"An incredible experience": he crosses Greenland from West to East over 600 km, Varois Rob Brink recounts his adventure

Just a few days ago, Rob Brink was still wearing a fleece jacket. "I go from freezing cold to freezing hot!" The man from Lorgues has returned from his great adventure: crossing Greenland from west to east, on skis, completely self-sufficient.

Along with six other companions, the athlete trekked approximately 600 kilometers of ice over 30 days. And not a single day longer, as planned! "We left Kangerlussuaq on May 3. We had brought 32 days' worth of food just in case."

Rob Brink couldn't eat it all. Not even his daily kilo of dried fruit, noodles, dried meat, cheese, and butter. "I couldn't stand to eat that much. It was especially hard for the first ten days. I had to throw things away."

Not enough to surprise the scales, though. The 56-year-old only lost 4kg. "I was expecting more, 6 or 7kg!" Especially since the journey was intense... and the pace was brisk.

Week 1: Lost time and a worrying fall

The first few days, the director of his own real estate agency struggles: 10 or 15 kilometers at most.

To reach the large flat area, you must first climb the glacier, brave the wind blowing in your face and pull 80kg of equipment packed into a bulky sled.

It lasted three days. Three days during which Rob Brink had to be careful not to fall into a crevasse... But he did.

"I slipped on my skis. My head and hand hit the ground. I was scared." For several hours, Rob Brink couldn't bend his fingers or hold his water bottle. A large lump swelled on his metacarpals. "I thought I'd broken my hand!" Fortunately, it was only minor.

And the athlete still reached his first objective: the ice sheet. From now on, there are no landmarks. Just an immense, flat, white expanse. It's as if the sky is melting into the snow. It's all in the mind and the legs.

Week 2: Weathering the Hurricane

Rob Brink and his team are moving faster, at a rate of about 25 kilometers per day. The pace is frenetic, timed: 50 minutes of skiing with a 10-minute break, for 9 hours.

The weather changes regularly. "We had to navigate by compass because there was too much fog, then strong winds, bright sunshine..." And even a hurricane.

On May 18, it was impossible to go any further. Satellite forecasts predicted a violent storm with winds exceeding 100 km/h.

"We decided to stop. We buried our tents under 40 centimeters of water and built a 1.5-meter-high sloping wall to protect ourselves."

At 5 p.m., the team hunkered down in the snow. They wouldn't emerge until the next morning. "It was scary. I was scared. It was impossible for us to get out. We didn't sleep much."

Upon discovering the exterior, he was astonished: "The snow had buried us even deeper; it had reached half the height of the tent!" Rob Brink packed up and continued on his way.

Next target: the American anti-nuclear radar station DYE-2, a Cold War relic abandoned just before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

"We were able to get inside. It was overwhelming, as if everyone had left overnight. Nothing had moved. Not even the beers on the bar counter! It was very strange."

Week 3: Hardware issues

The days are long and all the same. The sun never sets. "While we were exhausted, we didn't sleep. Surprisingly, we were insomniacs."

The man from Lorgues spends his nights with his feet hanging off his mattress: a large bubble has formed around his head. It's impossible to repair it.

"The air compartments exploded. Plus, I forgot to bring an eye mask with me."

Too bad. They have to keep moving forward to make up for the delays they've lost over the first few days. The pace picks up a little more until they reach the highest point of their route (2,441m above sea level).

"The only sounds we heard were the wind and our skis sliding on the snow. We saved our conversations for the evening. Most of us were too tired to talk."

Week 4: Collapsed with fatigue

Only a few days left before their arrival in Isortoq. Temperatures are between -10 and -21 degrees, but Rob Brink isn't cold. At least, not too cold.

"I was lucky, I didn't have any injuries, no frostbite. Not even a blister!" But his body would soon give out... With just over 200 kilometers left to go, Rob Brink collapsed on the snow. Literally.

"My legs were giving out from fatigue. I considered every option, even calling for help..."

One day of rest and he's off again, good as new!

The team is quickly approaching the East Coast. "The last two days, we were sledding along on our sleds because it was so steep! We were starting to see the mountains appearing on the horizon. It was impressive."

Together, they gradually enter polar bear territory... "We slept in the tent for another 48 hours before arriving at the village. We stood guard all night for fear of being attacked by a bear! But we didn't see one."

And then, it's done. Rob Brink has accomplished all his goals. He has completed his great adventure, as physical as it is meditative.

"I broke through barriers I hadn't even approached before. I learned a lot about myself and my body. It was an incredible experience," he recalls.

Certainly the last of his life.