote: post #10

Poor doggywogs :( Edit: Wow, HN didn't like that. Nevermind, screw the dogs I guess, just toss the frozen ones over the cliff.

If you hang out with sled dogs, you will discover they are the happiest dogs. They go nuts when they get to run or eat, and just chill in their dog houses otherwise.

[deleted]

Re: Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

#299

Post by spacechild1 »

WalterBright wrote: post #243
spacechild1 wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are you talking about? Greenland is already a NATO member (via Denmark), so it has already taken a side. The obvious scandal, of course, is that Greenland is being openly threatened by the US - a fellow NATO member!

> Greenland is being openly threatened by the US Not really. It's just bluster.

Denmark/Greenland certainly thinks differently. And empty threats are still threats.
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