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                                             Photo credit: Lonnie Dupre
Expedition News:
The Thule 2000

In May 1997, Lonnie Dupre of Grand Marais, Minnesota, teamed up with John Hoelscher of Yeppoon, Australia, for a 4800-mile dog sled and kayak expedition around the perimeter of Greenland. 

Circumnavigation of this immense island in the North Atlantic had been attempted many times before but never completed. August of 1998 saw the Dupre party 3200 miles into their trek. A mere 1600 miles short of their goal, they were forced to call a halt due to the impossible ice conditions. In February 2000 the pair intend to complete the remaining distance by dog sled. 

Starting this final leg of their journey in Scoresbysund on Greenland's east coast, they will head toward Oodaaq Island - the most northerly point of land in the world - and finish in Qaanaaq on the west coast. 

They have already broken the record for the longest Arctic trip by kayak in one season, and this during this last stage of the International Greenland Expedition, they could well set another record. Dupre and Hoelscher make a complementary team. Hoelscher is a scuba expert, equally at home in or on the water. Dupre is an expert skier and dog musher. 

The remote region they will travel through is under the jurisdiction of the Danish Polar Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, which issued a special permit for the expedition. Food caches have been established 150 miles apart along the planned route. 

The expedition sled will be pulled by 14 Inuit Sled Dogs, all originating in Greenland, since no foreign dogs are allowed north of the 60th parallel. 

For further information about the Thule Expedition you can visit their website http://www.adventureonline.com Lonnie Dupre's book, "Where the Ice is Born", will be published by Creative Publishing International in the spring of this year. Kelly Dupre, Lonnie's wife, authored a children's book, "Greenland and the Guardian Raven", which will appear in Spring of 2001.